The UK-inspired Galar region is home to all sorts of people and Pokemon in Pokemon Sword & Pokemon Shield. This long island draws inspiration from its people, landmarks, and even the animals that call it home.
Like most places in the real world and video games, not every city and town is the same. While differences are important, some are better than others, whether it is the architecture, the people, or the weather.
Updated May 12, 2021, by Tom Bowen: With a pair of new Pokemon games expected before the end of 2022, to say that excitement is high among members of the Pokemon fandom would be a bit of an understatement. At the time of writing, however, very little is known about the region in which Pokemon Scarlet & Violet will take place, though some are speculating that it could be based on the Iberian peninsula, which encapsulates both Spain and Portugal. Whatever the case, one thing that's for certain is that the games' region will need to be pretty special if it's to outdo gen 8's Galar. After all, Sword & Shield feature some of the best locations in the history of the franchise, leaving Scarlet & Violet with some pretty big shoes to fill. For those looking to reminisce, these are the best towns and cities in Pokemon's Galar region.
12 Postwick
- Population: 5
- Points of Interest: Player's House & Hop's House
- Gym Leader: N/A
- Gym Badge: N/A
- Connecting Route: Route 1
It might be culturally different in the UK, but most places in the world would not qualify two farms as a town, especially when they are located roughly 500 feet away from another town. Postwick has a name because every starting town in Pokemon games has a name, not because it actually deserves township. Amazingly, someone had the audacity to call it a town, and even more amazing that anyone would listen to them. There is literally nothing besides the playable trainer's house and Hop's house.
As the location where one starts their journey in the Galar region, there is understandably not a lot going on in Postwick. However, just north of this farmstead along Route 1, players can potentially catch their first non-starter Pokemon. Bug-type Pokemon often get laughed at, later on, especially the ones that can be caught this early, however, they are not ones to be easily dismissed. One such Pokemon is Grubbin; who seems cute and harmless at first, though has slightly higher than average Attack and Special Attack stats that can allow it to be a decent ally in the beginning. There is also Caterpie, which can evolve twice before it reaches level 10, allowing players to breeze through much of the early game with a fully-evolved Butterfree with minimal experience-grinding.
11 Turffield
- Population: 36
- Points of Interest: Turffield Geoglyph & Turffield Stadium
- Gym Leader: Milo (Grass-Type)
- Gym Badge: Grass Badge
- Connecting Routes: Route 4 & Route 5
Like any tourist trap, Turffield exists purely as a way to monetize the natural wonder that is the Geoglyph. Despite the clever name for the city home to the grass gym, nothing else about Turffield is clever or interesting. It holds some shops and houses, so it does at least qualify as a city, despite its efforts. Home to a bunch of Wooloo and Milo, the grass gym leader who straddles the line between being incredibly adorable and possibly a serial killer, Turffield is ultimately forgettable.
There aren't any wild encounters possible in this town, however, there is a level-50 Crawdaunt hanging out near the end of the river located in Turrfield. Players will need a Rotom Bike to reach it, and when they do, they should show up with lots of healing items and Pokeballs, as this crustacean Pokemon only appears once.
10 Freezington
- Population: 9
- Points of Interest: Freeze Inn & Mayor's House
- Gym Leader: N/A
- Gym Badge: N/A
- Connecting Routes: N/A
Introduced as part of the Crown Tundra DLC, Freezington is perhaps more of a village than it is a town or a city, but that doesn't make it any less interesting to explore. The weather effects help to create a picturesque location in which players can relax and unwind from some of the stresses found elsewhere in the game. To this end, it certainly helps that only 9 people call Freezington home.
Players will first find themselves in Freezington as they embark upon their quest to uncover the three legendary clues. As well as being able to enable and disable walking Pokemon by speaking with a child in the village, players can also obtain several Mythical and Legendary Pokemon through their actions here. These include Calyrex, Glastrier or Spectrier, and Cosmog; the latter of whom can be obtained by speaking with the woman in the house to the southeast of the village after defeating Glastrier or Spectrier.
9 Motostoke
- Population: 120
- Points of Interest: Battle Cafe, Motostoke Stadium & Motostoke Station
- Gym Leader: Kabu (Fire-Type)
- Gym Badge: Fire Badge
- Connecting Route: Route 3
The industrial heart of Galar, Motostoke certainly holds economic and cultural value for the region but for a traveler, it's nothing more than a sprawling factory. The coolest part of the city is the gear-elevator that takes players to the stadium. Everything else makes players feel like they should be clocking in and picking up a shovel to put coal in a furnace. Not sure what architect was inspired by a coal-burning power plant enough to design one of the larger cities in the region after it but that person clearly had a fascination with steampunk aesthetics.
