Restricted Sparring Walkthrough and Recommended Pokemon

This is a page for Restricted Sparring battle feature in the Isle of Armor expansion of Pokemon Sword and Shield. Read on to learn about what this feature is, its possible contents, and more!

What is Restricted Sparring?

Restricted Sparring is one of the new features introduced in the Isle of Armor DLC.

Restricted Sparring Features

Restricted Sparring has you choose one of the 18 Pokemon types and restricts you to 3 Pokemon like Singles matches in the Battle Tower or online. You will fight 5 matches at a time, and receive BP for each victory. Unlike in the Battle Tower, however, your Pokemon will not recover after each match, and instead you can choose to recover twice over the course of the set. If all your Pokemon are wiped out, you'll have to start the challenge from the beginning!

Recommended for advanced players

Although your Pokemon are limited to a certain type, your opponents will use Pokemon of all types, and there's no way to know what Pokemon you will be up against. Both your Pokemon and your opponents' will be set to Level 50, giving the player a significant disadvantage in attempting to take out five trainers in a row with limited healing.

These factors make Restricted Sparring comparatively more difficult than the Battle Tower, and players will need to prepare strong Pokemon in each type to win. Because the game keeps track of players' victories in each type, completing Ranked Battle with all types is a new goal for players who aim for 100% completion of post-game content.

Best Pokemon for Restricted Sparring

We're looking forward to hearing everyone's favorite Pokemon to use in Restricted Sparring! Let us know what team you used in the comments, and your party or Pokemon recommendation might appear in this guide!
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Fast, Powerful Attackers

Charizard	Galarian Darmanitan	Durant	Dracovish

As your team will not recover between each match, in Restricted Sparring, it's key to prevent your team from taking damage as much as possible. Having a fast and hard hitter who can sweep and defeat the opponent before it takes damage will make the battles go as smoothly as possible.

Pokemon with Wide Movepools

Hydreigon	Gyarados	Togekiss	Dragapult

Restricted Sparring limits your Pokemon to a single type, which can make it difficult to hit with moves outside of that type. Use Pokemon which can defy their typings to hit with a variety of moves, allowing them to counter their opponents.

Pokemon which are effective under the restricted rules

Mimikyu

Snorlax

Cinderace

Mimikyu

Mimikyu's Ability Disguise allows it to take the opponent's first attack with minimal damage. As this will allow it to prevent most damage once every battle, it's effective for weathering the multiple opponents in Restricted Sparring.

Gigantamax Snorlax

When Gigantamaxed, Snorlax can use G-Max Replenish, allowing it to restore a Berry which has already been used to its possession. Berries like the Iapapa Berry which restore HP can be brought back repeatedly, allowing it to extend its battling lifespan.

Cinderace

Cinderace's Hidden Ability Libero will allow it to switch its type to match its move. With high Speed and wide movepool, it can change types offensively and defensively and use any attack with STAB, allowing it to handle a variety of opponents no matter the type.

Pokemon which can be used for multiple Types

Rotom

Silvally

Rotom

Thanks to the Rotom Catalog, Rotom can change into one of five addiitonal forms, allowing this single Pokemon to cover 7 different typings, allowing it to compete in Restricted Sparring as any of its many types. Since Rotom is also a powerful Pokemon frequently used in competitive play, it can serve as a reliable mainstay for Restricted Sparring.

Silvally

Silvally can change the Memory it holds to change into any of the 17 Pokemon types, allowing it to compete in Restricted Sparring for any type. If you don't have a wide variety of powerful EV-trained Pokemon, having a single strong Silvally can serve as a substitute.

Pokemon of each type

To win Restricted Sparring in all types, you'll need to have a wide variety of Pokemon in each type who can participate.

List of Pokemon by Type
		-	-

Restricted Sparring Rewards

Each time you win Restricted Sparring with a new type, you'll receive 62 BP. This can be used to purchase a variety of items useful for competitive play at the Battle Tower.

Completing all Types yields a Mustard T-shirt

If you complete Restricted Sparring with all Pokemon types, you'll get a T-shirt with “Mustard” written on it. Prove to everyone who sees your character that you've got what it takes!

How to Prepare for Restricted Sparring

Since your opponents in Restricted Sparring have teams of random typings, it may be difficult for players to have a full team ready for any type of restriction and battle conditions, so players are encouraged to train more Pokemon to test how generalist they are!

If you need help on deciding what type of Pokemon to train, check our guides below to building some of the best teams in the game along with their movesets!

Click the link below for more details about the expansion pass from the Official Pokemon Sword and Shield site!

Official Pokemon Sword and Shield Site

Related Links

The Isle of Armor

All About The Isle of Armor DLC
Story Walkthrough	Isle of Armor Pokedex
Isle of Armor Maps	How to Get Kubfu
Cram-o-Matic	Max Soup
Towers of Two Fists	Post-Game Content
All Diglett Locations	All Dojo Upgrades
Finding Max Mushrooms	Best Style for Urshifu
Digging Pa	Digging Ma

New Features

• Restricted Sparring
• New Rotom Bike Upgrades

Tips & Tricks

• How to Get to the Isle of Armor
• Which Style of Urshifu Should You Choose?
• Should you Choose Bulbasaur or Squirtle?
• How to Get the Best Kubfu
• Get New Pokemon without Expansion Pass
• How to Get Armorite Ore Fast
• How to Find Apricorns
• How to Complete the Isle of Armor Pokedex
• Isle of Armor Useful Characters and Their Locations
• How to Beat Klara
• How to Beat Avery
• How to Beat Mustard
• Where to Find All Gym Leaders

Game Information

• How to Buy and Download
• Release Time
• How to Download the Isle of Armor Update
• Price & Cost
• All Preorder and Early Purchase Bonuses
• Is the Expansion Pass DLC Worth It?