Pokemon Sword & Shield: How To Restart Your Game - TheGamer

Pokemon Sword & Shield offers a lot of Pokemon to catch, so there's tons of replay value. You can form new teams and even assign different challenges that make each playthrough a unique experience. You can only have one save file at a time, so restarting the file is an essential part of replaying Pokemon Sword & Shield.

Related

Pokemon Sword & Shield: The Best Pokemon For Catching Other Pokemon

Every Pokemon has its fair share of uses and strengths. Here are the best Sword & Shield Pokemon you can bring along when adding to your Dex.

Posts

Restarting a save file is a simple process in Sword & Shield, but it may be confusing if you've never done it before. There are also a few extra things you should do before deleting your data. Here's how you can restart Pokemon Sword & Shield and everything you should do before deleting your save file.

Updated November 23, 2023, by Sean Murray: Wondering how to restart Pokemon Sword & Shield? This guide has the answers for both what to do first and then how to restart your save file. We've updated this guide with improved formatting and more links to other helpful Sword & Shield topics.

What To Do Before Restarting Your Save File

via Nintendo

There are two essential steps you should follow before you start a new game in Sword & Shield. If you don't do these two things, then you'll likely miss out on exclusive opportunities.

Catch Legendary & Mythical Pokemon

You can catch most Pokemon in Sword & Shield as many times as you wish; however, there are a few Pokemon that you can only catch once per save file. You should make sure to find and capture each legendary creature so you can have an extra version of them in your new playthrough.

The legendary Pokemon in Sword & Shield's base game include Eternatus, Zacian in Sword, and Zamazenta in Shield. There are also legendary Pokemon to catch in the Isle Of Armor DLC and Crown Tundra DLC.

You can't transfer items to Pokemon Home, so make sure to trade them to other copies of Sword & Shield; otherwise, they'll be lost forever after resetting your save file.

Full List Of Legendary, Ultra Beast, & Mythical Pokemon You Can Catch In Pokemon Sword & Shield

Pokemon				How To Catch	DLC Required?	Notes
Zamazenta		Zacian		Caught during the main story	None	Can only catch one or the other, depending on which version of the game you're playing
Eternatus				Caught during the main story	None	-
Zarude				Given out during special events in 2020 and 2021	None	No way to catch a new Zarude at the time of this writing, they were only available during the events
Kubfu	Urshifu (Single Strike Style)			Awarded after completing the Isle of Armor Dojo's three challenges, then evolves	The Isle of Armor	You'll have to choose whether to evolve your Kubfu into the Single or Rapid Strike Style
	Urshifu (Rapid Strike Style)
Calyrex	Calyrex (Ice Rider Form)	Glastrier		Caught during the story of the Crown Tundra	The Crown Tundra	When you catch Calyrex for real, you don't get its base form; you need to choose whether to have it ride a Shadow-Type or Ice-Type Legendary horse Pokemon (Glastrier or Spectrier). You can then separate the two.
	Calyrex (Shadow Rider Form)	Spectrier
Galarian Articuno				Caught after accepting Legendary Clue 3 from Peony	The Crown Tundra	-
Galarian Zapdos				Caught after accepting Legendary Clue 3 from Peony	The Crown Tundra	-
Galarian Moltres				Caught after accepting Legendary Clue 3 from Peony	The Crown Tundra	-
Regidrago				Caught after accepting Legendary Clue 2 from Peony	The Crown Tundra	-
Regieleki				Caught after accepting Legendary Clue 2 from Peony	The Crown Tundra	-
Regirock				Caught during the Crown Tundra story	The Crown Tundra	-
Regice				Caught during the Crown Tundra story	The Crown Tundra	-
Registeel				Caught during the Crown Tundra story	The Crown Tundra	-
Cobalion				Tracking its footprints for Professor Sonia	The Crown Tundra	-
Virizion				Tracking its footprints for Professor Sonia	The Crown Tundra	-
Terrakion				Tracking its footprints for Professor Sonia	The Crown Tundra	-
Keldeo				Special encounter after catching Cobalion, Virizion, and Terrakion	The Crown Tundra	-
Cosmog		Cosmoem	Solgaleo	Cosmog can be acquired by talking to a woman in Freezington after saving the town from Glastrier or Spectrier during Legendary Clue 1 Solgaleo and Lunala can be caught during Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	If you have Pokemon Shield, Cosmog will always evolve into Lunala and only Lunala can be caught during Dynamax Adventures. If you have Pokemon Sword, Cosmog will always evolve into Solgaleo and only Solgaleo can be caught during Dynamax Adventures.
			Lunala
Poipole				Talking to a scientist after catching five Ultra Beasts in Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Genesect				Cannot be caught in-game	None	Was available for players who visited a participating retailer in their area for a code prior to the release of Pokemon Sword and Shield
Volcanion				Cannot be caught in-game	None	Was available for players who visited a participating retailer in their area for a code prior to the release of Pokemon Sword and Shield
Marshadow				Cannot be caught in-game	None	Was available for players who visited a participating retailer in their area for a code prior to the release of Pokemon Sword and Shield
Kantonian Articuno				Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Kantonian Zapdos				Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Kantonian Molres				Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Mewtwo				Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Raikou				Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Entei				Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Suicune				Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Groudon		Kyogre		Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	Pokemon Shield players can catch Kyogre. Pokemon Sword players can catch Groudon.
Lugia		Ho-Oh		Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	Pokemon Shield players can catch Lugia. Pokemon Sword players can catch Ho-Oh.
Latios		Latias		Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	Pokemon Shield players can catch Latias. Pokemon Sword players can catch Latios.
Rayquaza				Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Uxie				Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Mesprit				Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Azelf				Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Dialga		Palkia		Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	Pokemon Shield players can catch Palkia. Pokemon Sword players can catch Dialga.
Heatran				Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Giratina				Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Cresselia				Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Tornadus		Thundurus		Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	Pokemon Shield players can catch Thundurus. Pokemon Sword players can catch Tornadus.
Landorus				Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Reshiram		Zekrom		Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	Pokemon Shield players can catch Zekrom. Pokemon Sword players can catch Reshiram.
Kyurem				Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Xerneas		Yvetal		Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	Pokemon Shield players can catch Yvetal. Pokemon Sword players can catch Xerneas.
Zygarde				Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Tapu Koko				Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Tapu Lele				Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Tapu Bulu				Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Tapu Fini				Completing Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Nihilego				Hunting Ultra Beasts in Max Lair Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Buzzwole				Hunting Ultra Beasts in Max Lair Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Pheromosa				Hunting Ultra Beasts in Max Lair Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Xurkitree				Hunting Ultra Beasts in Max Lair Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Celesteela				Hunting Ultra Beasts in Max Lair Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Kartana				Hunting Ultra Beasts in Max Lair Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Guzzlord				Hunting Ultra Beasts in Max Lair Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Necrozma				Hunting Ultra Beasts in Max Lair Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Stakataka				Hunting Ultra Beasts in Max Lair Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-
Blacephalon				Hunting Ultra Beasts in Max Lair Dynamax Adventures	The Crown Tundra	-

