'Pokémon Sword and Shield': How to catch and evolve Galarian Slowpoke

Nintendo hosted its first Pokémon Direct of 2020 Thursday morning, and announced a two-part expansion pass for Sword and Shield. Players will be able to explore two new areas — The Isle of Armor and the Crown Tundra — later this year. What’s more, the Pokémon Company has given gamers a new pocket monster today to hold them over until then.

Galarian Slowpoke is available on Sword and Shield after you’ve installed the update that shipped to Nintendo Switch consoles worldwide on Thursday. The half-salamander and half-hippopotamus creature is still as pink and aloof as it was back in 1996, with a few minor cosmetic and ability tweaks.

Here’s everything you need to know about Galarian Slowpoke, how to catch it, and how to evolve it.

Introducing Galarian Slowpoke

Galarian Slowpoke is the first regional form Pokémon added to Sword and Shield after the game’s release in November. Here’s some more info on Galarian Slowpoke’s basic stats and how it got its new look, via a press release from The Pokemon Company.

Galarian Slowpoke

• Category: Dopey Pokémon
• Type: Psychic
• Height: 3’11’’
• Weight: 79.4 lbs.
• Ability: Gluttony / Own Tempo

“The Slowpoke of the Galar region used to eat the seeds of a certain plant that grew in their habitat. These seeds were in fact Galarica seeds, used to this day as an essential spice for cooking in the Galar region. The Slowpoke in Galar built up particles of this spice in their bodies over several generations, eventually gaining the unique appearance and behavior they are known for today. Galarian Slowpoke spend their days wallowing on seashores and riverbanks without thinking about anything in particular. Occasionally, they might get a very sharp look in their eyes, but they will soon revert to their zoned-out expression. It’s thought that this behavior is caused by the accumulated Galarica particles stimulating Galarian Slowpoke’s brain, resulting in it thinking of something tremendous—only for the Galarian Slowpoke to immediately forget what it had just thought of.”

How is Galarian Slowpoke different from the original?

Galarian Slowpoke is only a Psychic type, while the original Slowpoke is a Water-Psychic type. That means Galarian Slowpoke won’t be vulnerable to Grass and Electric attacks, but it’ll be less effective against Fire, Rock, and Ground Pokémon.

The newcomer has also traded out its Oblivious ability for the Gluttony ability. This lets Galarian Slowpoke eat berries that it’s holding at 50 percent HP in battle, while they would normally be eaten at 25 percent HP by other Pokémon.

How to catch Galarian Slowpoke

After you’ve downloaded the latest update to Sword and Shield, head to Wedgehurst Station to meet a new character. Sword players will run into Klara, while anyone on Shield will encounter Avery. Talk to them to get Galarian Slowpoke in your Pokédex. If you want more Slowpokes, you’ll need to breed it using Ditto at the Pokémon Nursery.

How to evolve Galarian Slowpoke

Galarian Slowpoke has two evolved forms: Galarian Slowbro and Galarian Slowking. Sadly you won’t be able to evolve Galarian Slowpoke until the Isles of Armor and Crown Tundra expansions are released in June 2020 and Fall 2020 respectively.

The only way to evolve Galarian Slowpoke is to give it a unique item that can only be found in the two upcoming locations. To evolve it into Galarian Slowbro you’ll need to find an item in the Isles of Armor and if you want Galarian Slowking you’ll need to obtain an item while you’re exploring the Crown Tundra.

Nintendo hasn’t revealed what these times are, but expect to learn more once the first part of the expansion pack launches in the summer.