Pokémon Sword and Shield's Camping feature allows you to make a wide variety of Curries that can increase your Pokémon's friendship, restore your Pokémon's HP and PP, grant Exp. and items, and even encourage your Pokémon to lure in wild Pokémon to catch. While it isn't critical to use this feature to beat the game, it definitely has its rewards and is a lot of fun! However, with 151 different Curries to make and five different taste ratings, it may seem a little overwhelming at first. Fortunately, we're here to walk you through everything you need to know about this new Pokémon feature.
Solo or with a friend?
There are two methods to cooking curry in Pokémon Sword and Shield: you can set up camp and cook alone, or you can cook with a friend in either your camp or theirs. While the former gives you more control over your curry, the latter lets you socialize with other player's and their Pokémon, as well as collborate on the dish. It's a little more challenging to cook with someone else but for the rarer ingredients, it means sharing the results and making them go that much further. Because the host gets to choose the Main Ingredient, this can also be a means of cooking the Sword and Shield exclusive dishes without having to set up a trade to get the Main Ingredient from the other version of the game.
If you plan on cooking solo, just set up camp and get started. If you want to cook with someone else, you can either invite a friend to join you in your camp or you can find someone else's camp and ask them to cook. Anytime you've set up camp, you can start cooking but only the host can begin cooking when you're visiting other players. You will also gain more Experience when cooking with other players. While you can only bring one Pokémon when you visit someone else's camp, if you're hosting and working well together, you can get a tremendous amount of Experience for your whole team.
The Mechanics of cooking
The actual cooking process consists of four basic steps. The first is choosing your ingredients. This is pretty straight forward. Just select a Main Ingredient (or none at all for a Plain Curry) and up to ten Berries.
While the different Main Ingredients and Berries you choose determine what Curry you make and how effective it is at raising your Friendship level, the mechanics of cooking determine how tasty your dish is and thus how effective it is at everything else. If you get really good at this mini game, you can earn a ton of Exp., restore all your Pokémon's HP and PP, heal their status conditions, and make them very sociable, so it's definitely worth the time to practice. However, you can fill your Curry Dex without getting the highest class so don't stress over it too much if you don't have a perfect score in every type of Curry.
Fanning the flames
Once you've put all your ingredients into the pot, you're given a fan to encourage your campfire along. Then, by either pressing A or motioning the Joy-Con in a fanning motion, you Fan the Flame. How rapidly you press A or motion your Joy-Con determines how big the flame gets and thus how well cooked your Curry will be. While some players can just eye the flame to tell when it's at the right size, you can also watch the top of the pot for sparkles. The more sparkles you see coming out of your Curry, the better you're doing. However, don't just mash that button as fast as you can! If your flame gets too big, you will burn your Curry!
There are five levels of heat for your cooking:
- No Flame - this is the base level for any Curry you make with no increase to its Tastiness Level.
- Low Flame - this gives a small increase to your Curry's Tastiness Level.
- Medium Flame - this gives a moderate increase to your Curry's Tastiness Level.
- High Flame - this gives your Curry the biggest possible increase to your Tastiness Level.
- Too High Flame - this is burning your Curry. While it's better than No Flame, it's only a tiny increase to your Tastiness Level.
Stirring the pot
Once you've finished Fanning the Flame, it's time to Stir the Pot, which also has five levels based on speed. To Stir the Pot, just spin the joystick on either Joy-Con. There will also be sparkles coming out of your Curry the better you stir but the Joy-Con will also vibrate to let you know if you're stirring too fast and spilling your Curry.
- No Stirring - if you don't stir your Curry, it will burn, thus giving you the base Level of Tastiness.
- Little Stirring - stirring just a small amount increases your Curry's Tastiness Level by a small amount.
- Moderate Stirring - stirring a moderate speed gives your Curry a medium boost to its Tastiness Level.
- Perfect Stirring - stirring fast gives your Curry a large boost to its Tastiness Level.
