Despite the cuts to the national 'dex in Sword & Shield, many original favorites were able to make their way to Galar from the Kanto region. One Pokémon, in particular, may not have originated in the Kanto region, coming from space initially (or so they say).
That Pokémon is Cleffa, the Generation II Baby Pokémon for Clefairy and Clefable, who are both originally found in Kanto. Cleffa and its evolutionary relatives are available in Galar, and they aren't too hard to find. Here's how you can find them, evolve them, and a few other things you might not have known.
10 Where to Find
If you're looking to catch Cleffa directly, you're out of luck. Cleffa does not spawn in the wild. To get your hands on one, you'll need to one of two things. First, find one in a Max Raid battle in Hammerlocke Hills, Rolling Fields, the Fields of Honor, Soothing Wetlands, Forest of Focus, or the Insular Sea. Your second option is to breed one from Clefairy or Clefable.
Clefairy and Clefable can both be caught in raids or in the wild. Clefairy spawns on the overworld in Giant's Cap and the Motostoke Riverbank during foggy weather. Clefable also appears in the wild, only on the Motostoke Riverbank, where it's a strong wandering spawn during fog. From there, throw them in the daycare with a Ditto or other compatible Pokémon until they have an egg, which will hatch into Cleffa.
9 How to Evolve
Once you have your Cleffa, it isn't too hard to evolve it. First, get your friendship with up with it through various different methods available to you. Once friendship is high enough, Cleffa will evolve after leveling up.
To evolve a Clefairy, you just need a Moon Stone. These can be found in a few places, including the respawning stones in the Lake of Outrage. They can also be found by the Digging Duo in Bridge Field or by a Pokémon with the Pickup ability. Ironically, members of the Cleffa family have a 5 percent chance of holding a Moon Stone when caught (as does Lunatone).
8 Extraterrestrial
There are quite a few Pokémon that, even though they seem normal to us, are thought to be alien creatures not originally from the Pokémon world. One of these is Clefairy (and in some cases, Cleffa), which is thought to have come from either the moon or elsewhere in space.
After meteor showers, Cleffa appear in greater numbers, and they appear to gaze skyward toward what many think is their home. Clefairy is believed to have come from the moon as well, and they appear in great numbers and dance when there is a full moon.
7 Good Luck
According to the Pokédex, it can be quite beneficial to see these Pokémon dancing in their strange ritualistic circles. When the night sky is full of shooting stars, Cleffa love to dance. Apparently, if you see them, it can be very good luck.
"On nights with many shooting stars, they gather in packs and dance in circles. If you should see them, something good will happen!"
Whether or not this is true is unconfirmed, but since Cleffa are very rare, it seems you've had some good luck already if you spot them.
6 Series Mascot
Pikachu has, over time, become one of the most influential and recognizable video game characters in history. It'd be hard to find someone who doesn't recognize that little yellow mouse in most of the world. However, it almost wasn't the mascot of the Pokémon series.
Initially, the powers that be intended for Clefairy to be the series mascot. The developers decided that Pikachu should be the mascot, mostly due to its recognizability from the anime.
5 Floating
Clefairy is not one of the strange Pokémon that can learn Fly, like Golurk or Doduo. But, it is apparently capable of a bit of flight. According to the Pokédex, Clefairy absorbs moonlight with the small wings on its back.
With that charged energy from the moon, Clefairy is apparently capable of floating off of the ground slightly. Apparently, it rises into the air without flapping its wings, and it dances, suspended in midair.
4 Popular but Rare
Also stated by the Pokédex is the fact that Clefairy is apparently extremely popular but very rare. Many seek out this Pokémon for themselves, but few are able to find it. Their cuteness and playful nature are huge draws for potential trainers.
Apparently, the rarity and demand for Clefairy is so high that it leads to frequent thefts. In the Pokédex entry for Ultra Sun, it says that Clefairy trainers who "show them off recklessly" may become targets of thieves.
3 Amazing Sense of Hearing
Much of this list has focused on Cleffa and Clefairy, but there are interesting things about Clefable too. The final evolution for this family line is pretty powerful and has a lot of abilities that its pre-evolutions boast.
Something that seems to be unique to Clefable, though, is its amazing sense of hearing. Due to their large and sensitive ears, Clefable is apparently able to hear a single pin drop from over half a mile (or one kilometer) away. Their ears are so sensitive that they prefer to live in very quiet places away from noise.
2 Beta Designs
Many Pokémon are the product of countless hours of design and redesign, tweaking small bits of their appearance until the final product is released. Many of these "beta" designs have made their way into the public conscience via leaks and interviews with developers, especially for Generation I and II Pokémon.
Cleffa's initial design showed it with a strange Teletubby-like antenna on its head. Besides this and its coloring, it appears mostly similar to the finalized Cleffa design. Clefairy, on the other hand, looked extremely different before its release, resembling a much less "cute" monster than its final look.
1 Almost a Starter for Ash
As mentioned, Clefairy almost became the recognizable mascot of the Pokémon series before Pikachu replaced it. To go along with this, the adorable Clefairy is apparently the original starter choice for anime protagonist Ash Ketchum.
This would keep the anime more in line with the Pocket Monster manga series, where Red's starter was a mischievous Clefairy. He would go on to also have a Pikachu, but Clefairy was always his first Pokémon. Ash, on the other hand, was planned to have Clefairy as his starter, before it was replaced with Pikachu.