In Pokemon Sword & Shield, Your Pokemon Might Be Living In A Counterfeit Cup

Some of Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield's newest Pokemon are genuinely adorable, and we're not talking about Wooloo (this time, anyway). Sinistea and its evolved form, Polteageist, are little spirits that possess tea cups and kettles, respectively. But these Ghost-type cuties have a dark secret.

According to Sinistea's PokeDex entry, "The teacup in which this Pokémon makes its home is a famous piece of antique tableware. Many forgeries are in circulation." The idea here is that the cup this Pokemon lives in could be a fake. In the real world, and evidently in the world of Pokemon, certain antique sets of porcelain and silverware are known to be knocked off. A trained eye, however, can tell the real thing from an imposter.

So how do you tell if the porcelain cup that Sinistea calls home is a forgery or the real deal? The designers of Sword and Shield apparently put genuine thought into this.

If you tilt your Sinistea onto its side and rudely look at its underside, you can find a small, blue seal on the bottom of its cup. The same goes for Polteageist and its kettle. If your Pokemon's home lacks this distinctive seal, then you have a fake on your hands. 

There's no difference in terms of power, moves, or stats for Pokemon in real tableware versus those in forgeries. You will, however, have to live with the knowledge that your little purple ghost lives in a counterfeit cup.

The question remains: How do you get your Pokemon the real thing? To evolve your Sinistea, you have to give them a new teapot to live in. A Cracked Pot is part of the counterfeit tea set, but a Chipped Pot is the real deal. Maybe the genuine article is a little more sturdy?

Now if you'll excuse us, we need to closely examine our Sinisteas and Polteageists.