How to Find (& Catch) Whimsicott in Pokémon Sword & Shield

There is nowhere to find Whimsicott in the wild areas of Pokémon Sword & Shield. Instead, players will need to find, catch, and evolve Cottonee.

Typically, as a Pokémon evolves in Pokémon Sword & Shield, players can expect the higher evolutions to be a little stronger and more powerful than the pre-evolution forms. This is true for Cottonee, a fluffy Grass and Fairy-type Pokémon who is often weak enough to be blown around by the wind, much like real-life cotton. When Cottonee evolves, however, it becomes Whimsicott, a hardier and stronger Pokémon with a penchant for pranking. Like many higher-level Pokémon evolutions, players won’t be able to find and catch a Whimsicott in the wild and must instead find Cottonee first and evolve it.

Whimsicott is also a Grass and Fairy type Pokémon. This means both Whimsicott and Cottonee are weak to Flying, Fire, Ice, Steel, and Poison-type moves but strong against Dark, Dragon, and Water-type moves. Cottonee can be found fairly commonly but will only appear in one location under a specific weather condition. Then, players will need to find an evolution item to help Cottonee evolve into Whimsicott. Here’s how to find and catch Cottonee and evolve it into Whimsicott in Pokémon Sword & Shield.

Find & Catch Cottonee In Pokémon Sword & Shield

Players can find Cottonee only in the Stony Wilderness. This is the area north of Bridge Field but south of Dusty Bowl, Giant’s Cap, and Giant’s Mirror. Cottonee will appear in the Non-Overworld, so players will need to look for the red exclamation marks in the tall grasses of Stony Wilderness. Cottonee will only spawn when the weather is Overcast, but there is a 40% spawn chance. This makes Cottonee a common find, as long as all conditions are right.

Players can also trade a Minccino to an NPC in Hulbury for Cottonee. They will find this NPC sitting on a picnic bench down the stairs below the Pokémon Center there. They can also find Cottonee via some of the Max Raid Battles in Stony Wilderness, Bridge Field, Dappled Grove, and Giant’s Mirror.

To catch Cottonee, players can use simple moves like Slash to chip its health down, then toss a ball. Typically any ball will work well, though some players have a preference for using Ultra Balls or Great Balls for this particular Pokémon.

Evolve Cottonee Into Whimsicott In Pokémon Sword & Shield

Once players have Cottonee, however they have obtained it, they will need to go find a Sun Stone. There are many Stones players can find and use to evolve Pokémon. Players will have good luck finding one in the Dusty Bowl south of Hammerlocke or around the Lake of Outrage if they have the second Rotom Bike. Players will need to give Cottonee the Sun Stone to evolve it into Whimsicott.

The only other ways for players to obtain Whimsicott are to trade with a friend or find one during a 5-Star Raid. There are only three possible Raids where players might find a Whimsicott, so because this encounter is so rare and random, it is best players go with the evolution method