Is Swirlix Good in Sword & Shield Playthrough?
Swirlix appears on Route 5 in Sword. Fairy type evolving into Slurpuff through trade with Whipped Dream. AbilitySweet Veil prevents sleep for the team. Sword counterpart to Shield's Spritzee. Trade for Slurpuff if possible.
Swirlix trades roughly evenly with Milo's team.
Swirlix trades roughly evenly with Nessa's team.
Kabu's typing presses Slurpuff's defenses.
Slurpuff resists most of Bea's coverage and hits back hard.
Slurpuff trades roughly evenly with Opal's team.
Slurpuff has the type edge here and should clean up Gordie's team.
Slurpuff has the type edge here and should clean up Piers's team.
Slurpuff has the type edge here and should clean up Raihan's team.
Bede's team hits Slurpuff's weaknesses hard.
Slurpuff trades roughly evenly with Leon's team.
Catch Swirlix on Route 5 (walking, Lv 16-18). All Weather.
Most players are ready to trade before reaching Kabu.
How to Get Swirlix in Sword & Shield
The chain to Swirlix requires a trade evolution through a trade. Catch Swirlix in the wild and level through the stages, but line up the trade first. The rest of the chain runs on levels alone.
Where To Catch Swirlix in SwSh
To get Swirlix, start by catching Swirlix through walking encounters at Lv. 16-36. The chain covers 1 catchable stage before reaching the final form.
Step 1Swirlix ✓Giant's MirrorLv.28-30OverworldSwordRate 40%Heavy FogRoute 5Lv.19-21OverworldSwordRate 30%All WeatherStony WildernessLv.27-29GrassSwordRate 30%OvercastRoute 5Lv.16-18GrassSwordRate 14%All WeatherGlimwood TangleLv.34-36GrassSwordRate 10%All WeatherGlimwood TangleLv.34-36OverworldSwordRate 10%All Weather
Step 2Evolve into SlurpuffBREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Pokemon Day Care to receive a Slurpuff egg.
Swirlix Weakness
Swirlix is weak to Poison and Steel. On the flip side, it's immune to Dragon-type moves entirely. Only 2 weaknesses makes it relatively easy to build around defensively.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Poison, Steel |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Fighting, Bug, Dark |
| 0x (Immune) | Dragon |
What is Swirlix Weak Against
GoodBest Pokemon Against Swirlix
 Salazzle PoisonFire | B | |
 Toxtricity ElectricPoison | C | |
 Perrserker Steel | C | |
 Excadrill GroundSteel | B | |
 Garbodor Poison | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swirlix View Garbodor builds →Belch 2x103-122%KO Metal Claw 2x39-46% | ||
Salazzle PoisonFire | B | |
Toxtricity ElectricPoison | C | |
Perrserker Steel | C | |
Excadrill GroundSteel | B | |
 Corviknight Steel | A | |
Excadrill GroundSteel | B | |
Salazzle PoisonFire | B | |
Toxtricity ElectricPoison | C | |
 Toxicroak PoisonFighting | C | |
Perrserker Steel | C | |
Excadrill GroundSteel | B | |
Salazzle PoisonFire | B | |
Toxtricity ElectricPoison | C | |
 Copperajah Steel | B | |
Garbodor Poison | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swirlix View Garbodor builds →Gunk Shot 2x131-155%KO Metal Claw 2x37-44% | ||
Excadrill GroundSteel | B | |
Salazzle PoisonFire | B | |
Toxtricity ElectricPoison | C | |
Copperajah Steel | B | |
Garbodor Poison | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Swirlix View Garbodor builds →Gunk Shot 2x133-157%KO Metal Claw 2x39-45% | ||
Toxtricity ElectricPoison | C | |
 Eternatus PoisonDragon | S | |
Obtain MethodEnergy Plant Interact Encounter | ||
Excadrill GroundSteel | B | |
Salazzle PoisonFire | B | |
 Bisharp DarkSteel | B | |
Toxtricity ElectricPoison | C | |
Eternatus PoisonDragon | S | |
Obtain MethodEnergy Plant Interact Encounter | ||
Excadrill GroundSteel | B | |
Salazzle PoisonFire | B | |
 Metagross SteelPsychic | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Swirlix View Metagross builds →Meteor Mash 2x134-158%KO | ||
Toxtricity ElectricPoison | C | |
Eternatus PoisonDragon | S | |
Obtain MethodEnergy Plant Interact Encounter | ||
Excadrill GroundSteel | B | |
Salazzle PoisonFire | B | |
Toxicroak PoisonFighting | C | |
In Sword & Shield, Gengar can KO Swirlix with Sludge Bomb (140-165%). Scizor's Bullet Punch hits Swirlix for 62-73%.
 Gengar GhostPoison | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityCursedbody ItemChoice Scarf NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Swirlix View Gengar builds →Shadow Ball62-73% Sludge Bomb 2x140-165%KO Giga Drain39-46% | ||
 Scizor BugSteel | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityTechnician ItemHeavy-Duty Boots NatureAdamant Moves
Damage vs Swirlix View Scizor builds →Bullet Punch 2x62-73% Knock Off17-20% | ||
Swirlix Evolutions
Evolving Swirlix into Slurpuff takes a trade. It's not a simple level-up, so check the chain details below. Evolving adds up to 139 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
SwSh Swirlix Best Moveset
Pre-evo with AbilityUnburden from the hidden slot doubling Speed after item consumption. Every stat below 66 makes the moveset non-competitive despite the strong ability combination. Evolve into Slurpuff for MoveBelly Drum at max Attack plus doubled Speed at B-tier.
Best Build
Swirlix best EVs are Speed and HP
Hazard Setter Moveset
- Sticky Web
- Magic Coat
- Endeavor
- Toxic
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Egg moves make a real difference. Swirlix gets After You and Copycat exclusively through breeding, filling gaps that TMs and level-up can't touch. Coverage across 7 types rounds out the picture alongside Misty Explosion and Play Rough.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It eats its own weight in sugar every day. If it doesn’t get enough sugar, it becomes incredibly grumpy.
The sweet smell of cotton candy perfumes Swirlix’s fluffy fur. This Pokémon spits out sticky string to tangle up its enemies.
Swirlix Sword & Shield Guide
Swirlix evolves into Slurpuff via trade. Trade needs a Game Boy Advance link cable and a second GBA running another Gen 3 game (FireRed, LeafGreen, Ruby, Sapphire, or Emerald). Trade Swirlix to a friend, then have them trade it back. The 2026 Switch re-release supports the same trade through local wireless on the Pokemon Center 2F Wireless Club, with no cables required. The Whipped Dream must be held during the trade. Bring one over from a sibling Gen 3 game if needed.
In Sword & Shield, Swirlix does the job early-game if you need a Fairy type on your team. Evolve it into Slurpuff before the later gyms and it holds up fine through the story.
Game Availability
Introduced in X & Y, Swirlix has appeared in 6 games across 5 generations. Later debuts mean fewer total appearances, but it's been a consistent presence since its introduction.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XYDebut
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves