Can The Oval Charm Pokemon Sword Be Obtained In DLC Content?

Lately I've been checking threads and patch notes, and I get why this question keeps popping up: the Oval Charm is a tiny little thing with big breeding implications. In my experience, the Oval Charm increases the chance of the Pokémon Nursery producing eggs — it's basically a quality-of-life item for breeders that speeds up getting more eggs. That makes it one of those items people beg for in updates because it directly cuts down the grind for competitive and shiny breeding alike. Looking at how 'Pokémon Sword' received content historically — the two paid expansions, little post-launch patches, and occasional event distributions — I'd say the most realistic ways the Oval Charm could appear are as a part of a special event, a mystery gift, or tucked into a future patch if the developers decide to rebalance breeding convenience. If Nintendo or Game Freak had plans, they usually announce on official channels or drop it quietly via event distributions. For now I'm cautiously hopeful but not counting on it; I've built my breeding routines around patience anyway, so if it eventually shows up I'll be thrilled, but I won't let it ruin my fun until then.

This is one of those questions that makes breeding feel delightfully efficient: yes, the Oval Charm in 'Pokémon Sword' and the Destiny Knot do different jobs, so they absolutely stack. The Oval Charm is a key item you get after progressing in the story that increases how often Day Care/Nursery will produce eggs while you’re riding around. It doesn’t touch IVs or inheritance rules — it just helps you get more eggs in less time. The Destiny Knot, on the other hand, is a held item for one of the parents that changes IV inheritance: instead of three IVs being passed down from the two parents, five IVs get inherited, which is huge when you’re aiming for competitive spreads. Because one affects egg frequency and the other affects which IVs transfer, you can and should use both together when you’re breeding for perfect Pokémon. I’ve been doing sprinter runs of egg hatching with the Oval Charm and letting a Destiny Knot do the heavy lifting on IVs, and it feels way less grindy — very satisfying when a nearly perfect hatch pops out.

I got this by poking around every nursery and talking to every NPC until something clicked: the Oval Charm in 'Pokemon Sword' comes from the person who runs the Pokémon Nursery on Route 5 (the Bridge Field area of the Wild Area). Talk to the nursery attendant — she’s the one associated with egg breeding — and she’ll hand over the Oval Charm, which boosts your chances of getting eggs when two compatible Pokémon are left at the nursery. If you care about breeding, this little trinket is golden: it doesn’t change IVs or nature, but it cranks up egg frequency so you spend less time staring at the overworld waiting for that next hatch. I kept it tucked into my bag the whole postgame while I hatched for competitive spreads, and it saved me a ton of time. Worth hunting down if you’re trying to fill a team or breed a shiny—small thing, big payoff, and the nursery lady’s always worth a chat. I still smile when I remember the first clutch of perfect eggs I got with it.

Alright, here's the short guide I wish I'd had when I was hunting for it: the Oval Charm in 'Pokémon Sword' isn't something you usually stumble on in the first few towns. It’s effectively a late-game/post-game convenience item — traditionally handed out once you've completed big Pokédex milestones or triggered certain post-story events. That means you can't reliably find it sitting in a chest or sold in a shop early on by normal progression. That said, if you really want it early, the practical routes are multiplayer and community trades. I’ve snagged one within my first few hours of post-game by offering a decent trade in online forums and raid lobbies. Another realistic option is to take advantage of trading with friends or joining Discord/Reddit communities where people often hand out handy items like Oval Charms. Lastly, keep an eye on official Mystery Gift/Max Raid event drops — sometimes the game devs distribute items that make breeding and collection easier. For my part, I waited until after finishing most story content and then traded for one; breeding became noticeably faster and more fun. It’s not strictly early-game material, but with a little social effort you can get it much sooner than solo play would allow.

the Oval Charm is one of those quality-of-life things that makes the whole process less grindy. The straightforward bit: the Oval Charm raises the chance that the Day Care/Nursery will produce an egg when you leave two compatible Pokémon together. It does not change how many steps an egg needs to hatch, and it does not affect shiny odds or the chances of particular IVs or natures coming out. Practically, that means if you want more eggs per hour, the Oval Charm is a big help — you get eggs more frequently so you can keep collecting and hatching. To actually hatch eggs faster, you need a Pokémon with Flame Body or Magma Armor in your party (those abilities reduce the number of steps required) and to move around a lot on your bike. Also remember you can only receive a new egg if there isn't already one waiting at the Nursery, so pick up eggs often. I always pair Oval Charm with a hatch-team and some bike riding routes and the whole breeding session feels so much smoother.

