Pokemon Sword & Shield: How To Breed Regional Forms

Pokemon Home is now available, which means you can transfer Pokemon from old games into Sword and Shield. Currently, you can only transfer Pokemon that are in the Galar Pokedex; however, any regional forms a Pokemon has occupy the same Pokedex number as their normal form, meaning you can get some alternate forms in Sword and Shield via Home even if they weren't originally available in the Galar region.

This includes Alolan Vulpix and Ninetales, whose original forms are already included in the Galar Pokedex, as well as regular Darumaka and Darmanitan, who gained Galarian forms in Gen 8. Before Pokemon Home, there was no way to get the alternate forms of these Pokemon in Sword and Shield. Once you transfer them in, though, it's really easy to get more if you know how.

Normally, when breeding a Pokemon with alternate forms, the offspring will hatch as the form native to the region you're in--so Vulpix will always be normal, because that's the kind of Vulpix you can get in Galar. Once you transfer in an Alolan Vulpix, though, you can breed more Alolan Vulpix by giving it an Everstone to hold before putting it in the Nursery. This will pass down the parent's form to the offspring (but it only works if the parent is female or if you're breeding with Ditto).

Holding an Everstone will also pass down the holder's nature to the offspring. If your parent Pokemon from another region has the wrong nature, you can use a Mint--which are available to purchase with BP at the Battle Tower--to change the offspring's nature after it has hatched. Changing a Pokemon's nature this way won't change the Pokemon's "DNA," though, meaning you can't change the parent's nature and expect the new nature to pass down to the offspring.

For more on Pokemon Home, see our full Pokemon Home FAQ for pricing details, mobile and Switch version differences, and everything else you need to know.