Dina Bader: Here's the best way to get a Grapploct in Pokémon Sword and Shield

Completing the Pokédex and catching all the cool-looking Pokémon is one of the biggest drives for Pokémon fans. If you've been playing Sword and Shield for a while, you might have noticed that Clobbopus and Grapploct are especially difficult to capture. That's because they have tiny catch rate percentages. We'll walk you through the best way for catching either of them and will also explain how to evolve a Clobbopus into Grapploct.

Where to get Clobbopus and Grapploct

Clobbopus and Grapploct both spawn on Route 9, both in the icy water and on land. Both evolutions can appear in any kind of weather, however, their spawn rate is only 30%, so they can be a lot harder to come across than some other Pokémon.

You're far more likely to get a Clobbopus to stay inside your Poké Ball since it has a catch rate of 33.8% while Grapploct's catch rate is only 11.9%. For this reason, it might just be easier to catch a Clobbopus and then make it evolve rather than catching a Grapploct and a Clobbopus. But, if you're specifically wanting to catch a Grapploct we've got you covered.

How to catch Clobbopus or Grapploct

Before you go hunting for either of these Pokémon, try to have plenty of Ultra Balls, Quick Balls, Dream Balls, and Timer Balls handy:

Ultra Balls: Have a higher success rate than most other Balls.
Quick Balls: Are more likely to succeed if used at the start of battle.
Dream Balls: Make it easier to catch a Pokémon that has been put to sleep.
Timer Balls: The more turns there are in battle, the more likely this Ball is to work.

There are a few different ways to go about catching a tricky Pokémon. Here are some ideas to try:

Contrary to what it might seem, Clobbopus and Grapploct are solely Fighting-type Pokémon and aren't Water-types at all. This means that they are strong against Normal, Ice, Rock, Dark, and Steel-types but weak against Poison, Flying, Bug, Ghost, and Psychic-types. You'll want to use this to your advantage when fighting them. Clobbopus in this area will be between level 39 and level 43 while the Grapploct will be around level 50.

Try to have a high-level Pokémon on your team that can put others to sleep. When Clobbopus or Grapploct appear in battle, try throwing a Quick Ball at them first thing. If they break out, work on lowering their health until it's in the "red" zone. Once their health has been sufficiently reduced. Try to have your Pokémon put them to sleep. Once asleep, try using a Dream Ball on them. If they break out, repeat the process. Should this pattern repeat for several turns try whipping out a Timer Ball. You can also use Ultra Balls at any point in the battle as they have a higher success rate than many other Poké Balls.

How to evolve Clobbopus into Grapploct

Once you have a Clobbopus in your party, getting it to evolve into Grapploct is really easy. It just needs to know Taunt, which it learns at level 35. Since the Clobbopus you meet in this area will be level 39 or higher, many of them will already know Taunt, but some won't. If you have a Clobbopus under level 35, level it up until it reaches level 35, make sure it learns Taunt, and then level it up once more and the evolving cut scene will begin.

If your Clobbopus is over level 39 and doesn't know Taunt, take it to a Pokémon Center and talk to the man behind the counter on the left. He can help Clobbopus remember this TR. Once it remembers Taunt, get it to level up once more and then it should start to evolve.

If you want Clobbopus to evolve before level 35, you can purchase Taunt from a Watt trader (the guys in black and white attire) in the Wild Area for 2000W. Just keep in mind that a Watt trader's inventory randomly changes each day, so you might have to check back for a few days before you find a Watt trader that has it in stock.

Once you've purchased Taunt, teach it to your Clobbopus, and then give him a rare candy or battle with him enough that he levels up once more. This will begin the evolution cut scene and then you'll have your Grapploct. If you want multiple Grapploct, it's much easier to breed Clobbopus and evolve them into Grapploct than it is to catch another one.

Another fighter in your corner

Now you know the best way to capture a Clobbopus or a Grapploct as well as how to evolve the former into the latter. There are hundreds of exciting Pokémon for you to catch in the Galar region. Have fun on your journey. We hope you're able to catch all of the creatures you set your eyes on.