Pokémon Sword and Shield: Crown Tundra Pokédex Tips and Rewards for Completion

Pokémon Sword and Shield has continued to expand the amount of available Pokémon with the release of the game’s second DLC, and The Crown Tundra also comes with a brand new Pokédex to complete.

It’s important to note there is some crossover, so taking the time to catch and evolve Pokémon as you’re completing the main story will also help you complete the Crown Tundra Pokédex.

You’ll need to complete the main story of Pokémon Sword and Shield before you ever get close to completing the Crown Tundra Pokédex, but the good news is that you’ll gain access to things through that story which will help you in this quest.

The vast majority of Pokémon in Crown Tundra are Level 60 or higher, with all the crucial legendary Pokémon being Level 70 or above. In order to even be able to attempt capture, you’ll need to have beaten all eight gyms.

Rewards for completing the Crown Tundra Pokédex

While some may hope to complete the Crown Tundra Pokédex just for the sake of game completion, there are some very valuable rewards that come along with this arduous task.

Once you’ve completed the Crown Tundra Pokédex, go speak to the researcher at the Crown Tundra station where you originally arrived in Crown Tundra. To start, she’ll add a special marker to your League Card.

Next, you’ll be gifted an Original Style Replica State Crown. It’s an ornate accessory your character can wear, and will be a sign to all who see you that you’ve completed the Crown Tundra Pokédex.

You’ll receive 50 Rare Candies, a huge number that you’d normally have to complete quite a few Max Raids to acquire. They’ll help you level something up in the blink of an eye when you need to.

The final gift, and possibly the most important, is 3 Gold Bottle Caps. Once you’ve beaten the main game and have access to the Battle Tower, you can go in there to do Hyper Training.

Using Bottle Caps, you can Hyper Train the stats of your Level 100 Pokémon up to their Max IV numbers. Gold Bottle Caps are extra rare, and will train all six stats for one Pokémon up to their ideal levels.

You’ll want to save these Gold Bottle Caps for whenever you acquire a Shiny Pokémon you’ve been wanting so you can maximize their stats once you’ve pushed them to Level 100.

Try to catch every Pokémon you encounter

This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s a key part of the process. In order to complete the Crown Tundra Pokédex, try to catch everything you find. Even in the main game, as some of the Pokémon in the regular Pokédex are also part of the Crown Tundra Pokédex.

It may seem like a hassle as you’re pushing your way through the story, and you can always wait to do this later, but you’ll inevitably save yourself lots of time if you choose to catch Pokémon as you’re making your way through the core game.

The same goes for Crown Tundra, which has its own core story you’ll likely want to push through. As you’re navigating the area, catch whatever you find.

Even if you run into a Pokémon you already have, capturing it can be useful. Having spare Pokémon you don’t need can be important, as will be explained later when we cover Surprise Trades.

Move through grass and let hidden Pokémon attack you

Pokémon Sword and Shield is the second Pokémon game to have wild Pokémon pop up on the overworld, meaning you can see them walking around and choose whether to interact with them.

However, there are some Pokémon which won’t show up on the overworld. Some, particularly the smaller ones, remain hidden in grassy areas.

In order to encounter them, you’ll need to walk through seemingly open grass until you see an exclamation point pop up on your screen. When this shows, the smaller Pokémon will rush you.

Let it collide with your trainer, and the battle will begin. If you’re serious about completing the Crown Tundra Pokédex, you’ll need these encounters as well as those that appear on the overworld.

Every encounter and battle is worthwhile, even if you don’t catch anything

As you’re working your way through the Pokédex, you may become frustrated if you fail to capture a Pokémon. You may not see the benefit in battling every trainer as you work your way through the game.

Don’t be fooled, these things will all help you along the way. Your Pokédex has a handy habitat feature for Pokémon you’ve seen in battles or in the wild, even if you haven’t caught them.

While some of the rarer Pokémon don’t have a visible habitat on the Pokédex despite their being able to be found and caught, this feature could still help you find something you’re missing.

You’ll even notice when checking a Pokémon’s habitat that the Pokédex will also tell you which weather pattern in the Wild Area is needed to find them.

Pay attention to Wild Area weather

This goes for both the regular Wild Area and the Wild Area in Crown Tundra, which is basically all of Crown Tundra. These areas have dynamic weather patterns that frequently change.

This is crucial for Pokédex completion, as there are certain Pokémon that only appear during certain weather conditions. You’ll want to explore the Wild Area and go back to locations you’ve already seen on different days to see if new Pokémon appear.

As mentioned above, you can check your Pokédex to see the habitat of some Pokémon you’ve already seen in prior battles or encounters, and some will even specify what weather conditions you need.

If there’s something rare you need to spot in a specific area during a specific weather condition, you might want to jot that down somewhere to keep in mind as you’re exploring the Wild Area just in case you stumble in to the right location with the right weather.

Watch for items throughout the game and be thorough

While you might not initially think picking up items as you play through Pokémon Sword and Shield and Crown Tundra are key to completing the Pokédex, they can make a big difference in acquiring a few rare Pokémon.

Some Pokémon need to be given special items to hold and be traded in order to evolve, while others need items like Evolutionary Stones that will help them evolve.

It can be frustrating to backtrack through the game and look for these, so your best bet is to keep your eyes open and be thorough every time you explore a new location.

Watch for the glistening on the ground for hidden items, and snag every Poké Ball item you see. Even TMs and TRs can make a difference, as a few Pokémon need to know certain moves just to evolve.

