Catching Pokemon in the Wild Areas of Pokemon Sword & Shield can be tricky as some will only appear when the weather is right. This means the player will have to keep an eye on the weather and be ready to drop everything to go after those elusive Pokemon who only appear in certain weather conditions.
The following Pokemon will only appear during Sandstorms which occur during the month of April. Here are the Pokemon players should keep an eye out during this small window of time.
9 Sandslash
Sandslash is found in the new Wild Area introduced in the Isle of Armor DLC. It can be found wandering the Forest of Focus and Potbottom Desert during Sandstorms. While it has good Attack and Defense stats it’s low Speed and HP make it a weak contender for PVP.
For those players who are determined to use one Sandslash’s best role is to remove entry hazards and set up its own. Rapid Spin is required for this and either Toxic or Stealth Rock can be used. If it somehow accomplishes this it needs Knock Off to do some damage against Ghosts and Earthquake for everything else.
8 Umbreon
Umbreon will appear only in Lake of Outrage during Sandstorms. It’s a rather interesting Pokemon to have for PVP purposes and can make for a decent healer/cleric. It has good HP, great Defense, and Special Defense to ward off most attacks.
Its goal is to then use Wish to heal itself and teammates, Protect to stay alive, and Heal Bell to cure status effects for the team. When everyone is healed and cured it can opt for Toxic to slowly poison the opponent while it regenerates health and Protects itself or a move like Foul Play.
7 Scizor
Scizor is found in the new Wild Area during Sandstorms and appears in Challenge Road or Training Lowlands. Absolutely catch this Pokemon as Mega Scizor is a great Pokemon for taking down tough opponents like Mamoswine.
It has an excellent Attack and Defense with enough Speed to get the job done. The Bug/Steel typing is also very helpful for resisting attacks from a variety of sources. Bullet Punch is a great move guaranteed to hit all but Ghosts and Roost will keep Scizor alive when something manages to pierce its defenses.
6 Pupitar
Pupitar is tricky to find as it’ll only appear in the Wild Area if the player is playing Pokemon Shield. In that game, it has a 2% chance of appearing in the Lake of Outrage during a Sandstorm. Pupitar isn’t useful in PVP or even PVE combat for that matter. Its stats are low and being a Rock/Ground-type makes it weak to a lot of common typings.
Before players write it off entirely it’s important to remember that Pupitar evolves into Tyranitar. Tyranitar and its even more powerful Mega form is an absolute monster in PVP battles. It has excellent Attack and Defense which combined with powerful moves let it brawl easily with other titans.
5 Trapinch
Trapinch will only appear in the Hammerlock Hills during Thunderstorms and has a 2% of appearing. This rare Pokemon has a decent Attack stat and some interesting moves, but its Speed is so slow it’ll rarely connect with anything.
Its evolved form, Flygon, has better stats and is a little more adaptable. It can act as a revenge killer or use Defog to remove hazards for teammates. It’ll do well against Fire types being a Dragon/Ground, but Ice will always be an issue. Honestly, it’s better to catch one for collection purposes than actual competition.
4 Bonsly
This quirky Pokemon can be found in a few areas during Sandstorms. It’ll show in Bridge Field, Stony Wilderness, Stony Wilderness – Area 2, and Stony Wilderness – Area 3. The last are is best because of a 50% appearance rate.
While it can use Stealth Rock it’s Speed is so slow it’ll be a miracle if the player successfully plants the hazard. The evolved form Sudowoodo suffers from Speed issues as well and lacks the punch to do any serious damage. Its better to catch this one to round out the Pokedex and move on.
3 Hippowdon
Hippowdon can be found in the Lake of Outrage and Giant’s Mirror. The latter is best as it’ll appear 30% of the time. This is great Pokemon for PVP battles as it has solid HP, Attack, and Defense. Combined with a Ground typing and it’s an effective wall.
Hippowdon can also throw down Stealth Rock and poison enemies with Toxic. Rocky Helmet can really punish opponents but Leftovers might be more appealing for recovery so player’s choice with the held item. After that, it comes down to spamming moves like Earthquake to do damage or using Whirlwind to get something better equipped into the fight.
2 Escavalier
Escavalier is found in the new Wild Area and can be located in Forest of Focus and Training Lowlands during Sandstorms. This Bug/Steel Pokemon is a great wallbreaker and brutally punishes switch-ins thanks to a high Attack stat.
Combining the high Attack with powerful moves like Megahorn and Iron Head are really effective. Its weakness comes from having an abysmal Speed stat meaning it’ll take a few hits. It’ll offset this with its decent Defense and Special Defense but holding Leftovers and using Protect are required to stay alive. Fire types are a major threat due to typing so watch out for those.
1 Silicobra
The last Pokemon that can be found during Sandstorms is Silicobra who appears in Forest of Focus, Challenge Road, Potbottom Desert, and Training Lowlands. The best spots to catch one are Forest of Focus and Training Lowlands where it has a 15% of showing up.
With low stats across the board, it’s not viable as a PVP fighter and may even struggle in some PVE fights. It’s evolved form Sandaconda has good Defense and Attack, but mediocre stats in everything else. It can be a decent Stealth Rock setter in the right battles, but it’s outclassed by much better Pokemon.