Pokemon Sword and Shield

How to Whistle and Attract Flying Pokemon

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How to Whistle and Attract Flying Pokemon

Whistle on Water.jpg

Whistling is easy to do in this game. You just have to long press the left stick and a punctuation mark will appear above the Pokemon indicating that it has noticed you.

Flying Pokemon, especially those in water, are hard to attract. Sometimes they will hover above you and not come down making it will be impossible to reach them. However, they will come down to battle with you when you whistle, so you'll need this technique for sure to complete your Pokedex.

What is Whistling?

Whistling is a new technique used in the overworld in Pokemon Sword and Shield to attract the attention of Wild Pokemon. When you whistle, Pokemon will notice you and react depending on their behavior. Most Pokemon will come running towards you, while others will run away.

Whistle 2.jpg

After learning to crouch down to avoid engaging into unnecessary battles, Hop will teach you how to whistle after you beat him for the second time in battle.

Important Notes About Whistling

Meaning of Exclamation Points and Question Marks

Punctuation Marks

The Punctuation Marks appearing above Pokemon's heads – Exclamation Points (!) and Question Marks (?) – indicate how much each Pokemon noticed your presence after you whistle.

Pokemon with an Exclamation Point above their head have a higher chance of chasing you until you engage in a battle with it or run far enough away, while Pokemon with a Question Mark notice you, but are not as aggresive as others.

Whistling In The Tall Grass

Whistling While Crouching Down

While walking through tall grass, you might run into cumbersome random encounters when searching for a specific Pokemon. In these situations, you can hide your presence by crouching down, while simultaneously whistling to only attract Pokemon who appear on the map.

Using the Chime On the Rotom Bike

Whistling While Riding the Rotom Bike

In place of the whistle, your Rotom Bike is equipped with a chime on both land and water, having the same effect as your standard whistle. This can help you avoid wild Pokemon, as you can use the chime to draw Pokemon in one direction, then quickly go the other way on your bike.

Tips and Advice On Effective Whistling Strategy

Pokemon have different reactions when you walk through or near a grass area. Some will run after you, while others will avoid you or simply ignore you. You can get their attention by whistling and, depending on your strategy, use this to either attract or avoid pokemon.

Effective Whistling Strategy to Attract and Evade Pokemon
1 You can attract pokemon towards you and lead them out of the tall grass, then avoid them and go past. This will allow you to clear tall grass without dealing with encounters.
2 Some pokemon will only move close to you in encounter range. These pokemon mostly have question marks above their heads. You will generally have the option to choose to battle or not.
3 Ride your Rotom Bike and use the bike chime. You will have more chances to evade pokemon this way, by gathering them close and then veering out of the way.

Pokemon Sword and Shield Related Links

Wild Area and Raid Strategy

Pokemon Sword and Shield - List of Wild Areas and RaidsWild Area and Raid Strategy

The Crown Tundra Maps

Crown Tundra Wild Area Maps
Crown Tundra - Slippery Slope Map and PokemonSlippery Slope Crown Tundra - Frostpoint Field Map and PokemonFrostpoint Field Crown Tundra - GiantGiant's Bed
Crown Tundra - Old Cemetary Map and PokemonOld Cemetery Crown Tundra - GiantGiant's Foot Crown Tundra - Ballimere Lake Map and PokemonBallimere Lake
Crown Tundra - Dyna Tree Hill Map and PokemonDyna Tree Hill Crown Tundra - Frigid Sea Map and PokemonFrigid Sea Crown Tundra - Three-Point Pass Map and PokemonThree-Point Pass
Crown Tundra - Snowslide Slope Map and PokemonSnowslide Slope Crown Tundra - Path to the Peak Map and PokemonPath to the Peak Crown Tundra - Crown Shrine Map and PokemonCrown Shrine
Crown Tundra - Lakeside Cave Map and PokemonLakeside Cave Crown Tundra - Roaring-Sea Caves Map and PokemonRoaring-Sea Caves Crown Tundra - Tunnel to the Top Map and PokemonTunnel to the Top

The Isle of Armor Maps

Isle of Armor Wild Area Maps
Isle of Armor - Fields of Honor Map and PokemonFields of Honor Isle of Armor - Soothing Wetlands Map and PokemonSoothing Wetlands Isle of Armor - Forest of Focus Map and PokemonForest of Focus
Isle of Armor - Challenge Beach Map and PokemonChallenge Beach Isle of Armor - BrawlersBrawlers' Cave Isle of Armor - Loop Lagoon Map and PokemonLoop Lagoon
Isle of Armor - Stepping-Stone Sea Map and PokemonStepping-Stone Sea Isle of Armor - Insular Sea Map and PokemonInsular Sea Isle of Armor - Honeycalm Island Map and PokemonHoneycalm Island
Isle of Armor - Honeycalm Sea Map and PokemonHoneycalm Sea Isle of Armor - Potbottom Desert Map and PokemonPotbottom Desert Isle of Armor - Warm-Up Tunnel Map and PokemonWarm-Up Tunnel
Isle of Armor - Training Lowlands Map and PokemonTraining Lowlands Isle of Armor - Challenge Lowlands Map and PokemonChallenge Road Isle of Armor - Courageous Cavern Map and PokemonCourageous Cavern
Isle of Armor - Workout Sea Map and PokemonWorkout Sea

The Isle of Armor Wild Area

All Wild Area Maps

Rolling FieldsRolling Fields Dappled GroveDappled Grove West Lake AxewellWest Lake Axewell
AxewAxew's Eye GiantGiant's Seat South Lake MilochSouth Lake Miloch
East Lake AxewellEast Lake Axewell Watchtower RuinsWatchtower Ruins Motostoke RiverbankMotostoke Riverbank
Stony WildernessStony Wilderness Bridge FieldBridge Field Dusty BowlDusty Bowl
GiantGiant's Mirror GiantGiant's Cap Lake of OutrageLake of Outrage
Hammerlocke HillsHammerlocke Hills North Lake MilochNorth Lake Miloch

All Raid Boss Locations

Pokemon SWSH - All Raid Boss Locations
Location of Each Raid Boss by Generation

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