Which Pokemon aren’t truly exclusives in Sword/Shield?

Question

I know it’s worded odd, but I wasn’t sure how else to put it. Let me clarify, in depth.

It seems like a lot of the exclusive dex in Sw/Sh isn’t exclusive. I was den hunting last night (to fill my dex) and I came across a Gigantamax Appletun….in Sword. Also successfully caught it. (I thought maybe it’d just escape at the end of battle!) Then I realized I had a “Shield only” Gigantamax Lapras that I’ve caught. In addition to this, Throh/Sawk are easily obtained in opposing versions. I’ve also read somewhere here on the database that someone caught a Kyogre on Sword!

So I suppose my question is multi-pronged. Which version exclusive Pokemon are obtainable in opposite versions and why? Which aren’t truly version exclusives? (Meaning, which can I get without trading.) Seems like they did a patch to allow a lot of them across versions. Could I fill my dex without trading if I just den hop enough?

It just caught me off guard and surprised me to find Appletun, then I realized that she wasn’t the only exclusive I’d found. And everything I’ve read suggested that I HAD TO get a sweet apple into Sword in order to have one, which is obviously wrong. Help me make sense of this, y’all!

Comments

Lapras isn't a version exclusive.

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Lapras isn’t, but a lot of other websites list Gigantamax Lapras as exclusive to catch on Shield.

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“If it's Gigantamax Lapras you're looking for, then only Shield players have access. They can find it at Giant's Seat. Sword players will have to wait for a special event to find G-man Lapras raids.“

https://www.thegamer.com/pokemon-sword-shield-find-location-lapras/

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Oh, I see. I was just referring to the site's list of version exclusives, which negates this.
The current Wild Area News allows you to get all of the exclusive Gigantamax Pokémon, including Appletun and Flapple, in both games. Joining a Dynamax Adventure hosted on Sword allows you to get the version exclusive Pokémon on Shield. There's also a trade in each version for the inverse exclusive of Throh/Sawk. I'm not sure if there are more exclusives available.

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First example I could find.

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With the DLC, as long as you have a Lapras, you can Gigantamax it with the max soup

Answer 1

Base game

• Passimian (Sw) and Oranguru (Sh) can be obtained in both versions' Dynamax Adventures if the DLC is purchased.
• Wild Escavalier (Sw) and wild Accelgor (Sh) can be obtained in both versions if the DLC is purchased.
• Wild Sawk (Sw) and wild Throh (Sh) can be obtained by trading a Vanillite in Circhester, which gives Throh (Sw) or Sawk (Sh).
• Ninetales, Hitmonlee (Sw), Arcanine, and Hitmonchan (Sh) are only found in the wild in one game, but can be found in both games through Max Raid Battles or by evolving their pre-evolutions.
• Indeedee-Male (Sw) and Indeedee-Female (Sh) are only found in the wild in one game, but can be obtained in both games via breeding.
• Meowstic-Male (Sw) and Meowstic-Female (Sh) are only found in the wild in one game, but can be obtained in both games by evolving Espurr.

Crown Tundra

• Ho-Oh, Latios, Groudon, Dialga, Tornadus, Reshiram, Xerneas, Solgaleo (Sw), Lugia, Latias, Kyogre, Palkia, Thundurus, Zekrom, Yveltal, and Lunala (Sh) can be found in the opposite game by joining another player's Dynamax Adventure.

Gigantamax Raids

• Gigantamax Machamp, Coalossal, Flapple (Sw), Gengar, Lapras, and Appletun (Sh) can be found in the opposite game by joining another player's Max Raid Battle. With the DLC, these Gigantamax Pokémon are all obtainable with Max Soup.

Version-exclusive Pokémon (Bulbapedia)