How to find & catch Goodra in Pokemon Sword & Shield

Brent Koepp
pokemon sword shield goodra

One of the harder Pokemon to find in Sword & Shield is the adorably disgusting Goodra. The slimy Dragon is extremely rare, but here is how you can quickly catch the majestic creature. 

The Pokemon series entered its eighth generation with the Nintendo Switch title Sword & Shield. The hit RPG made its debut in 2019, and introduced players to the Galar region for the very first time.

While many have already beaten the game, new Trainers might still be trying to find Goodra to complete their Pokedex. Here is is the quickest way you can catch the majestic slimy Dragon.

pokemon goodra pokedex entry
The gooey Dragon has an insanely low spawn rate in Pokemon Sword & Shield.

How to get Goodra in Pokemon Sword & Shield

Goodra made its debut in the sixth Generation titles X & Y in 2013. According to its Pokedex entry, the gooey Dragon often exhibits a “dazed” and “confused” look which Trainers find adorable. Its horns are said to hit “100 times harder than any blow from a heavyweight boxer.”

Its defining characteristic is its slime covered body, which oozes and drips off its arms and chin. The majestic creature can be found in Pokemon Shield, but doesn’t actually spawn in the overworld at all. However, its second evolution Sliggoo does, and has a 2% rate.

While Goodra is rare to obtain, we have the quickest steps to making the Dragon part of your team. Note: you need the Rotom bike to have the water riding upgrade, which you get on Route 9.

lake of outrage pokemon sword shield map
The only way to get Goodra is to go to the Lake of Outrage.

How to catch Goodra in Pokemon Shield

  • Step 1: Go into System Settings on your Switch. Then scroll down to System and click Date & Time. Turn Synchronize Clock via Internet off. Change your date to November 1, 2020.
  • Step 2: Load your game up and fast travel to Hammerlocke Hills. Then head to the Lake of Outrage on your map. You will need to cross the body of water, and upon arrival it should be thunderstorm weather due to the change in date.
  • Step 3: Run around in the tall grass, avoiding the Pokemon in the overworld. Sliggoo ONLY spawns as a surprise battle. Look for a red explanation mark and run towards it. Keep repeating this until the gooey creature appears. It only has a 2% spawn rate, so it might take a while.
  • Step 4: Once you encounter Sliggoo, it is recommended you use a Pokemon with False Swipe, Paralyze, or Sleep moves to increase your catch chance.
  • Step 5: Your Sliggoo should be level 50, so use a Rare Candy to level it up. Since it’s already a thunderstorm, the monster should evolve to Goodra – as the Dragon only evolves in the rain at level 50 and above.
random encounter pokemon sword shield
It has to be specific weather.

The Kalos monster’s second evolution only spawns on the Lake of Outrage during thunder. So it’s important you follow the instructions in step 1. Unfortunately, the Gen VI creature is exclusive to Pokemon Sword. Those wanting to catch Goodra without evolving can only find him in Max Raid battles.

According to Serebii, the ‘mon can be found in five 5-star Max Raid battles if you have the Isle of Armor DLC. The expansion added three more locations for a total of five dens. Although we still find the Lake of Outrage evolution method to be much quicker.

Raid Den locations

  • Axew’s Eye
  • Rolling Fields

Isle of Armor Dens

  • Loop Lagoon
  • Workout Sea
  • Honeycalm Sea
goodra max raid battle
Goodra only spawns in Max Raid battles, so the quickest way to obtain it is to catch its second evolution Sliggoo.

As mentioned above, Goodra is only available in Shield. However, Sword players got the wildly popular Dragon Kommo-o. So a great way to get each monster is to have two Trainers who need each one to swap.

Despite releasing in November 2019, the Gen VIII RPG has been a smash hit and has already become the third highest-selling title in the Pokemon franchise.

Related Topics

About The Author

Brent is a former writer at Dexerto based in the United States, who covered topics such as Pokemon, Gaming, and online Entertainment.