Updated at: 02-02-2023 - By: Leo Hall
Find out how to evolve your Sinistea in Pokémon Sword and Shield with this comprehensive guide. Due to its rarity, this Pokémon-related article is not to be missed.

For players of Pokémon Sword and Shield, the Galar Region is home to 81 undiscovered Pokémon just waiting to be explored, battled, and captured. The latest installment in the popular RPG series continues the tradition of allowing players to evolve their Pokémon in creative ways beyond just increasing their level.

Among them is the cute Ghost-type Pokémon known as Sinistea, which legend has it was created when a lonely ghost took possession of an unused cup of tea.

Sinistea is unique among Pokémon because it is the only one to have both a fake and an actual form, in addition to its low encounter rate and unique evolution requirements.

In this manual, we will explain in great detail how to capture a Sinistea, how to evolve it into a Poltaegeist, and how to tell the difference between a real and a fake one.

Check out our Beginner’s Guide to the Galar Region if you’re new to Sword & Shield and want some more general advice on how to get started.

About Sinistea

Initial appearance in an anime Until now, it has not been seen.
Initial Game Appearance Armor and weaponry
Region Galar
Evolution Polteageist Sinistea
Basic Evolutionary Stage Two distinct morphologies emerge when one is subjected to a chipped or cracked pot.
Level 2 Evo N/A
The Pokemon Encyclopedia Entry Stories say this Pokémon was created when a lonely ghost took possession of an old cup of tea. This Pokémon lives in an antique teacup that is a well-known collectible in its own right. The circulation of forgeries is widespread.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet How To Evolve Sinistea Into Polteageist Cracked Pot Location - YouTube

Sinistea Base stats

HP 40
ATTACK 45
DEFENCE 45
CONFRONTATION IN THE FORM OF A SP. ATTACK 74
For the Defense of the United States 54
SPEED 50
TOTAL 308

Appearance

Sinistea is a Pokemon that takes the form of a teacup and has purple “tea” inside it because it is created when a lonely spirit finishes an entire cup of tea. There’s a lacy design on the front that looks like a face. In a Classical and Age-Old Manner Whereas the Phony Form lacks such a seal of approval, Sinistea has one. On the inside of the base of the cup is a small emblem in a pale gray color.

Behavior

Sinistea’s chink in the armor is the swirling pattern that covers its body. Because the swirl is what keeps it from becoming dizzy and disoriented, disturbing it will remove that benefit. Anyone who drinks sinistea loses some of their vital energy. Due to its unpleasant flavor, it is rarely consumed in its entirety.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Sinistea is vulnerable to Ghost and Dark type moves, taking double damage from them due to its Ghost type. The Normal and Fighting types have no effect on it, and the Poison and Bug types do only half as much damage. All types, including Flying, Fairy, Steel, Grass, Rock, Dragon, Bug, Ground, Electric, Fire, Ice, Water, and Psychic, are equally well-balanced.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet - How To Evolve Sinistea Into Polteageist | How To Get Polteageist - YouTube

Best Moveset

Foul Play is one of Sinistea’s many powerful moves, with 95 power and 100 percent accuracy. Sinistea’s best attacks are Foul Play, which factors the target’s Attack into damage calculations, and Psychic, which has a 10% chance to lower the target’s Special Defense by 1. However, Phantom Force vanishes on the first turn and launches an attack on the second. Dark Pulse has a 20% chance of causing the target to flinch and will bypass any defenses they may be using.

Foul Play Ghostly Influence
Psychic Dark Pulse

Where to Catch Sinistea

To meet a Sinistea in Pokemon Sword and Shield, you must venture to the Glimwood Tangle. From Stow-on-Side, the road heading north is through a dark, wooded area. However, Sinistea is not a wandering monster; you will only encounter it through chance encounters. These are the on-screen exclamation points that appear when you’re traversing tall grass.

You should be aware that the chance of running into a Sinistea is extremely low, so you will need to be patient. There will be a lot of Morgrems, Shiinotics, and Spirtzees for you to fight through before you reach your goal. The Galarian variant of Ponyta can be found in Pokemon Shield’s Glimwood Tangle.

How To Catch Sinistea

Location

Sinistea, like most rare and intriguing Pokémon, is hard to come by. Going to the Glimwood Tangle, which is between Stow-on-Side and Ballonlea, is your best bet. If you use Fast Travel to get to either city, you can go left or right to reach the area.

