How to evolve Poliwhirl into Politoed in Pokemon Isle of Armor

[jwplayer dWIP3S6z]Pokemon Sword & Shield got its first major DLC add-on, The Isle of Armor, on June 17. The expansion also brought a wave of new monsters to the game, but some are trickier to get than others – like Politoed. Here’s how to obtain the Gen II monster.

Pokemon entered its eighth generation with the release of Sword & Shield in November 2019. The latest release in the long-running Nintendo franchise introduced players to the Galar region, and new game mechanics such as Dynamaxing and Raids.

Unlike previous entries, Game Freak has forgone a third game in favor of an Expansion Pass instead. The first DLC, The Isle of Armor, is finally here, and has added classic monsters such as Politoed. Here is our guide on how to obtain the adorable amphibian.

How to get Politoed in Sword & Shield

Though you can catch Politoed in the wild, there’s something special about evolving your Pokemon yourself. If you’d like to do so, the first thing you need to obtain one through evolution is a Poliwhirl. Thankfully, the monster can be caught in Isle of Armor’s new location Brawlers Cave, which is located in the east side of the map.

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The cave also has the monster’s first evolution, Poliwag, if you are having trouble. Once you have a Poliwhirl, you then need to give the character the King’s Rock item to hold, and then initiate a trade with a friend.

Once you send the Poliwhirl holding the item to your partner, it will start to evolve. It’s important that whoever you are trading with is someone that is willing to send the monster back. So Surprise Trades will not work.

And that’s it! The lovable Gen II Pokemon Politoed is now yours – once they’ve sent it back of course. Poliwhirl can also evolve into a Poliwrath if you want both of the characters evolutions. But that requires you to use a Water Stone instead of the trading method.

While Sword & Shield just got its first DLC addon, fans have a lot to be excited for in 2020 as the second expansion ‘The Crown Tundra’ is dropping this Fall, and will bring Galarian versions of Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno.

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Despite only releasing less than six months ago, the Gen VIII title is already on track to be the third best selling game in the whole franchise. Proof that the addicting Catch ‘Em All mechanic is as popular as it’s ever been.