read more

Transfer Your Pokemon To Pokemon Home

Pokemon Home is an application on the Nintendo Switch that allows you to transfer Pokemon out of your current save file and store them for future use. Before you restart your save file, you should transfer every Pokemon you may want to use again in the future.

Remember to transfer all legendary, mythical, and starter Pokemon into Pokemon Home since they're usually limited to one per save file.

You can download Pokemon Home on the Nintendo eShop and store 30 Pokemon for free. Unfortunately, you need to subscribe to hold more than 30 Pokemon at a time. The subscription costs $2.99 for 30 days, $4.99 for 90 days, and $15.99 for 365 days.

You can store 6,000 Pokemon if you have a subscription.

To transfer Pokemon from Sword & Shield to Pokemon Home, open the Pokemon Home app and press Pokemon. Click on Sword Or Shield, and you can then deposit Pokemon from the save file into Pokemon Home.

Related

Pokemon: Every Gen 8 Legendary, Ranked

From Calyrex to Zacian, which Gen 8 Legendary Pokemon is the best of the best for fighters?

Posts

How To Restart Pokemon Sword & Shield

Once all that is done, you're ready to start the process of wiping your save data and restarting! There are two methods:

Permanently Delete Save Data

1. From the Switch's home menu, enter the System Settings
2. Click Data Management
3. Press Delete Save Data at the bottom of the screen
4. Select Pokemon Sword & Shield
5. Press Delete Save Data and confirm when the second prompt appears

Once you've confirmed, your game data will reset! Then, launch Pokemon Sword or Shield again to start a new adventure from the story's beginning.

Transferring Save Data To Another Switch

You can also transfer your save game data to a different Nintendo Switch, so that it won't be permanently lost.

1. From the Switch's home menu, enter the System Settings
2. Click Data Management
3. Click Transfer Your Save Data
4. Click Send Save Data To Another Console
5. Position the second Nintendo Switch console near the first one to transfer the data and follow the prompts.

This way, you don't permanently lose all of your progress from the game! However, you do need to have another Nintendo Switch console available for this to work.

Save game data can't be moved to or stored on a microSD card.

Next: Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Vs. Sword & Shield: Which Game Is Better?