You should keep an eye out for the exclamation mark icons in the grass once you’ve entered the Glimwood Tangle. Sinistea, like Milcery, is impossible to spot in the wild and can only be encountered by chance. There is a 10% chance of encountering a fake Sinistea and a 1% chance of encountering a real one.

Due to the area’s tight layout and the prevalence of Pokémon like Impidimp that will try to initiate a battle once they spot you, you should carefully navigate the joystick as you walk to avoid being seen.

Catching

If you’ve tracked down some Sinistea in the grass, you’ve got a few choices. The safest way to catch Sinistea is to use a Quick Ball on the very first turn. You can also use a Level Ball if your Pokémon is significantly higher level than Sinistea, or a Dusk Ball if you’re in Glimwood Tangle at night.

How To Evolve Sinistea Into Polteageist

Find Cracked Pot And Chipped Pot

You can give Sinistea either a Cracked Pot (counterfeit) or a Chipped Pot (authentic) to help it evolve. The Cracked Pot is a pub in Stow-on-Side that is literally perched on top of a building. To get there, you’ll need to climb a ladder next to the stairs leading to the Pokémon Gym, then cross the roof.

You can find a street vendor in Stow-on-Side who sells the Chipped Pot. You’ll have to keep checking back every day until the Chipped Pot becomes available, as he only sells one item per day.

Different Versions

A Sinistea’s performance in battle is unaffected by whether it evolves into a real Polteageist or a fake one; this choice is purely aesthetic. It is recommended to check the Pokémon’s underbelly for an authenticity label in order to determine which version you own. Although it is most obvious during Dynamax transformations, you can also spot it in the Pokémon summary page if you look closely enough.

Trivia

  1. This Pokemon, Sinistea, is the tiniest of its kind because it is a Ghost.
  2. In terms of overall size, Sinistea is on par with the likes of Joltik, Flabebe, Cutiefly, Comfey, and Cosmoem.
  3. The name “sinistea” is an anagram of “sinister” and “tea.”
  4. Both Sinistea and Polteageist center around a ghost who haunts a teacup.

Wait, the Cracked Pot isn’t working! And why do I have a Chipped Pot?

Some “lucky” Sinistea trainers will find that their Cracked Pot does not allow their Pokémon to progress. This is due to the fact that the Cracked Pot is only capable of evolving fake Sinisteas, which are extremely common and include most Sinisteas. However, genuine Sinistea are only occasionally caught. Follow these steps in the same order to evolve a fake Sinistea, but make sure to buy a Chipped Pot from the vendor instead of a Cracked Pot.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: How To Evolve Sinistea Into Polteageist - Cracked Pot And Chipped Pot Locations | Nintendo Life

So how do you tell if your Sinistea is genuine or not? An easy way to find out if a Cracked Pot will work is to actually use one. A genuine Sinistea can be distinguished from a fake by its small size and other visual details. The bottom of an authentic Sinisteas teacup bears a faint mark of authenticity, which can be seen if you watch the Pokémon during its Pokedex animation. Fake Sinisteas will not be authentic.

There are no discernible differences between a fake and an authentic Sinistea or Polteageist other than the evolution method and the mark.

FAQs

How big is Sinistea?

Among the Pokemon species, Sinistea is notable for being particularly diminutive. Only four inches in height, it weighs a mere tenth of a pound. Among the smallest Pokemon, Polteageist (in either of its forms) grows twice as tall but still only weighs 0.9 pounds.

Is Sinistea in Pokemon Sword and Shield?

Yes. Sinistea was created specifically for these games and has not appeared in any other Pokemon titles as of yet. Sinistea is one of the more challenging Pokemon to capture; you have a 10% chance of encountering it in Glimwood Tangle during All Weather if you’re walking through some tall grass.

Is there a shiny Sinistea?

But not in the Pokemon Go universe. Sinistea isn’t able to get a shiny version in Pokemon Go like many other Pokemon can because it isn’t in the game. There is, however, a glossy variant that changes the teacup’s color from blue to pink.

Conclusion

You won’t find many other Pokemon like Sinistea in the games. It’s one of a kind because it can take two distinct forms, each of which develops in response to the item it encounters. The fact that one of these variants is artificial gives it an even more distinctive flavor. Even rarer and more unusual is a Polteageist of Antique form.