One of the most popular and most sought-after Pokémon in the new Sword & Shield games is Dreepy, which will eventually evolve into the powerful and competitive Dragapult. This Ghost/Dragon-type line is the new pseudo-legendary, a category of Pokémon that are so powerful that they are on par with real Legendaries.
If you’re looking to get your hands on a Dreepy and evolve it into the powerful Dragapult, here are a few tips for catching one and evolving it. Besides this, there are a few other interesting things about this Pokémon and its evolutionary relatives.
10 Evolve
The Dreepy family all evolve at pretty high levels, coming close to taking the top spot away from their Generation V pseudo-legendary peers in the Deino family, but not quite. In order to earn yourself a Dragapult, you’ll need to level the Dreepy up to level 50, where it’ll evolve into a Drakloak. From there, it will then evolve into Dragapult at level 60.
Easy ways to level up your Pokémon in the Generation VIII games are plentiful, with some of the best being EXP candies earned from Max Raid Battles and playing with them while camping.
9 Evolution Level Record
Even though they don’t quite take the top spot for the highest evolution level (Zweilous holds this by evolving into Hydreigon at level 64), the Dreepy family still has an interesting record for evolution level.
With only ten levels between the evolution into Drakloak and then Dragapult, the Dreepy family has the lowest relative evolution levels between the base and final stage. Most of the time, it’ll feel like your Dragapult was only a Drakloak for a quick minute, seeing as the Dreepy > Drakloak and Drakloak > Dragapult evolutions are so close to one another.
8 How to Catch
If you want to evolve a Dreepy into a Dragapult, you’ll first need to catch one. They’re not the easiest catch, so you’ll have to be prepared to work a little.
Head to the Lake of Outrage in the Wild Area. If the weather is foggy or cloudy, there is a 1 percent chance you can find Dreepy in the grass. If it’s thunderstorms, that bumps up to a 2 percent chance. The easier alternative is to find Drakloak as an overworld spawn in those weather conditions, plus some others.
7 Enjoys Being Launched
Dragapult and Drakloak’s designs include small Dreepy that look like they’re about to be shot from a cannon. And indeed, they are. What some might not know though, is that the Dreepy actually enjoy being launched and even look forward to it, so it’s presumably humane.
In Dragapult’s Shield Pokédex entry, it’s stated that Dreepy looks forward to being launched at “Mach speeds.” Hey, if they’re happy, then who is against it?
6 Type Effectiveness
As far as type matchups go, Dragon and Ghost together definitely have a weird quirk. Originally associated with Giratina, it’s been pointed out by many fans that the two types are the only two that are super-effective against themselves.
Ghost is super-effective against Ghost, while Dragon is super-effective against Dragon (and only Dragon). This is an interesting quirk that the Dreepy family now boasts as well, and the only matchup that can have this unique status.
5 Drakloak
Like Dreepy, Drakloak has some weird things associated with it. In its Pokédex entries, it’s explained that Drakloak has an obsessive tendency to care for Dreepy. In Sword, it’s stated that Drakloak will dote on Dreepy until they evolve.
In Shield, it’s said that it’s so focused on caring for a Dreepy on its head that it will substitute another Pokémon for a missing Dreepy. It seems Drakloak is willing to kidnap another Pokémon and force it to live on its head. Strange.
4 Prehistoric
Despite not being considered a fossil Pokémon alongside the likes of Aerodactyl, Aurorus, or Tyrantrum, it seems the Dragapult family lived long ago as well.
According to Dreepy’s Sword Pokédex entry, it is Ghost-type because it was “reborn,” and it now inhabits the areas it resided in during the prehistoric era. It’s unclear just how long ago this Pokémon would have lived compared to some other fossil Pokémon, but it might have been buds with a few of them (or prey).
3 Dragon Darts
Many Pokémon, especially in recent generations, have their own signature moves — moves that only they and members of the evolutionary family can learn. For the Dreepy family, this move is Dragon Darts, a multi-hit move that deals damage twice.
The implication with the move is that Dragapult fires out the two Dreepy on its head. Interestingly, the two “darts” can strike two different opponents, making this move unique.
2 Voted Most Popular
In early 2020, Nintendo hosted a popularity contest that they dubbed “Pokémon of the Year.” Tons of fans voted across the globe, with Greninja ultimately winning the contest, taking the top spot. However, the organizers decided to break down the most popular Pokémon of each generation.
In Generation VIII, Dragapult was voted the most popular Pokémon. This may be in part due to the fact that it’s a powerful pseudo-legendary Pokémon, but it also has a pretty interesting and cool design as well.
1 Shiny
There are very few Pokémon that incorporate another Pokémon into their design, but Dragapult is one of them. What makes this is interesting is the fact that the other Pokémon — in this case, Dreepy — will remain shiny if the Dragapult is. This isn’t the case for Pokémon like Slowbro, whose Shellder does not retain Shellder’s shiny coloring if the Slowbro is shiny.
The Dreepy on both Drakloak and Dragapult are shiny when the Drakloak and Dragapult are. Does this mean that Drakloak, which finds a Dreepy to care for, will only select shiny Dreepy if it itself is shiny? It’s unclear but interesting to think about.
NEXT: The 10 Best Shadow Pokémon, Ranked
