Pokemon Sword & Shield has finally released the second DLC expansion, The Crown Tundra. This new story gives players a chance to visit an enormous winter paradise full of pokemon new and old. Many of these revisiting Pokemon are Legendary's from previous generations, and catching them happens to be the highlight of this DLC. Together with Peony, players can explore the Crown Tundra to unearth its secrets and obtain as many of these Legendary pokemon hiding away as they can. This guide will help players find and obtain Aritcuno, one of the famed bird legendary pokemon from the Kanto region.
Articuno was originally an Ice/Flying-type legendary pokemon, but its Glarian form has swapped out Ice for Psychic. Articuno is one of three powerful bird legendary Pokemon. In Kanto, Lugia had been something of their guardian and kept them under control. In Galar, however, they do not get along.
How to Find and Catch Articuno in Pokemon Sword & Shield
Articuno might be the most difficult of the 3 to catch due to its abilities and spawn location. First, players have to make their way to the Dyna tree toward the bottom of the map. It's an enormous pink tree that isn't hard to miss. Once players get there, a cut-scene will start showing Moltres, Articuno, and Zapdos not getting along. Afterward, they will split off and go to their own respective locations. Articuno is the only one that actually stays on the Crown Tundra while the others go to other areas in the Galar region.
Articuno will fly around the entire Crown Tundra landscape so players have to spend some time looking around before getting a chance to battle it. While there isn't an exact flight pattern, there is a higher chance of keeping up with it as it's flying toward Freezington from Giant's Bed. When players manage to get within contact range, Articuno plays a little trick. Articuno will employ a body double technique, creating 2 clones of itself. Afterward, all 3 of them will rotate in a circle at an extremely fast pace while slowing down over time. The real Articuno will raise its wings before dropping them down and spinning. The goal is attempting to maintain a visual on the real Articuno or get lucky by making a pretty good guess. If players fail to choose the correct one, the body doubles will disappear and Articuno will fly off somewhere else on the Crown Tundra. Choose correctly and battle Articuno in order to catch it. Saving immediately before choosing might be a good idea.
Pokemon Sword & Shield are available on Nintendo Switch.