Sirfetch’d #865: The Leek Knight Forged by Critical Hits

Galar's white knight. Sirfetch’d (Palarticho in French) is the eighth-generation Wild Duck Pokémon: a 0.8-meter duck that wields a giant leek as both lance and shield, and that earns its armor at the end of the region's most unusual evolution.

Contents

• Who is Sirfetch’d?
• Pure Fighting type, Abilities and weaknesses
• Evolution: three critical hits in a single battle
• The Leek and Meteor Assault, two exclusives
• Nobility, painting and a code of honor
• Sirfetch’d Fact Sheet
• Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Sirfetch’d?

Listed as #865 in the National Pokédex, Sirfetch’d is a white duck with a yellow bill and brown eyes, topped with a crest of three upright feathers. Its wings serve as hands, and it's no taller than its pre-evolution: this little knight still stands just 0.8 meters tall.

The real difference lies elsewhere. It carries an enormous Japanese leek in two parts: the sharpened stalk serves as a lance in its right hand, and the tough leaves as a shield in its left. And its weight jumps from 42 to 117 kilograms — it has nearly tripled in mass without growing a single centimeter.

The Pokémon Sword Pokédex sums up its legend: only the Farfetch’d that have survived many battles reach this stage of evolution, and if its leek withers, it retires from the battlefield. The Pokémon Shield entry details its technique: it parries with the edge of the vegetable, counterattacks with the tip of the stalk, and its weapon is also edible.

Pure Fighting type, Abilities and weaknesses

Sirfetch’d is a pure Fighting type, just like the Galarian form it evolves from, and its type chart makes for a short read. Three types deal double damage to it: Flying, Psychic and Fairy. Three others deal only half damage : Rock, Bug and Dark. The remaining twelve types hit it normally, and it has no immunities.

It has only one regular Ability, Steadfast, which raises its Speed when it flinches. Its hidden Ability, Scrappy, is far more aggressive: it lets its Normal- and Fighting-type moves hit Ghost-type Pokémon, which are normally immune to those attacks.

On the numbers side, everything is concentrated in a single arm: 135 Attack and 95 Defense, for a total of 507 points. With only 65 Speed, this knight rarely strikes first, but it strikes terribly hard.

Evolution: three critical hits in a single battle

That's what sets it apart. Sirfetch’d is the evolution of Galarian Farfetch’d, the Fighting-type regional form of #083, and its method is unlike any other in the Pokédex: you have to make it land three critical hits in the same battle, without fleeing or losing the fight.

No level threshold, no held item, no trade: the counter resets to zero with every new battle, and that's the whole challenge. Watch out for one trap, though — critical hits landed during a Max Raid Battle don't count.

The Kantonian Farfetch’d, a Normal and Flying type, doesn't evolve and isn't the evolution of any Pokémon: only the Galarian form leads to Sirfetch’d. Sirfetch’d, for its part, closes out its line and has neither a Mega Evolution nor a Gigantamax form.

The only Mega Evolution ever granted to a Pokémon of the eighth generation belongs toFalinks, obtained with the Falinksite in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Sirfetch’d doesn't get one.

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The Leek and Meteor Assault, two exclusives

Its signature item lives up to its name: the Leek, which was called the "Stick" before Sword and Shield. Held by a Farfetch’d, a Galarian Farfetch’d or a Sirfetch’d — and by no one else — it raises by two stages the critical-hit ratio of their moves.

Needless to say, it makes the evolution far more attainable. Combined with a move already known for its critical hits, such as Leaf Blade, it pushes the critical-hit ratio up to the fourth stage: since the sixth generation, that stage means a guaranteed critical hit with every attack.

Its signature move, on the other hand, has nothing to do with critical hits. Meteor Assault, which only it can learn, is a 150-power physical Fighting-type attack that forces it to rest for a turn afterward. It learns it at level 70 in Sword and Shield, and at level 60 in Pokémon Legends: Z-A.

Nobility, painting and a code of honor

Sirfetch’d is calm and reserved by nature, and prefers to fight fair. Its noble character makes it one of the favorite subjects of Galar's painters: one of the region's most famous works shows it dueling an Escavalier.

The vegetable it has carried for a very long time is its most prized possession. The Pokémon Legends: Z-A Pokédex puts it beautifully: this leek, which it grows with great care, is its reason for being, and it wields it gracefully to make a name for itself.

Its look is said to evoke Lancelot du Lac, the Knight of the Round Table who was nicknamed "the White Knight" before he revealed his identity. Its French name, Palarticho, reportedly blends paladin and artichaut (artichoke): enough to earn it a place of honor among the Pokémon figures as well as among the cuddly plushes.

Sirfetch’d Fact Sheet

Frequently Asked Questions

• How do you evolve Galarian Farfetch’d into Sirfetch’d?
  You have to make it land three critical hits in one and the same battle, without fleeing or losing the fight. No level threshold is required, and there's no mandatory held item and no trade. The counter resets to zero with every new battle, and critical hits landed during a Max Raid Battle don't count.
• Does the Leek help you get Sirfetch’d?
  Yes, a lot. The Leek, called the Stick before Sword and Shield, raises the critical-hit ratio of the holder's moves by two stages, and only Farfetch’d, Galarian Farfetch’d and Sirfetch’d can benefit from it. Paired with a move already known for its high critical-hit ratio, such as Leaf Blade, it reaches the fourth critical-hit stage, which has meant a guaranteed critical hit with every attack since the sixth generation.
• Why won't my Farfetch’d evolve into Sirfetch’d?
  Because it's most likely a Kantonian Farfetch’d, a Normal and Flying type. That one doesn't evolve at all and isn't the evolution of any Pokémon. Only the Fighting-type Galarian form can become Sirfetch’d. Yet both forms share the same National Pokédex number, 083, and the same Wild Duck Pokémon category.
• What are the weaknesses of Sirfetch’d?
  As a pure Fighting type, it takes double damage from three types: Flying, Psychic and Fairy. Three others deal only half damage to it: Rock, Bug and Dark. The remaining twelve types hit it normally, and it has no immunities.
• What are the Abilities of Sirfetch’d?
  One regular Ability and one hidden Ability. Steadfast raises the Pokémon's Speed when it flinches. Scrappy, the hidden Ability, lets its Normal- and Fighting-type moves hit Ghost-type Pokémon, which are normally immune to them. Its pre-evolution, Galarian Farfetch’d, has exactly the same two Abilities.
• Does Sirfetch’d have a Mega Evolution or a Gigantamax form?
  No, neither one. The only Mega Evolution granted to an eighth-generation Pokémon is Falinks's, triggered by the Falinksite in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Sirfetch’d isn't among the Pokémon that can Gigantamax either. Its only battle exclusive is its signature move, Meteor Assault.

In short

Three well-placed critical hits, a firmly held leek, and the most mocked duck in the Pokédex becomes Galar's knight. To this day, Sirfetch’d remains the only Pokémon whose evolution is earned at the tip of a lance.