- Spilling - if you stir too much, your Curry ends up spilling and you end up with only a small increase to your Tastiness Level.
Putting some love into it!
The last step in making a good Curry (or any dish for that matter) is to put a little love into it! As cheesy as that sounds, it's really important to cooking in Pokémon Sword and Shield. For this step, you will be given a single chance to throw a Heart through a Target Ring, similar to the Target Rings from Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee, as well as in Pokémon Go. Your goal is to hit the Target Ring when it's overlapping the innermost green circle but remember, the Target Ring keeps shrinking even after you throw your Heart, so timing is key!
Tastiness Level
Once you've mastered each of these three mechanics, you'll be cooking top class Curries, but what does that mean anyway? Well, the Tastiness Level of a Curry determines the benefits your Pokémon receive from eating it. There are five different Tastiness Levels which can have five different effects on your Pokémon. They can increase your Pokémon's Experience, which will helps your Pokémon level up faster. They can restore your Pokémon's HP and PP, preparing them to go back into battle. They can heal your Pokémon's status conditions, if they've been poisoned or paralyzed in a fight. But most importantly, they can increase your Pokémon's Sociability. The more Social your Pokémon are feeling, the more likely they are to play together, to bring you items, and even bring in Wild Pokémon to the camp that you can in turn attempt to catch.
The five Tastiness Levels are:
- Koffing Class: the lowest Tastiness Level you can get, this gives a very small amount of Experience, restores half of your Pokémon's HP, and gives your Pokémon a very small boost to their Sociability.
- Wobbuffet Class: the next step up, this gives a small amount of Experience, restores 1/2 of your Pokémon's HP, and gives a small boost to their Sociability.
- Milcery Class: the middle ground, this gives a moderate amount of Experience, restores all of your Pokémon's HP, heals all their status conditions, and gives a moderate boost to their Sociability.
- Copperajah Class: just about as good as you can get, this grants a large amount of Experience, restores all of your Pokémon's HP, restores all of their PP, heals all their status conditions, and grants a large boost to Sociability.
- Charizard Class: absolutely perfect, this grants your Pokémon a massive amount of Experience, restores all of their HP and PP, heals all their status conditions and gives them a massive boost to Sociability.
What makes the dish?
While the mechanics of cooking will determine a Curry's Tastiness Level, depending on what ingredients you use, you will get wildly different results. You can choose one Main Ingredient (or skip it for a Plain Curry) and that will determine the type of Curry you make. This is important for your Curry Dex but what is most important are the Berries you add next. The Berries determine the flavor of the Curry, as well as how much your Pokémon's Friendship Level increases. The rarer the Berries you use, the bigger the increase to your Pokémon's Friendship Level.
Main Ingredients
Most Main Ingredients can be found from the Ingredients Sellers in the Rolling Fields and Hammerlocke sections of the Wild Area, but you can also get them from Camping, from talking to other players in the Wild Areas, and even from doing well in Poké Jobs. Each Main Ingredient makes a different type of Curry, all but one of which have five flavors based on the Berries you use. If you don't use a Main Ingredient, you will have a Plain Curry, and the Gigantamax Curry doesn't have flavor variations, no matter what Berries you use.