Get the Catching Charm in Circhester

This handy little item can be a huge help, and you’ll be able to acquire it the first time you arrive in Circhester. You’ll want to check out the western building of Hotel Ionia, where you’ll find the Game Freak Director in one of the upstairs rooms.

This is the same person you’ll head to if you manage to complete the core Pokédex for Pokémon Sword and Shield to acquire the Shiny Charm, but he’ll also gift you the equally helpful Catching Charm.

The Catching Charm increases the chances that you’ll score a Critical Catch, which has a special animation where the Poké Ball only moves once before capturing the Pokémon.

This benefit will get increasingly more effective as you fill out your Pokédex, making the Catching Charm an enormous boost as you’re trying to complete the Crown Tundra Pokédex.

Quick Balls are your secret weapon to completing the Crown Tundra Pokédex

This handy little Poké Ball variant can be your secret weapon while completing the Crown Tundra Pokédex. While they can be purchased from Watt Traders at times in the Wild Area, your safest and most reliable place to look is Wyndon.

The final city you reach in the core game of Pokémon Sword and Shield will have two Pokémon Centers. There’s one in town, and one just outside Wyndon Stadium where you’ll take on the Pokémon League and try to become Champion.

The one in the main part of town is the one you want. Once inside, speak to the Poké Mart clerk on the right and one of the items they’ll have for sale are Quick Balls.

You can purchase them for 1,000 Pokédollars, which may seem steep and is even a bit higher than the cost of an Ultra Ball, but it’s a worthwhile price. Quick Balls are most effective when thrown on the very first turn of an encounter.

While some stronger Pokémon will break out of them, most that come at the beginning of an evolutionary tree, and even some as high as Level 60, can be caught on turn one by tossing out a Quick Ball.

Gallade can be your perfect catching machine

You’ll be taking on lots of Pokémon as you’re trying to complete your Pokédex, and it can become frustrating to get them down to just the right amount of health and then get them to stay inside a Poké Ball.

Fortunately, there is a way to make this experience much more manageable. You want a Gallade, and you can turn it into the ultimate Pokémon catching machine.

If you need one or need to outfit yours with the right moves, you can follow our detailed guide to building the perfect catching machine. Once you have your Gallade, it will make many of the wild Pokémon you encounter much easier to catch.

Don’t forget to do Max Raids and run through Max Lairs

These new features introduced in Pokémon Sword and Shield and the Crown Tundra DLC may seem best suited for trying to get Gigantamax Pokémon, special items, or legendaries, but they’ll be a big help in completing the Crown Tundra Pokédex.

There are certain Pokémon that can’t be encountered in the regular Wild Area, even ones that normally take special items or trades to evolve their previous forms into, that you’ll find in Max Raids. Do as many as you can, and always try to catch the Pokémon if you beat the Raid.

The same goes for Max Lairs. While these normally end with a rare Legendary Pokémon that likely won’t even be needed for the Crown Tundra Pokédex, you’ll have the chance to catch several as you’re working your way through the lair.

Some of these can be rare Pokémon like Accelgor, which requires a very specific trade to acquire normally. If you catch Accelgor during the Max Lair, you can choose to keep it, even if you don’t find and defeat the Legendary Pokémon at the end of the Lair.

Find a friend and help each other complete the Crown Tundra Pokédex

Ultimately, you’re almost certainly going to need a little help to complete the Crown Tundra Pokédex. There are certain Pokémon only available in Pokémon Shield, and some only available in Pokémon Sword.

You’re also forced to choose between Legendary Pokémon in two moments, meaning you’ll be missing their counterpart. If you have a friend with the opposite version of the game as you, together both of you can help each other complete the Crown Tundra Pokédex.

If you choose different Legendary Pokémon and complete trades between each other to fill out the Pokédex and evolve rare Pokémon, that alone can help each of you finish it up together.

If you don’t know someone who you can trade with, the internet can help with that. Look on Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, and elsewhere to see other players also trying to complete their Pokédex.

Most people are willing to help if they can, and the community built around Pokémon Sword and Shield can help you complete your Crown Tundra Pokédex.

Utilize Surprise Trade to fill out your Crown Tundra Pokédex

This handy little feature can be used all throughout the game. Whenever you encounter something, catch it. Even if you already have it, which I mentioned above.

If you build up a stock of spare Pokémon, duplicates of ones you already have or just ones that have already filled your Pokédex and are no longer needed, it’s time to toss them into the void that is Surprise Trade.

With Surprise Trade, you’ll be able to send the Pokémon you don’t want out in return for something that someone else doesn’t want. Sometimes, you’ll get back important Pokémon that you need to complete the Crown Tundra Pokédex.

You might even get lucky and receive a rare or shiny Pokémon, which although uncommon can actually happen. If you receive something you don’t want, simply start a new Surprise Trade and send it back into the void until you get something worthwhile.

Take advantage of Pokémon HOME

The companion app Pokémon HOME for Nintendo Switch and mobile platforms can be a huge help in completing your Crown Tundra Pokédex. The app is free to use, and a handful of features will help you out.

While most players might think of Pokémon HOME as a mere storage option, things like Wonder Box and the Global Trading System can make a huge dent in completing the Crown Tundra Pokédex or finding that one Pokémon you’re missing.

You can even use multiple profiles to run through the game again, which will allow you to get rare legendaries again or the ones you didn’t choose, such as Glastrier, Spectrier, Regieleki, or Regidrago.

If you’re unfamiliar with Pokémon HOME, check out our comprehensive guide for everything you need to know about the app and how to make the most out of it.