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Knowing where to find Pokemon Sword and Shield Watt Trader locations is important if you want to spend all your cash. Whether you're earning from glowing Poke Dens, catching Pokemon with a Brilliant Aura, or competing in the Rotom Rally, all those winnings are useless without somewhere to blow it. Which is why we've got where you can find all the Pokemon Sword and Shield Watt Traders here, including maps and images to help locate them all.
Watt Trader locations in Pokemon Sword and Shield
The Wild Area in Sword and Shield can be neatly split into three parts: the bottom area, which is where you first enter the Wild Area at the beginning of the game; the middle area, which connects the original starting point to plains teeming with stronger Pokemon via a bridge; and the top area, which leads to Hammerlocke City.
The reason the Wild Area needs to be split into three for the sake of mapping it out is because it’s simply too big to fit on a single screen. As a result, we’ve taken the liberty to map the locations of every Watt Trader in Sword and Shield in each part of the overall Wild Area map:
As you can see, it’s actually the bottom area that has the most Watt Traders in close proximity to one another, with the middle area being the least densely populated. However, it’s important to check in with every Watt Trader regularly, so make sure to venture up into the top two thirds every so often, especially considering that you’ll likely bump into lots of other NPCs along the way.
What do Watt Traders offer?
There are a lot of NPCs in the Wild Area, but not a lot of Watt Traders. Most NPCs temporarily appear just to exchange a random item with you for 100 Watts. Sometimes you’ll luck out and get an evolution stone or a Wishing Piece. Sometimes, however, you’ll be stuck with a couple of small EXP candies, meaning that you lost some hard-earned Watts to a pointless gamble.
Watt Traders are a safer bet, for the most part. Every single Watt Trader has their own unique stock, but the general formula for what sort of items they carry is as follows:
- One kind of special Poke Ball, such as a Quick Ball, a Timer Ball, or a Net Ball.
- Wishing Pieces, which can be used on empty Poke Dens to attract a Gigantamax Pokemon and trigger a Raid
- A variety of TMs, or TRs in Sword and Shield, which are single-use items that can be used to teach Pokemon a new move (once it’s compatible with them, of course)
Special Poke Balls usually cost about 50 Watts each, whereas Wishing Pieces are 3,000 and TMs can range from 2,000 right up to 8,000, depending on rarity. Although these prices might seem steep to new players, it’s important to note that the amount of Watts you get from Poke Dens increases dramatically later in the game, to the extent that regular dens net you 200 Watts and Raid dens will give you a whopping 2,000.
If you’re stuck for Watts and can’t seem to find any new Poke Dens, be sure to check out our guide on all the Pokemon Sword and Shield den locations.
What else do Watt Traders offer?
On top of selling special Poke Balls, Wishing Pieces, and TMs, Watt Traders offer a wide range of other services.
First of all, they can enlist you in the Rotom Rally, a bicycle challenge that sends you racing across the Wild Area against the clock. First, you select your destination. Next you’re given a time limit, which obviously informs you of how long you have to finish the rally. Luckily, you don’t have to remember exact routes around the Wild Area: instead, the way will be paved with special boosters, which you can pick up to add more time to the clock. The more you have when you arrive, the more Watts you’ll be rewarded with, which you can then pump straight back into the Watt Trader who sent you off rallying in the first place.
You can also ask for a makeover, which allows you to change your sportswear. Although you can buy new clothes in the boutiques in certain cities, you’ll still don your regular Rotom biking getup when you’re cycling around Galar. Luckily, Watt Traders will allow you to change the colour of your outfit based on what the first Pokemon in your party is. For instance, if you have an Aegislash first, you’ll be offered Steel Type colour, Ghost Type colour, or the regular Rotom red you’re already sporting.
You can also improve your bike, although this is pricey. For 3,000 Watts, the turbo in your Rotom Bike will regenerate faster, meaning that you’ll be able to boost more often. However, this is invaluable when you’re spending long periods of time in the Wild Area, especially given that the bike slows down drastically when you cycle across water.
That’s it for the services provided by Watt Traders. They’re mostly just for funsies bits and bobs, but having access to Wishing Pieces and powerful TMs really is quite important, especially if you’re planning on getting into competitive battling at some point.
How to farm Watts in Pokemon Sword and Shield
Although Poke Dens net you thousands of Watts, they’ll eventually dry up for a bit if you’re playing regularly. The Rotom Rally isn’t a particularly good way of getting Watts either, so you’ll want to keep an eye out for one surefire way of racking up Watts in no time.
As you make your way through the Wild Area, you’ll come across Pokemon that are shrouded in a sort of yellow glow. This means they have a certain condition called Brilliant Aura, which marks them as distinct from ordinary Pokemon. If you manage to catch one of these Pokemon or defeat them in battle, you’ll be rewarded with lots of Watts—luckily, Brilliant Aura Pokemon aren’t even that rare, so you’ll have more Watts than you know what to do within no time at all.
Once you’re happy with the amount of Watts you’ve accumulated, be sure to check in with every single Watt Trader, as they all have unique inventories and some are definitely better than others. Make sure to bookmark the maps above so you’re never stuck when it comes to finding Watt Traders in Sword and Shield.
Pokemon Sword and Shield Wild Area guide | Pokemon Sword and Shield Watt Trader locations | Pokemon Sword and Shield den locations
