Sword & Shield

The starter Pokémon of the Alola region, Rowlet, Litten, and Popplio, will be appearing more frequently in Max Raid Battles in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield through October 4, 2021, at 8:59 a.m. JST.

A new online competition has been announced for Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield to celebrate the Halloween season. Registration for the Spooky Cup 2021 competition will begin on September 29, 2021, at 10:00 p.m. PDT, and will remain open until October 14, 2021, at 4:59 p.m. PDT. The competition itself will then take place from October 14, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. until October 17, 2021, at 4:59 p.m. PDT.

The official Pokémon website has announced the participants for the Pokémon Global Exhibition, which will be livestreamed on Twitch.tv/Pokemon on October 30–31, 2021.

The two Meteorite Pokémon, Lunatone and Solrock, will be appearing more frequently in Max Raid Battles in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield through September 19, 2021, at 4:59 p.m. PDT. Very rarely, Shiny variants of these two Pokémon can also be encountered. To encounter these Pokémon in a Max Raid Battle, you'll need to connect your Nintendo Switch system to the internet through the Y-Comm or by selecting Mystery Gift in the X menu, then selecting Get the Wild Area News. After that, whenever you see a pillar of light shining from a Pokémon Den in the Wild Area, you can walk up to the Pokémon Den and interact with it to start a Max Raid Battle. This event does not affect the Pokémon encountered within Dynamax Adventures.

The Pokémon Company International has announced that the twenty-third animated Pokémon movie, Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle, will premiere on Netflix around the world (with the exception of Japan, China, and Korea) on October 8, 2021.

It's cleanup time in the Galar region with several Pokémon that will be appearing more frequently in Max Raid Battles in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield through September 5, 2021, at 4:59 p.m. PDT. These Pokémon include Altaria, Mow Rotom, Cinccino, and Wimpod. Very rarely, Shiny Cinccino can also be encountered. To encounter these Pokémon in a Max Raid Battle, you'll need to connect your Nintendo Switch system to the internet through the Y-Comm or by selecting Mystery Gift in the X menu, then selecting Get the Wild Area News. After that, whenever you see a pillar of light shining from a Pokémon Den in the Wild Area, you can walk up to the Pokémon Den and interact with it to start a Max Raid Battle. This event does not affect the Pokémon encountered within Dynamax Adventures.

Three Ghost-type Pokémon, Gengar, Drifblim, and Chandelure, will be appearing more frequently in Max Raid Battles in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield through August 22, 2021, at 4:59 p.m. PDT. Gigantamax Gengar and Shiny Chandelure can also be encountered.

The official Facebook accounts for Pokémon in Asia have announced the Pokémon Asia Players Cup 2021, the first online tournament for Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield over multi-regions in Asia. The tournament will be taking place from August 28 to September 11, 2021, with players from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand battling against other Trainers around Asia. Registration will begin on August 16, 2021.

A limited-time distribution of a Coalossal based on Wolfe Glick's Coalossal that he used to win the Pokémon Players Cup II for Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield was announced during the Pokémon Players Cup 25th Anniversary Invitational Day 1 livestream. This Coalossal is Modest Nature, has the moves Heat Wave, Meteor Beam, Protect, and Solar Beam. Its Ability is Steam Engine and has Weakness Policy as its held item. Players can redeem it using the code「V1CT0RYENG1NE25」. This code can only be redeemed until August 16, 2021. How to receive the Coalossal via Mystery Gift: 1. Launch Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield from the Nintendo Switch HOME Menu. 2. Press the X button during gameplay to access the in-game menu. 3. Select MYSTERY GIFT. 4. Select Get a Mystery Gift. 5. Select Get with Code/Password. 6. Enter code V1CT0RYENG1NE25 and select OK. 7. Select Coalossal Gift. 8. Be sure to save your game after receiving your gift. Players of Pokémon Trading Card Game Online can also...

Cool Pokémon that lives in the summer will be appearing more frequently in Max Raid Battles in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield through August 8, 2021, at 4:59 p.m. PDT. These Pokémon include Seaking, Pinsir, Heracross, Ninjask, Fan Rotom, and Vanilluxe. Very rarely, a Shiny Vanilluxe may also be encountered. To encounter these Pokémon in a Max Raid Battle, you'll need to connect your Nintendo Switch system to the internet through the Y-Comm or by selecting Mystery Gift in the X menu, then selecting Get the Wild Area News. After that, whenever you see a pillar of light shining from a Pokémon Den, you can walk up to the Pokémon Den and interact with it to start a Max Raid Battle. This event does not affect the Pokémon encountered within Dynamax Adventures.

