Pokémon: How To Evolve Nuzleaf & 9 Other Things To Know

Galar is filled to the brim with wild Pokémon, especially in its super-populated Wild Area, in which hundreds of different species make their home. One of these species is the Seedot family, consisting of Seedot itself, and its evolutions, Nuzleaf and Shiftry.

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Despite their strange appearance, these Pokémon are old favorites and have pretty decent usability in battle. If you're looking to start using the Grass/Dark-type Shiftry yourself, you'll need to find a Seedot or Nuzleaf and evolve it up to its final form. Here is how to do that, plus a few other things about this evolutionary line that you might not know.

10 Where to Find

Of course, before you evolve a Nuzleaf or Seedot, you'll need to catch one. This evolutionary family is exclusive to Pokémon Sword, so those of you with Shield will need to find a friend with Sword or an online trading partner.

If you do have Sword, head to Route 2 or the Wild Area. On Route 2, Seedot can be found as a random encounter in the grass. In the Wild Area, Seedot can be found in the Dappled Grove when it's overcast, raining, thunderstorming, foggy, or there's normal weather. West Lake Axewell will also spawn Seedot in the overworld when it's overcast.

For Nuzleaf specifically, head to Route 5, where they can be found as a random encounter. In the Wild Area, Nuzleaf can be found in the Dappled Grove in any weather, though there are higher chances when it's overcast or sunny. They can also be found in Giant's Cap or Giant's Seat in normal weather, or the latter while it's raining. South Lake Miloch will also spawn Nuzleaf when it's overcast or normal weather.

Shiftry can also be found in Dappled Grove as a wandering spawn during normal, overcast, rainy, thunderstorming, or foggy weather.

9 How to Evolve

Now that you have your Seedot or Nuzleaf, you'll need to evolve them to get a Shiftry. Luckily, it's pretty easy. Seedot evolves at one of the lowest levels of any Pokémon — a cool level 14.

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From there, you can then evolve the Nuzleaf into a Shiftry with the use of a Leaf Stone. Need a Leaf Stone? Simply head to the western part of Turffield, where one can be found hidden south of the three pillars. the Lake of Outrage also spawns evolutionary stones on a rotating basis every day beneath the stone structures.

8 Counterpart to Lombre

Since Nuzleaf and its evolutionary relatives are exclusive to Sword, one might wonder what Shield players get instead. Lotad and its evolutionary family are the equivalent exclusives, and they've been counterparts to the Seedot family for years.

Both lines are Grass-type and evolve to their final stages with an evolutionary stone. Both evolve from their base forms at level 14 and they have the exact same base stat total, albeit arranged differently. They've long been version exclusives opposite each other, as well.

7 Shiftry's Wind Creation

The final evolution of this evolutionary family, Shiftry, is quite a strange Pokémon. One of the most interesting things about it is its gigantic leaf hands, which change size depending on its gender.

Shiftry can apparently use these leafy appendages to create high-speed gusts of wind that clock in around 100 feet per second (30 meters per second). You might want to hang on to your hat.

6 Don't Grab the Nose!

Nuzleaf's nose is a very prominent feature of its design, sticking straight out of its face and being pretty long and pointy. Its nose seems to play a pretty important role, though, as it is where most of Nuzleaf's powers come from.

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If one grabs its nose, it will lose all of its power. This is probably why it hates having its nose pinched or grabbed by others.

5 Mind-Reader

The Seedot line is not Psychic-type, but they apparently have some psychic capabilities. Shiftry is said to be able to read minds, apparently. In a few Pokédex entries, it's stated that Shiftry can read the minds of its foes and take "preemptive action."

What this means is foreboding and unknown, but it's interesting to think of a Pokémon that is wildly considered an evil trickster being able to read minds. Also, despite its mind-reading powers, Shiftry is only able to learn a single Psychic-type move by level-up: Extrasensory.

4 Magical Flute

The big leaf that sticks out of Nuzleaf's head is not just for decoration. This leaf functions as a magical flute that Nuzleaf can play, giving it a forest-spirit vibe that is common in many video games.

The songs it plays are said to be magical, and the sound of it makes people "uneasy" and afraid. People who are lost in the forest often feel a sense of fear and uncertainty when hearing the noise this flute makes. It's also said that the sound of it fills listeners with "dread."

3 Tengu

There is no shortage of Pokémon based on yōkai or other Japanese myths and creatures. This includes Shiftry and Nuzleaf, who are very closely inspired by the tengu — a supernatural being or demon that plays tricks on people, protect the forests, and utilize magical leaves to create wind.

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They are often shown to have similar design to features as the Shiftry line, too, including their long noses and tengu-gata sandals.

2 Evil Tricksters

Due to their inspiration, the Seedot family all love playing cruel tricks on passersby. Seedot hangs from tree branches, disguised as an acorn. They then like to scare other Pokémon, particularly foraging Pidgey. Nuzleaf loves to play its aforementioned magical flute, and they come out of the forest to give people frights, according to the Pokémon Adventures manga.

Shiftry is the worst of them all, described as "wicked" and shown as a kidnapper in the anime. Its inherent love for trickery and cruelty is perhaps why this line has the Dark-type added to it after evolution from Seedot.

1 Guardians of the Forest

Despite their cruel tricks, prankster nature, and ability to cause dread and fear in those around them, the Shiftry family play an important role in protecting the forest.

It's said that Shiftry specifically is a "guardian of the forest," and was once highly-feared by the population. Tengu, the yōkai on which this family is based, are also known for being protectors of forested areas.

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