If you’re hunting for Raikou in 'Pokémon Sword', the short truth is: it won’t show up in the base game — you need the Crown Tundra DLC. I’m in my thirties and still get that giddy, kid-like rush when a legendary finally shows up, so I’ll walk you through the practical route I used (and the little tips I learned after a dozen retries). Basically, install 'Crown Tundra', head to the Max Lair, and run Dynamax Adventures — Raikou is one of the possible legendaries you can encounter at the end of those runs. Once you’ve got 'Crown Tundra' installed, go to the Max Lair (it’s part of the new area the DLC adds) and talk to the folks running the place to start a Dynamax Adventure. The adventure is a short series of Max Raid-style battles where you and up to three partners fight through 3-4 encounters, each time picking a rental Pokémon (you can’t bring your own). The final battle of the run is a legendary Pokémon — and Raikou is in that pool. Because the pool is randomized, you might get something else (Entei, Suicune, or any number of legendaries) instead of Raikou, so expect to repeat the run until the game spits out Raikou as the final encounter. A few practical tips that helped me: save your game before you begin a run so you can restart the whole session if you want to try again from scratch, and play with friends or online teammates if you can — coordinated teams make the run faster and reduce wipe anxiety. For the catch itself, remember you don’t control the rental team outside the battle menu, so your final battle options are limited; try to pick or keep teammates who have moves that can inflict status (sleep or paralysis) or lower HP — status boosts catch odds a lot. Bring lots of Quick Balls (first-turn Quick Balls are lovely) and Timer Balls if the fight drags on. If you get Raikou but it’s on an undesirable nature or IVs, you can always soft-reset and try again if you saved beforehand, or just keep running until one drops with better stats — RNG is a brat, but persistence pays. If you’d rather skip random runs, trading is another path: if someone in your friends list caught a Raikou in their copy of 'Pokémon Shield' or 'Pokémon Sword', you can trade, or use cloud services like Pokémon HOME to move legendaries between compatible games if both games support it. Remember Raikou can’t be bred, so trading/catching are the only ways. Personally, I did a half-dozen Dynamax Adventures with a slice of pizza and a podcast on in the background before I finally snagged one — that moment of “ball shake… shake… shake” still felt great. If you try a run, bring patience and a comfy chair, and the odds will swing in your favor eventually.

The buzz around Pokémon DLCs always gets me hyped! While Game Freak hasn't officially confirmed if the last Pokémon will appear in the next DLC, there's some juicy speculation to unpack. Dataminers found unused code in the base game that hints at potential new additions, and past DLCs like 'The Crown Tundra' introduced legendaries that felt like grand finales. The community's torn—some think it'll be saved for a future game to build anticipation, while others argue it'd be a missed opportunity not to include it as a DLC climax. Personally, I'd love a surprise reveal mid-DLC storyline, maybe hidden behind a ridiculously hard raid battle or lore-heavy quest. Remember how 'Pokémon Sword and Shield' handled Zacian and Zamazenta? That kind of theatrical rollout would be perfect. Either way, I'm refreshing Serebii.net daily for leaks!

If you're hunting down a Destiny Knot in 'Pokémon Sword', there are a few reliable routes I always tell friends about — and some grindy ones for completionists. The fastest, most predictable way is to use Battle Points: the Battle Tower shop regularly stocks key breeding items, and Destiny Knot is typically available there in exchange for BP. If you’ve been chaining Tower runs or doing the competitive ladder, that BP pileup suddenly feels worth it. For a more old-school scavenger vibe, check the Wild Area. Destiny Knot can show up in overworld item balls and in certain digging / treasure routines run by the Wild Area Digging Duo. I’ve rescued more than one Destiny Knot out of those holes after a lazy afternoon of coop den raids. Also, some wild Pokémon can hold rare items — it’s a low-percentage drop, but fainting and checking the loot or using Thief/Knock Off on targets can net you one eventually. So if you’re someone who likes wandering and picking up every shiny sparkle on the ground, the Knot turns up there too. Why bother? Destiny Knot changes the whole breeding workflow: it makes offspring inherit five IVs randomly from both parents, which is why competitive breeders place it on a parent instead of letting pure randomness run wild. Pair it with an Everstone on the other parent to lock Nature, and use a good Ditto, and you’ll see your IV-targeting speed spike. Personally, I mix strategies: BP purchase for a guaranteed copy so I can immediately start breeding, then go back and hunt a better one from digging or wild drops if I want extras or a lucky held drop. It’s satisfying when you finally see that perfect 31 spread after a few cycles — like hitting a small personal jackpot.

I get asked this a lot when folks are starting a fresh run of 'Pokémon Sword' or 'Pokémon Shield' — so here’s the short-but-clear scoop and a few friendly tips from my playthroughs. Oddish itself always evolves in the same way across both games: it becomes Gloom at level 21, and then Gloom has two possible routes. Use a Leaf Stone on Gloom to get 'Vileplume', or use a Sun Stone to get 'Bellossom'. There aren’t any Galarian or version-exclusive evolutions for Oddish in these titles, so the choice of final form is entirely yours rather than tied to which cartridge you picked up. Where it gets fun is the decision-making. I’ve delayed evolving Oddish a few times because I wanted a Gloom to learn a specific move before applying a stone — you can totally do that. In battle roles, Vileplume tends to lean toward that classic bulky, status-inducing grass type vibe, while Bellossom has a different feel and movepool leaning more into special attacking and support. If you’re into aesthetics or a team theme, that often decides it for me: I once made a whole floral-themed squad and picked Bellossom for the soft palette. Remember also that evolution stones and the ability to trade or breed give you flexibility — if one stone’s scarce early on, you can always come back later or trade for the form you want. Practical tip: an Everstone will stop evolution if you want to keep Gloom for a bit, and checking move tutors/TMs in the area helps you avoid losing a needed move on evolution. Personally, I usually evolve to Vileplume if I need a tank for raids and pick Bellossom if I’m doing a more niche or pretty-looking team — both have their charm, so go with what makes your team feel complete.

I still laugh a little thinking about how scheming and petty that whole Gringotts scene gets in 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'. I was re-reading that chapter on a rainy afternoon and the way Rowling lays down goblin culture made the whole bit land for me. Griphook wanted the Sword of Gryffindor because goblins consider things they make to be theirs, not the wizards’ property forever. Harry, Ron and Hermione strike a deal with him: help us break into Bellatrix’s vault and we’ll give you the sword. During the vault heist Griphook plays his part, but when the chaos of the escape comes he grabs the sword and bolts — claiming he’s simply reclaiming goblin-made property. It’s a raw, ugly little betrayal that actually makes sense from his perspective even if it stings for the trio. I always feel torn: it’s petty and heartbreaking, but you can see why he did it, and it adds so much moral texture to the scene.