The only tiles that a Pokemon can be found in within Motostoke are water tiles, and only so via fishing. The Pokemon with the highest appearance rate at 50% is Magikarp, which, albeit quite mighty as a Gyarados, lacks immediate power. Chewtle is the next most easily encountered with a 40% appearance rate, and it is a fair bit more powerful right off the bat. Finally, with a low chance of showing up at 10%, is the Water and Ground dual-type, Barboach. Due to their typing and initial moves, they can be very handy against this town's Fire-type gym.
8 Wyndon
- Population: 157
- Points of Interest: Wyndon Stadium
- Gym Leader: N/A
- Gym Badge: N/A
- Connecting Route: Route 10
Using what barely constitutes as a pun for a name, Wyndon feels very lackluster as both a representation of London and as the pinnacle city of the region. Working through the gym challenge to be met with a city that is as sprawling as it is empty is disappointing. The game's obsession with designing Wyndon's monorail system was so focused that it forgot to include an actual city. Even the drawing of the city on the map shows just how little space is really being used compared to the space available. The city features no significant buildings that don't serve a gameplay function.
Players in need of a Dragon and Steel-type Pokemon should pay a visit to this city, specifically the eastern parts. Within a house along the major street, players will meet an artist willing to trade their level-50 Duraludon for a Frosmoth. This is a worthwhile trade for most trainers, as Duraludon is considerably more powerful against a greater number of adversaries than Frosmoth.
7 Wedgehurst
- Population: 31
- Points of Interest: Boutique, Pokemon Research Lab & Wedgehurst Station
- Gym Leader: N/A
- Gym Badge: N/A
- Connecting Routes: Route 1 & Route 2
Home to the only train station connecting the south side of the island with the rest, Wedgehurst is the only town in the game without a gym (it doesn't matter what Postwick claims, it's not a town). It's home to a humble berry merchant and a wonderful but shockingly high-end clothing boutique and the Pokemon Research Lab. This town is a wonderful example of small-town living and makes for a great place to start out and have fans fawn over Leon the Champion. This town might earn some significance if anything useful or interesting came out of the research lab, but most of their research is done by asking ten-year-olds about historical events.
After the version 1.1.0 update to Pokemon Sword & Shield, players have a chance to find a level-12 Galarian Slowpoke in this town. Only one can be caught, though don't worry about missing the chance to do so, as it immediately respawns if accidentally defeated or if the player flees from the encounter with them.
6 Hammerlocke
- Population: 102
- Points of Interest: Battle Cafe, Hamerlocke Stadium & Vault
- Gym Leader: Raihan (Dragon-Type)
- Gym Badge: Dragon Badge
- Connecting Routes: Route 6 & Route 7
The third "big-city" in the game, Hammerlocke is the green energy counterpart to Motostoke. The city houses a "massive" power plant underneath the Pokemon stadium that is home to the final gym leader, who wears shorts with a hoodie. The city is shaped similar to a V, with buildings shooting up and out on both sides of the gym. It features a treasure vault, that holds a couple of banners, an incredibly small power plant, and an academy that can't be entered but has the ghost of a dead girl outside it.
Hammerlocke is another city where players can find an interesting trade. In front of the treasure vault, trainers can encounter a woman willing to trade her adorable level-25 Fairy-type Pokemon Togepi for a Toxel. Considering this city is home to a Dragon-type gym, having an extra Fairy-type, albeit a relatively low-level one, can still be very useful due to this type's immunity to Dragon moves.
5 Stow-on-Side
- Population: 44
- Points of Interest: Bargain Shop, Collector & Stow-on-Side Stadium
- Gym Leader: Bea (Fighting Type) - Sword / Allister (Ghost-Type) - Shield
- Gym Badge: Fighting Badge / Ghost Badge
- Connecting Route: Route 6
Stow-on-Side, named after being on the side of a mountain, is the first time the Galar region starts to show signs of culture. A mountain town featuring antique sellers and buildings with a very different feel compared to the rest of the region. The town was built around a mural that is apparently ancient and not drawn by a five-year-old like it first appears. The town also features a different gym leader, depending on which version of the game players have. Sword features a fighting type and Shield features a ghost type, neither of which mesh with a city that looks perfect for a Ground-type.
Depending on the version the player has, there is also a useful trade to be found in Stow-on-Side. In Sword, a man sitting upon a roof towards the west of town will offer the player a level-30 Psychic-type Pokemon, Hatenna, in exchange for a Maractus. Since Stow-on-Side is home to a Fighting-type gym in this version of the game, this trade could benefit players lacking counters to Fighting-type Pokemon. In an equally useful manner, in Shield, this same gentleman will offer the player a level-30 Impidimp, which is a Dark and Fairy dual-type, in exchange for a Maractus. Pretty helpful, considering the Shield version of this town holds a Ghost-type gym.
