Alcremie, the Cream Pokemon, was one of Pokemon Sword and Shield’s earliest revealed Pokemon, and it turned out to have perhaps the games’ most complicated evolution system. Game Freak revealed Alcremie alongside Gigantamaxing, Sword and Shield’s new mechanic that lets certain Pokemon (Alcremie included) grow to huge sizes and change forms.

Of course, Alcremie is far from the only Pokemon in Sword and Shield with a complicated evolution method. Evolving Pokemon like Snom requires players to increase stat values they can’t even see in-game, and evolving Sword and Shield’s Applin requires the use of version-exclusive items. Evolving Galarian Yamask complicates things even further, requiring the Ghost-type monster to take a certain amount of damage without dying and then be brought to a particular location. In the contest for most convoluted evolution, however, Alcremie takes the cake.

To obtain an Alcremie, players will need to first catch a Milcery. This adorable little milk Pokemon can be found in random tall-grass encounters on Route 4, in the yellow fields between Turffield and the Galar Mine. Milcery can evolve into 63 different forms of Alcremie, determined by the decoration on the Alcremie’s head and the color of its body. These form differences have no effect on gameplay. First, in order to choose the decoration, players will need to get their hands on a “Sweet” item. Sweets come in seven different varieties: Strawberry, Love, Flower, Clover, Berry, Ribbon, and Star. Players can obtain three random Sweets per day by defeating the men behind the Battle Cafe counters (example Battle Cafe pictured below) in the Sword and Shield cities of Motostoke, Hammerlocke, and Wyndon.

Once a trainer has the decoration they want, they’ll need to give it to their Milcery and then execute a special spin move. The spin’s direction, duration, and time of day all affect the color of Alcremie’s body, so be extra careful, and consider both saving the game and turning off autosaves before beginning. Below are the directions for achieving each Alcremie form, first posted on Pokemon fan site Serebii and then corrected after further testing by IGN.

  • Vanilla Cream: During the daytime, spin the left control stick clockwise until the player character begins spinning automatically, then stop spinning the left control stick. The player character will then strike a pose, and Milcery will evolve into Alcremie. Ruby Cream: During the daytime, spin counter-clockwise until the player character spins automatically, then stop. Matcha Cream: At night, spin clockwise until the player character spins automatically, then stop. Salted Cream: At night, spin counter-clockwise until the player character spins automatically, then stop. Caramel Swirl: During the day, spin clockwise until the player character spins automatically, then continue spinning for 10 seconds before stopping. Ruby Swirl: During the day, spin counter-clockwise until the player character spins automatically, then continue spinning for 10 seconds before stopping. Lemon Cream: At night, spin clockwise until the player character spins automatically, then continue spinning for 10 seconds before stopping. Mint Cream: At night, spin counter-clockwise until the player character spins automatically, then continue spinning for 10 seconds before stopping. Rainbow Swirl: At dusk, spin either clockwise or counterclockwise until the player character spins automatically, then continue spinning for 30 seconds before stopping.

Of course, none of these items or spins will allow any old Alcremie to become a colossal cake when Dynamaxed. For that, players will have to catch Gigantamax Alcremie in a Wild Area Max Raid Battle. Encountering one will come down to luck, but look for Max Raid dens with thick pink beams shooting up out of them for the best chance of finding a Gigantamax Pokemon.

Next: Pokémon Sword & Shield: How To Claim Gigantamax Meowth, Eevee, and Pikachu

Pokemon Sword and Shield released on November 15, 2019 for Nintendo Switch.

Source: IGN