In many Pokémon titles, Pokémon training is synonymous with Pokémon breeding. It is, after all, the fastest and most cost-effective way to procure Pokémon with near-perfect IVs. It’s no different in Pokémon Sword and Shield. However, successful breeding in the game is largely contingent upon your possession of a few key items, the most important of which is the Destiny Knot. Here’s everything you need to know about where to find the Destiny Knot and how to effectively use it to breed battle-ready Pokémon.
Destiny Knot Sword And Shield - What Does It Do?
It’s clear that the Destiny Knot plays an important role in the breeding process, but what exactly does it do? The chief advantage of using a destiny knot when breeding your Pokémon lies in its ability to guarantee five parent-Pokémon IVs and a sixth random IV will pass down to any hatchlings. This makes it the most efficient way to build a Pokédex of Pokémon with max or close-to-max IVs.
Sword and Shield Destiny Knot Location
The Destiny Knot is easy to find in Pokémon Sword and Shield. That doesn’t mean it’s easy to get, however. First things first, you’ll have to basically complete the game in order to gain access to the battle tower. There, you’ll be able to compete and gain battle points that you can use to purchase various items like bottle caps, mints, and, of course, the Destiny Knot.
Once you’ve traversed the formidable terrain of the Galar Region and accrued at least 10 BP in the battle tower, head over to Pokémon center in Hammerlocke. Once inside, on the right-side wall of the center stands a woman who sells various items. From here, you’ll be able to purchase the Destiny Knot for 10BP (you can carry multiple Destiny Knots at once).
It will take you a few battles to gain enough points for a Destiny Knot when starting out, but that will quickly change as you begin to win more battles. The number of battle points you receive after each fight is a reflection of your tier ranking. The Master Ball tier, for instance, rewards trainers with 50 BP while the Beginner tier rewards only three. Use this battle tower guide to level up quickly.
How To Use The Destiny Knot In Pokémon Sword And Shield
In Breeding: Using the Destiny Knot in the breeding process is pretty straight forward. Like most items, you simply equip the Pokémon you are breeding with the item before dropping them off at the nursery. You can give the item to either parent and five IVs will be taken at random from from the combined 12 stats. An obvious way to control for that process is by breeding your Pokémon of choice with high IV Dittos. Dittos can be found around the Galar region, but there are a few sure-fire ways to catch a perfect Ditto.
Using the Destiny Knot in tandem with a few other choice items is a great way to increase your odds of hatching a strong Pokémon or simply speed up the hatching process. For instance, having a Pokémon with the flame body ability lets you reduce the number of steps that it takes for an egg to hatch. Carkol, which can be found in the Galar Mine, is an example of one such Pokémon. An oval stone will also help you use the daycare more efficiently by increasing the frequency at which eggs spawn.
It’s important to note that not all items will create genetically transferable character traits. You can farm or purchase special herbs and mints that let you change the nature of your Pokémon’s effects, but mints only change the nature of the Pokémon’s effects, not the nature of the Pokémon itself. So, if you have a Pokémon with an adamant nature, it will always produce offspring of that nature regardless of which mints you feed it. To pass down nature to Pokémon’s offspring, you’ll need an everstone.
In Battle: The destiny knot can also be used during battle to cause infatuation. While using the Destiny Knot, you can coerce your opponent into becoming infatuated with you, rendering them momentarily defenseless.
Destiny Knot Location In Isle Of Armour
Finding the Destiny Knot in the Isle of Armour DLC is as easy as heading over to the Workout Sea area and weeding through the grass for a moment or two. Watch this video for help finding the exact location:
