Pokemon Sword and Shield fossil guide – Combinations, locations, species

David Purcell
Fossil Pokemon in Sword and Shield

Finding fossils can be a difficult task in any new region, but don’t worry, we’re going to show you the locations of every fossil in Pokemon Sword and Shield. We’ll even show you what they turn into! 

The Galar Region is a vast piece of land and nobody knows that more than the players looking to catch ’em all in Nintendo’s latest installment to the Pokemon video game series.

There are a number of different hidden tricks and secrets, including a very strange way to evolve Yamask, but finding fossils is actually one of the simpler tasks to complete. The good thing about it, too, is that you will be able to check off a handful of species from your Pokedex after collecting them.

Pokemon / Nintendo
The Digging Duo will help you find fossils in Pokemon Sword and Shield!

For those who aren’t aware already, there are four different types of fossils in Pokemon Sword and Shield, two of which are exclusive to each title. Therefore, depending on which game you’re playing on, the options available to you will be different. So, let’s take a look at the four fossils available in-game.

All Pokemon Sword and Shield fossils

  • Fossilized Dino – Pokemon Sword
  • Fossilized Bird – Pokemon Sword
  • Fossilized Drake – Pokemon Shield
  • Fossilized Fish – Pokemon Shield

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Head over to the Digging Duo’s location!

These fossils will be given to you at random while digging for them in the Wild Area. To do this, simply walk over to two characters equipped with digging equipment, called the Digging Duo, and ask them if they could dig for you.

From there, you will have to pay them 500W each time they start an excavation. Their location can be found below, which should help you get the ball rolling.

Pokemon / Nintendo

Pokemon fossil combinations

In order to get a Pokemon from the fossils you have collected, you’re going to need to hand over two of them at a time to a character called Cara Liss.

If you’re wandering around Route 6, you will bump into her at some stage. She looks after the fossils in the game and interacting with her will start the process of recovering Pokemon from your fossils. The full list of fossil combinations can be found below.

  • Fossilized Bird and Fossilized Dino makes an Arctozolt 
  • Fossilized Bird and Fossilized Fish makes an Arctovish 
  • Fossilized Drake and Fossilized Dino makes a Dracozolt 
  • Fossilized Drake and Fossilized Fish makes a Dracovish

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As you can’t find them in the wild in the Galar Region, not everybody will be familar with each of the new fossil Pokemon. It’s fair to say that they look a bit funkier than what we’ve come to expect in previous generations.

Arctozolt 

After seeing the likes of Aerodactyl, Armaldo, Kabutops and many other powerful-looking creatures recovered from fossils in the past, perhaps we were spoiled.

Our first fossil Pokemon profile is Arctozolt, an ice/electric-type Pokemon. While it might look a lot cuter than its counterparts from generations gone by, that is certainly an interesting combination for any player to have in their team. It’s also worth noting that it doesn’t evolve.

Pokemon / Nintendo

Arctovish 

Arctovish is like nothing we’ve ever seen before in Pokemon. Actually, the same could probably be said for each of these new fossil species, each boasting a particularly striking appearance.

This Pokemon, which is produced by mixing both the bird and fish fossil as we mentioned earlier, is water/ice-type and also doesn’t have any further evolutions.

Pokemon / Nintendo

Dracozolt 

While this might look a little like Arctozolt from Pokemon Sword, this character – who is only available on Shield unless you make some fossil trades between titles– is a very different type of Pokemon indeed. It’s an electric/dragon-type.

Pokemon / Nintendo

Dracovish

Finally, let’s take a look at the final fossil Pokemon in our list. Just like the others, you guessed it, it doesn’t evolve.

Dracovish is a water/dragon-type with a strong set of legs and jaws. While it might look like an odd combination of both a dinosaur and fish at first glance, you won’t want to be on the receiving end of an attack from this powerful species.

Pokemon / Nintendo

So, there you have it! Now, you know where to find the fossils in Pokemon Sword and Shield, what combinations to use to make sure you end up with the one you want, and even have a profile of each of them!

Hopefully we’ve helped you decided which one you want to recover first from a fossil and good luck scratching all four of them off your Pokedex.

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About The Author

David is the former US Managing Editor at Dexerto.com. You can contact him via email: david.purcell@dexerto.com.