Sirfetch'd Type, Stats, Attacks, and More in 'Pokémon Sword and Shield'

Nintendo and the Pokémon Company expanded the Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield Pokédex Wednesday with the introduction of Sirfetch’d. The new “wild duck” Pokémon is an evolution of the leek-wielding Farfetch’d from the Kanto region, which will be exclusive to Pokémon Sword.

After more than two decades, Farfetch’d’s signature leek beat-stick has grown and then some. Sirfetch’d brandishes a sharp lance and a thick, leafy shield made from both halves of the an overgrown leek. Farfetch’d has finally glowed up.

Nintendo teased that Sirfetch’d will be the final evolution of Farfetch’d, in a press release. The new Pokémon’s leek has full matured, allowing it to separate the stock and leaves into two formidable pieces of equipment. But once its cherished vegetable ages any older, Sirfetch’d will withdraw from the ways of the warrior.

“In battle, Sirfetch’d uses the sharp stalk of its leek as a lance and the thick leaves as a shield,” stated Nintendo’s release. “It maintains this leek over the span of many years and treasures it more than anything. When its leek finally withers, Sirfetch’d will leave the battlefield and retire from battling entirely.”

The announcement came a week after Nintendo teased the newcomer with a pixelated image of Sirfetch’d on the Pokémon website. Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield are now less that two months from release, so expect a steady trickle of teasers leading up to the launch. An Pokémon exclusive to Pokémon Shield could be next.

For now, here are all of the unique traits and abilities Sirfetch’d will come with in Pokémon Sword on November 15.

How will Farfetch’d evolve into Sirfetch’d?

It appears trainers will simply need to level up their Farfetch’d to evolve it into a Sirfetch’d. Nintendo’s press release stated that after some training fighting experience, the evolution will take place.

“The Farfetch’d of the Galar region can evolve into Sirfetch’d after experiencing many battles,” it stated.

That means gamers won’t need to worry about acquiring any evolutionary stones or trading Farfetch’d to get it to evolve. But if they don’t want Farfetch’d to evolve, players will need to either manually cancel its evolution every time it levels up or give it an Everstone.

Then again, who wouldn’t want this gallant bird on their team?

What type of Pokémon is Sirfetch’d?

Sirfetch’d is a Fighting type, instead of a Normal-Flying Pokémon like Farfetch’d. This opens up a library of powerful moves it can learn that Farfetch’d couldn’t before, like Focus Punch, Cross Chop, and many others. But the evolution will come with some drawbacks.

Sirfetch’d will be incredibly vulnerable against Flying, Psychic, and Fairy type Pokémon. That means Farfetch’d will be super effective against its evolution, which is ironic when Sirfetch’d is supposed to be a more powerful version of the original leek-wielding duck.

What unique attack will Sirfetch’d know?

Sirfetch’d was announced with an attack that only it can learn: Meteor Assault. Nintendo described it as a devastatingly attack, but it appears that it will take two turns in battle.

“Sirfetch’d points its leek at the opponent and charges toward them at great speed,” reads the release. “This move is devastatingly powerful! However, it appears that the move also puts great strain on Sirfetch’d. It will be unable to take action immediately after using this move.”

That could make Meteor Assault very risky, depending on what its accuracy ends up being. It’s likely that it’ll function similarly to Solar Beam, Skull Bash, and Focus Punch, all moves that take one turn of preparation.

The big difference is that Sirfetch’d will execute the attack the same turn it is selected, but it will need to rest next turn. This makes it good as a finishing move, but it could be heavily countered by evasion-boosting moves like Double Team. Use it wisely!

What passive ability will Sirfetch’d come with?

Sirfetch’d will come with the Steadfast passive ability. This trait was introduced in Generation IV and boosts the Pokémon’s speed if it flinches.

The flinch status is a one-turn status caused by attacks like Bite that prevents a Pokémon from attacking. If Sirfetch’d flinches, its attack is more likely to come out faster its next turn.

What are Sirfetch’d’s other stats like?

Not much else is known about Sirfetch’d besides its height and weight, which are debatably its most shocking traits. The new Pokémon is the same height as Farfetch’d (2’7” or 0.8 meters) but is 257.9 pounds, 224.8 pounds heavier than Farfetch’d.

Either that leek is exponentially heavier than it seems or Farfetch’d has spent the last two decades bulking up.

Pokémon Sword and Shield will be released for Nintendo Switch on November 15, 2019.