Plenty of Pokémon out there have different forms, some, like Kalos’s Vivillon and Galar’s Alcremie, even have several of them. These forms can sometimes come with stat changes or type changes while others are purely cosmetic. Form changes are usually easy to spot, why have a form change if you can’t tell them apart, right? In Pokémon Sword and Shield, this logic is thrown out the window, as Sinistea and its evolution Polteageist have one of the smallest form differences we’ve seen in the Pokémon world. They even have different Pokédex entries for both forms!
Where to catch Sinistea
Outside of Max Raid Battles in Giant’s Mirror, Stony Wilderness, and Watchtower Ruins, wild Sinistea can only be found in Glimwood Tangle, but encountering one can prove difficult, as these Pokémon only appear during surprise “!” encounters in the grass. Sinistea only has a 10-percent chance of appearing and can be encountered between Levels 34 and 36. Other Pokémon that can appear during surprise encounters include Morgrem, Shiinotic, Hattrem, and Phantump, with the first two having 20-percent encounter rates — meaning you’ll likely run into these ‘mons a lot before encountering a Sinistea.
Chipped and Cracked Sinistea/Polteageist
Underside of Sinistea. Forgery on the left, authentic version on the right. (Source: Reddit.com)
In Galar, the tea cups and teapots inhabited by Sinistea and Polteageist are said to be extremely rare — the authentic versions of them, that is. There are several forgeries floating about, and that is the most common form of Sinistea and Polteageist that you’ll encounter. Players will have a 10-percent chance to find a forged Sinistea and a one-percent chance to find an authentic one.
Whoever is making all these fake tea sets is doing a darn good job though, as the two forms are nearly identical. The only way you can tell if your haunted tea is the real deal is a tiny stamp of authenticity on the underside of the cup or pot. This stamp is tough to see, as it’s usually only visible when the Pokémon Dynamaxes, when playing with Sinistea/Polteageist in Pokémon Camp, or for a split second during its standard animation. If you go into your Pokédex and press “A” to see more details, and then “A” for your Sinistea’s “Motion/Cry,” you should be able to move your buddy around to check, too.
How to evolve Sinistea into Polteageist
The stamp/mark isn’t the only difference between the two forms either. An authentic Sinistea will only evolve with the Chipped Pot, while a forgery will only evolve with a Cracked Pot. The Cracked Pot can be found at the top of a ladder in the north-east part of Stow-on-Side, near the gym. You can purchase additional Cracked Pots and also get your hands on a Chipped Pot at the Bargain Shop in Stow-on-Side, but you’ll have to wait for them to rotate into the shop in order to purchase it. Of course, a forgery Sinistea will stay a forgery once evolved into Polteageist, and an authentic Sinistea will evolve into an authentic Polteageist.
More Pokémon Sword and Shield guides
Want more help with Sword and Shield? Check out one of our other great guides to assist you through the games!
Written by Jaxson Tapp
As a lover of gaming and the written word, Jaxson currently fills his time not only with playing games, but also writing about them. Ready for anything, Jaxson’s passion for puzzle games, JRPGs, tough platformers, and whimsical indies helps him bring a well-rounded opinion to Nintendo Wire’s reporting.
