Deep water is a hard wall in Paldea until your ride Pokémon learns to swim. Walk into a river, lake, or the ocean before that, and the screen fades out and drops you back on the shore. The fix is a single Titan fight on the west side of the map, and you can do it very early.
Quick answer: Defeat Bombirdier, the Open Sky Titan, on the mountain in West Province (Area One), then feed your mount the Herba Mystica sandwich in the cutscene. Riding into deep water works automatically afterwards.
What you need before challenging the Open Sky Titan
Swimming is a mount upgrade, not a move. There is no Surf HM to teach and no move slot to give up, so nothing in your party needs to learn anything for this to work.
- You have finished the opening hours, reached Mesagoza, and started the treasure hunt.
- Arven’s Path of Legends storyline is active, which places The Search for the Open Sky Titan marker on your map by default.
- A team around level 20, with a little extra padding if you want an easy time. Titans hit harder than their level suggests.
- No other Titan needs to be beaten first. The five Titans can be tackled in any order.
Bombirdier type matchups
Bombirdier is a Flying/Dark-type Titan sitting at roughly level 19 to 20. Build your lead around Electric and Rock attackers, which are the easiest coverage types to have on hand that early in the game.
| Matchup | Types |
|---|---|
| Super effective | Rock, Electric, Ice, Fairy |
| Resisted | Ghost, Grass, Dark |
| No effect | Ground, Psychic |
Ground and Psychic moves do literally nothing here, so leave those attackers on the bench even if they are your highest-level Pokémon.
Open Sky Titan location and route
The Titan perches on a mountain peak in West Province (Area One), northwest of Cortondo and roughly in the middle of Paldea’s west coast. White windmills nearby are a good visual landmark.
How the two-phase Titan fight works
Phase one: Bombirdier alone
The first phase is a normal solo battle. Knock Bombirdier’s health down to zero with your own team, leaning on those Electric or Rock attacks. It can restrict your moves mid-fight, so having a second attacking option on your lead helps.
Phase two: Bombirdier with Arven’s help
Once its health empties, Bombirdier retreats into a cave and eats a Herba Mystica, which fully restores it. Arven shows up at that moment and joins you with his level 19 Nacli for the second round.
The second phase plays out as a two-on-one, with Nacli soaking damage while you keep attacking. Beat the restored Bombirdier and the Titan is finished for good.
Unlocking the swimming ability
After the win, you follow Arven into the cave and he prepares a sandwich with the Herba Mystica. The game asks whether you want to give the sandwich to your mount. Accept it, and Miraidon in Violet or Koraidon in Scarlet permanently gains the ability to swim.
You know it worked in two places. The Path of Legends entry for the Open Sky Titan closes out with the Titan Badge (Flying), and riding into deep water no longer fades the screen to black.
How to use Surf after unlocking it
There is no button to press and nothing to equip. Ride your mount directly into any deep water and it switches to swimming on its own, then switches back when you reach land.
The dash boost from the Stony Cliff Titan works while you are in the water, so clearing Klawf as well makes long ocean crossings much quicker.
With water travel open, the rivers, lakes, and the seas around Paldea stop being map borders. That includes stretches like the West Paldean Sea and the Water-type Pokémon living in them, which are otherwise impossible to reach on foot.
