How do you get them? What do they do? We answer all your Ribbon related questions in our Pokemon Sword & Shield Ribbons Guide. We’ll tell you where you can find your Ribbons, how you can equip them to your Pokemon, and what effects Ribbons have on your closest allies.
Jumping straight into the meat of it, Ribbons are a visual bonus, a nice touch, a little something more for your closest Pokemon. They don’t have any effects on your Pokemon’s ability to battle or survive, but they act as a reminder of the great deeds you have achieved together.
You can find Pokemon’s Ribbons in the Ribbons section of the Summary screen for any Pokemon. Usually it’s blank, unless you have unlocked a Ribbon with that Pokemon.
Pokemon Sword & Shield Ribbons Guide
You earn Ribbons by completing special tasks in Pokemon Sword & Shield. For example, increasing your friendship to the maximum level rewards you with the Best Friends Ribbon. Once a Pokemon has fought close to 200-300 battles, they can get the Effort Ribbon. Finally, the last Ribbon we discovered, the Galar Champion Ribbon, awarded to Pokemon that were in your party after you completed the final fight in the story mode.As I said previously, Ribbon’s have no real impact but they do give your Pokemon a nickname, a title. For example, I equipped my Gyarados with the Best Friends Ribbon. Now, whenever I summon Gyarados in a fight, my character summons “Gyarados, The Great Friend”.
You can see if you have earned these Ribbons by visiting the Effort Ribbon Giver and Best Friends Ribbon Giver in Hammerlocke. It’s the house to the right of the central Pokemon Center. We’re sure there’s plenty of more Ribbons to unlock but that covers the basics of Ribbons in Sword & Shield.