| Main Ingredient | Rarity | Curry | Locations |
|---|---|---|---|
| None | N/A | Plain Curry | N/A |
| Bread | One Star | Toast Curry | Ingredients Seller in Rolling FieldsCampingOther players in Wild AreasCompleting Poké Jobs |
| Pasta | One Star | Pasta Curry | Ingredients Seller in Rolling FieldsCampingOther players in Wild Areas |
| Fried Food | One Star | Fried-Food Curry | Ingredients Seller in Rolling FieldsCampingOther players in Wild Areas |
| Instant Noodles | One Star | Instant-Noodle Curry | Ingredients Seller in Rolling FieldsCampingOther players in Wild Areas |
| Precooked Burger | One Star | Burger-Steak Curry | Ingredients Seller in Rolling FieldsCampingOther players in Wild Areas |
| Sausages | Two Star | Sausage Curry | Ingredients Seller in Rolling Fields and HammerlockeCampingOther players in Wild AreasCompleting Poké Jobs |
| Tin of Beans | Two Star | Bean Medley Curry | Ingredients Seller in Rolling Fields and HammerlockeCampingOther players in Wild Areas |
| Mixed Mushrooms | Two Star | Mushroom Medley Curry | Ingredients Seller in Rolling Fields and HammerlockeCampingOther players in Wild Areas |
| Pack of Potatoes | Two Star | Plenty-of-Potato Curry | Ingredients Seller in Rolling Fields and HammerlockeCamping |
| Salad Mix | Two Star | Salad Curry | Ingredients Seller in Rolling Fields and HammerlockeCampingOther players in Wild Areas |
| Spice Mix | Two Star | Seasoned Curry | Ingredients Seller in Rolling Fields and HammerlockeCampingOther players in Wild Areas |
| Bob's Food Tin | Three Star | Juicy Curry | Sword OnlyIngredients Seller in Rolling Fields and HammerlockeCampingTrading |
| Bach's Food Tin | Three Star | Rich Curry | Shield OnlyIngredients Seller in Rolling Fields and HammerlockeCampingTrading |
| Brittle Bones | Three Star | Bone Curry | Ingredients Seller in Rolling Fields and HammerlockeCamping |
| Pungent Root | Three Star | Herb Medley Curry | Hidden Item in the Wild Area (especially around water)Camping |
| Fresh Cream | Three Star | Whipped Cream Curry | Ingredients Seller in Rolling Fields and HammerlockeCamping |
| Packaged Curry | Three Star | Decorative Curry | Ingredients Seller in Rolling Fields and HammerlockeCampingCompleting Poké Jobs |
| Coconut Milk | Three Star | Coconut Curry | Ingredients Seller in Rolling Fields and HammerlockeCamping |
| Smoke-Poké Tail | Four Star | Smoked-Tail Curry | Ingredients Seller in HammerlockeCamping |
| Large Leek | Four Star | Leek Curry | Hidden Item in the Wild AreaCamping |
| Fancy Apple | Four Star | Apple Curry | Hidden Item in the Wild Area (especially around trees)Camping |
| Boiled Egg | Four Star | Boiled-Egg Curry | Ingredients Seller in HammerlockeCamping |
| Fruit Bunch | Four Star | Tropical Curry | Ingredients Seller in HammerlockeCamping |
| Moomoo Cheese | Four Star | Cheese-Covered Curry | Ingredients Seller in Rolling Fields and HammerlockCampingCompleting Poké Jobs |
| Gigantamix | Five Star | Gigantamax Curry | Defeating Three, Four, and Five star Raids |
Note: While all but two of the Ingredients can be found in both Sword and Shield, some Ingredients are much more hard to come by. All of the Ingredients can be traded by trading a Pokémon holding the Ingredient. Bob and Bach's Food Tin's are exclusive to Sword and Shield respectively so if you're aiming to complete your Curry Dex, you will need to trade with a player on the other version of the game.
Berries
Most Berries can be found by shaking Berry Trees found all throughout the Wild Area, but you can also get them other ways, including the Battle Tower and from Distribution Events. Each Berry has a Flavor Profile made up of points in any of five categories: Spicy, Dry, Sweet, Bitter, and Sour. With a little math, you can always tell which of the five Flavors will dominate your dish. Berries also come in three rarities: Common, Uncommon, and Rare. The rarer the Berries, the bigger the boost you get to your Pokémon's Friendship Level.
