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Pokemon Sword and Shield

Hard Stone Effect and How to Get It

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☆ Competitive Battle Guide

Hard Stone Effect and How to Get It

This is a page on the Battle Item Hard Stone and its location in Pokemon Sword and Shield, Isle of Armor, and the Crown Tundra DLC. Read on to see its effect, how to get it, and how to use it competitively.

List of Contents

Hard Stone Effect

Hard Stone ImageHard Stone
Effect An item to be held by a Pokemon. It's a durable stone that boosts the power of Rock-type moves.

How to Get Hard Stone

Obtain from the Digging Duo

Digging Duo.jpg
You have a chance to obtain Hard Stone from the Digging Duo located near the nursery in the Wild Area.

However, you have to pay 500 Watts for them to start digging up random items for you.

You will need lots of Watts for your target item to appear. Click the link below to learn how to get Watts easily.
How to Farm Watts Quickly

Obtain from Wild Pokemon

The following Pokemon may hold the item, Hard Stone. You can get it by using the move Thief or Trick.

Roggenrola ImageRoggenrola Boldore ImageBoldore Gigalith ImageGigalith Dwebble ImageDwebble Crustle ImageCrustle

How to Use Hard Stone

Hard Stone has some use for Rock-type Pokemon as it boosts Rock-type moves by 20% and also stacks with STAB.

This is a great way of fully maximizing the potential of offensive Rock-type Pokemon, though it will only benefit Rock-type moves and not power up moves that can cover its weaknesses.

Do note that the strongest Rock-type moves sometimes come with repercussions, usually leaving its user vulnerable.

Hard Stone vs Choice Item

A common crossroad you may encounter for offensive Rock-type Pokemon is choosing between Hard Stone or either Choice Band or Choice Specs.

Advantage Disadvantage
Hard Stone ・20% damage boost to Rock-type moves
・Can use all moves		 ・Only boost Rock-type moves
Choice Band or Choice Specs ・50% boost to Atk/Sp.Atk ・Locked to one move

In these situations, it is best to determine how offensive your Pokemon will be in battle.

If your Pokemon will only rely on one Rock-type move, then a Choice item will be the better option. If you think your Pokemon needs to use a coverage or any other move somewhere down the road, then let it hold Hard Stone.

Pokemon Sword and Shield Related Guides

All ItemsSee All Items
Types of Items
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Poke Balls.pngPoke Balls TRs.pngTRs TMs.pngTMs
Berries.pngBerries Evolutionary Stones.pngEvolutionary Stones Ingredients.pngIngredients
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