4 Ballonlea
- Population: 31
- Points of Interest: Ballonlea Stadium
- Gym Leader: Opal (Fairy-Type)
- Gym Badge: Fairy Badge
- Connecting Routes: N/A
Despite the nonsense name, Ballonlea is one of the most unique towns ever in Pokemon. Located deep in the forest, the town is peppered with the massive tree trunks and lively glowing mushrooms of the area. It feels like a more modern version of the Smurf village. The only thing that throws this city for a bit of a loop is the fact that it is far too tiny to justify having its own gym, especially with how massive the stadium is. Making space in the forest for that monstrosity must have taken years and tons of resources.
Those trainers who consider themselves true completionists will likely need to spend quite a lot of time just south of this small, woodland town. This area just south, Glimwood Tangle, holds one of the rarest variations of a Pokemon in the whole game: an Antique form Sinistea. This teacup-shaped Ghost-type Pokemon comes in two forms: Phony and Antique. Despite both having the same moves, stats, and mostly the same appearance (Antique forms have a tiny mark underneath them on their base), the Antique form has a different pokédex entry, making it a must-have to complete the pokédex.
3 Spikemuth
- Population: 29
- Points of Interest: Spikemuth Stadium
- Gym Leader: Piers (Dark-Type)
- Gym Badge: Dark Badge
- Connecting Routes: N/A
Does anyone expect a Pokemon game to touch on economic disparity? No, but it does so anyway (albeit ever so slightly.) Spikemuth is home to the seventh gym, the ever-elusive dark-type gym. Spikemuth is very easily recognizable as the "wrong side of the tracks," being run down. The city doesn't even have a stadium with Dynamax capabilities. It's also home to Team Yell, who harass people to help Marnie achieve Champion status and bring some notoriety to them. The town has a charming design and nails the story beat that it tries to hit, being the only time the game asks players to think a little.
In probably one of the least-useful trades in the game, a Team Yell Grunt at the gym arena will offer the player a level 40 Mr. Mime in exchange for an Obstagoon. Mr. Mime may be a Fairy-type Pokemon with moves of this element, though it is also part Psychic-type, rendering its defense again any Dark-type attacks to be neutral. Maybe skip this trade in favor of some experience-grinding on the nearby Route 9.
2 Hulbury
- Population: 54
- Points of Interest: Incense Stall, Hulbury Stadium & Hulbury Station
- Gym Leader: Ness (Water-Type)
- Gym Badge: Water Badge
- Connecting Route: Route 5
Hulbury is the bay city, featuring an ocean view and a port. It's home to the water gym and a towering lighthouse. The city has a very lively feel, actually feeling lived in, unlike most cities in Galar. People roam freely, have a small market going, and even frequent a local seafood restaurant. Restaurants are an underutilized building type in Pokemon and while their only purpose is a place for cutscenes, it's nice that they are there. The ocean town sets a high bar early in the game.
Being so close to the ocean and having a port accordingly makes Hulbury a great place for fishing. There are quite a few decent Pokemon that can be caught as well, though at varying appearance rates, including Arrokuda (50% find-rate), Chinchou (20%), Chewtle (15%), Basculin (10%), and Wishiwashi (5%). It is recommended to snag a Chinchou if one is lacking Water-type counters, as its partial Electric typing can make it a great ally against this city's Water-type gym.
1 Circhester
- Population: 97
- Points of Interest: Hair Salon, Hero's Bath & Circhester Stadium
- Gym Leader: Gordie (Rock-Type) - Sword / Melony (Ice-Type) - Shield
- Gym Badge: Rock Badge / Ice Badge
- Connecting Routes: Route 8 & Route 9
Circhester is the best city in the Galar region, hands down. This city is old, very old. Tucked away in the snowy mountains of Galar, the city is home to some gorgeous architecture and a hot bath once used by heroes. The city matches the cold environment it's located in perfectly, creating this wonderful synergy. It has two lovely hotels, two optimistical ice-cream vendors, and a popular steak restaurant. The only downside is that players who got Sword will face a rock-type leader instead of the slam-dunk of a choice that is Shield's ice-type leader.
There is a great trade to be found here, making Circhester an even nicer place to explore. Regardless of which version the player has, there is a level-37 Fighting-type Pokemon that can be acquired from the ice cream salesperson in the city's square. Players can either get a Throh (Sword) or a Sawk (Shield) if they trade a Vanillish. This can give a trainer an edge over either the Rock-type or the Ice-type gym leader.
Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield are available exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.