Pokémon Sword and Shield: A guide for getting Fossil Pokémon

Every Pokémon game usually has a set of fossils that can be restored into otherwise thought extinct and unobtainable Pokémon. It began with Kabuto and Omanyte way back in Pokémon Red and Blue, and the tradition continued all the way through today. In Pokémon Sword and Shield, these fossil Pokémon work a bit differently. You can now fuse two different fossils together to create a unique Pokémon.

• Each different fossil Pokémon
• Where to find fossils
• Where to restore fossils
• Which fusions are created

Each different fossil Pokémon

There are a total of four different fossils that you can find in Pokémon Sword and Shield:

• Fossilized Drake (Shield)
• Fossilized Fish (Shield)
• Fossilized Dino (Sword)
• Fossilized Bird (Sword)

You can technically get all four fossils in either game, but each game has a pair of fossils that are much, much more common as denoted above. To obtain the other game's fossils easily, you can give the fossil to a Pokémon and then trade it to another version. It is also possible to get the other set of fossils very rarely from the Digging Duo in the Wild Area. I have Pokémon Shield and dug up a Fossilized Bird, Fish, and Drake with the Digging Duo in one shot before beating the game or trading for the other version's fossils.

Where to find fossils

Near Cara Liss' (the fossil restoration professor) location on Route 6 you'll find one type of your game's fossils on the ground. To get the other type you'll need to travel to the Stow-on-Side Poké Center and talk to one of the NPCs.

You can also find fossils with the help of the Digging Duo in the Wild Area. They are just outside of the Pokémon Nursery. By paying them 500 Watts, you can have them dig up a handful of items for you. It's not guaranteed that you'll get a fossil every time, but it's bound to happen at some point. The worst case scenario is that you end up with a handful evolution stones. This process can be repeated as many times as you'd like provided you have enough Watts to spend.

Where to restore fossils

Head back to Route 6 and talk to Cara Liss, the fossil restoration professor. Only when you have two compatible fossils will she allow you to restore them into a Pokémon. If you do not have the prequisitive items, she'll just continue talking about fossil Pokémon.

Which fusions are created

There are four different fusions that can be created between the fossils:

• Dracozolt: Fossilized Bird and Fossilized Drake.
• Arctozolt: Fossilized Bird and Fossilized Dino.
• Dracovish: Fossilized Fish and Fossilized Drake.
• Arctovish: Fossilized Fish and Fossilized Dino.