| Berry | Rarity | Spicy | Dry | Sweet | Bitter | Sour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheri Berry | Common | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Chesto Berry | Common | -- | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| Pecha Berry | Common | -- | -- | 1 | -- | -- |
| Rawst Berry | Common | -- | -- | -- | 1 | -- |
| Aspear Berry | Common | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| Leppa Berry | Common | 1 | -- | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Oran Berry | Common | 1 | 1 | -- | 1 | 1 |
| Persmi Berry | Common | 1 | 1 | 1 | -- | 1 |
| Lum Berry | Common | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -- |
| Sitrus Berry | Common | -- | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Figy Berry | Common | 2 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Wiki Berry | Common | -- | 2 | -- | -- | -- |
| Mago Berry | Common | -- | -- | 2 | -- | -- |
| Aquav Berry | Common | -- | -- | -- | 2 | -- |
| Iapapa Berry | Common | -- | -- | -- | -- | 2 |
| Pomeg Berry | Common | 1 | -- | 1 | 1 | -- |
| Kelpsy Berry | Common | -- | 1 | -- | 1 | 1 |
| Qualot Berry | Common | 1 | -- | 1 | -- | 1 |
| Hondew Berry | Common | 1 | 1 | -- | 1 | -- |
| Grepa Berry | Common | -- | 1 | 1 | -- | 1 |
| Tamato Berry | Common | 3 | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| Occa Berry | Uncommon | 2 | -- | 1 | -- | -- |
| Passho Berry | Uncommon | -- | 2 | -- | 1 | -- |
| Wacan Berry | Uncommon | -- | -- | 2 | -- | 1 |
| Rindo Berry | Uncommon | 1 | -- | -- | 2 | -- |
| Yache Berry | Uncommon | -- | -1 | -- | -- | 2 |
| Chople Berry | Uncommon | 2 | -- | -- | 1 | -- |
| Kebia Berry | Uncommon | -- | 2 | -- | -- | 1 |
| Shuca Berry | Uncommon | 1 | -- | 2 | -- | -- |
| Coba Berry | Uncommon | -- | 1 | -- | 2 | -- |
| Payapa Berry | Uncommon | -- | -- | 1 | -- | 2 |
| Tanga Berry | Uncommon | 3 | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| Charti Berry | Uncommon | 1 | 3 | -- | -- | -- |
| Kasib Berry | Uncommon | -- | 1 | 3 | -- | -- |
| Hanban Berry | Uncommon | -- | -- | 1 | 3 | -- |
| Colbur Berry | Uncommon | -- | -- | -- | 1 | 3 |
| Babiri Berry | Uncommon | 4 | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| Chilan Berry | Uncommon | -- | 4 | 1 | -- | -- |
| Liechi Berry | Uncommon | 5 | 1 | 5 | -- | -- |
| Ganlon Berry | Uncommon | -- | 5 | 1 | 5 | -- |
| Salac Berry | Uncommon | -- | -- | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| Petaya Berry | Uncommon | 5 | -- | -- | 5 | 1 |
| Apicot Berry | Uncommon | 1 | 5 | -- | -- | 5 |
| Roseli Berry | Uncommon | -- | -- | 4 | 1 | -- |
| Kee Berry | Uncommon | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Maranga Berry | Uncommon | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Lansat Berry | Rare (Battle Tower Only) | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| Starf Berry | Rare (Battle Tower Only) | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| Enigma Berry | Rare (Distribution Only) | 6 | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| Micle Berry | Rare (Distribution Only) | -- | 6 | 1 | -- | -- |
| Custap Berry | Rare (Distribution Only) | -- | -- | 6 | 1 | -- |
| Jaboca Berry | Rare (Distribution Only) | -- | -- | -- | 6 | 1 |
| Rowap Berry | Rare (Distribution Only) | 1 | -- | -- | -- | 6 |
Cooking Questions?
Do you have any questions about cooking with your Pokémon in Sword and Shield? Got any tips for fellow Curry Chefs? Drop us a comment below and be sure to check out our many other Pokémon Sword and Shield guides!