Special gifts for players of Pokémon Sword & Shield, and Pokémon TCG Online, were revealed earlier in the Day 1 Global Finals streams for Pokemon Players Cup IV.

Pokémon Dens will be occupied by Pokémon that inspired the games' curry Taste Ratings in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield through to 4:59 p.m. PDT on July 11, 2021. Koffing, Wobbuffet, Milcery, Gigantamax Charizard, and Gigantamax Copperajah will all be appearing more frequently in Max Raid Battles. Very rarely, you may also encounter a Shiny Gigantamax Copperajah. If you managed to defeat a Pokémon in a Max Raid Battle during this event, you'll receive Bach's Food Tin in Pokémon Sword or Bob's Food Tin in Pokémon Shield. They are rare ingredients that can be used to prepare curry at your Pokémon Camp to help you complete your Curry Dex.

The Pokémon Company International has announced the regulations for the Ranked Battles Series 10, which will begin on August 1, 2021. Players will battle with Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield.

The Pokémon Company International has announced the Pokémon Players Cup 25th Anniversary Invitational, an event spotlighting some of the best competitive Pokémon players ever, as part of the continuing celebrations for the twenty-fifth anniversary of Pokémon. The event will feature the top eight Pokémon TCG players and top eight video game players from around the world in exciting head-to-head matches.

Several Pokémon with tentacles will be appearing more frequently in Max Raid Battles in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield through June 27, 2021, at 4:59 p.m. PDT. These Pokémon include Octillery, Malamar, and Grapploct. Shiny Grapploct can also be encountered. To encounter these Pokémon in a Max Raid Battle, you'll need to connect your Nintendo Switch system to the internet through the Y-Comm or by selecting Mystery Gift in the X menu, then selecting Get the Wild Area News. After that, whenever you see a pillar of light shining from a Pokémon Den in the Wild Area, you can walk up to the Pokémon Den and interact with it to start a Max Raid Battle. This event does not affect the Pokémon encountered within Dynamax Adventures.

The Pokémon Company has announced Pokémon Global Exhibition, a tournament featuring eight of the top players from around the world, will be held this October. The tournament will consist of the highest-ranking players from Europe, North America, Latin America, and Oceania participating in the Pokémon Players Cup IV Global Finals which will be held later this month. In Japan, the competitors will be those who have achieved excellent results in the Masters division of the Pokémon Japan Championships 2021 scheduled to be held from July 17 to July 18, 2021 in Japan. For South Korea, the winner of the Pokémon Trainers Cup 2021, which will be held from July 12 to August 2021, will be representing them.

Two more promotions are currently being held in EB Games stores in Australia. One of them is to get a Flapple stamped card and another to get codes to encounter Gigantamax Flapple or Appletun in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield. Both promotions are while stock lasts. To commemorate the release of the newest Pokémon Trading Card Game expansion, Chilling Reign, customers who purchase $20 worth of Pokémon Trading Card Game products will receive a stamped version of Flapple from Rebel Clash. This stamped card will feature EB Games' logo. Players can obtain a code card which allows you to obtain a Dynamax Crystal that you can use in Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield to encounter Gigantamax Flapple or Appletun respectively in Max Raid Battles. You can face the Pokémon as many times as it takes to win until midnight on the day that the Dynamax Crystal was used. How to receive the Dynamax Crystal via Mystery Gift: Launch Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield from the Nintendo Switch HOME Menu...

Several retailers around the world have now announced they will distributing codes for Gigantamax Sandaconda, either online via their websites, or physically in stores. As with all similar distributions, these codes should be available for free without any purchase. The codes are available starting June 18, 2021, while stock lasts.

Two promotions are currently being held in GAME stores in the United Kingdom. One of them is to get a Scorbunny on the Ball card and another to get codes to encounter Gigantamax Sandaconda in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield. The third in the Pokémon Futsal collection of cards is available starting today. Fans can head online or to their local GAME store throughout England and purchase £15 worth of Pokémon Trading Card Game products to receive this Scorbunny on the Ball card. This card bears the special Pokémon Futsal stamp and is while stock lasts. The Eevee on the Ball and Grookey on the Ball cards were released in September and October last year respectively. To commemorate the release of the Pokémon Trading Card Game: Sword & Shield—Chilling Reign expansion, players can head to GAME stores in the United Kingdom to receive a code card which allows you to obtain a Dynamax Crystal that you can use in Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield. This allows you to encounter Gigantamax...

Several Pokémon that enjoy the rain will be appearing more frequently in Max Raid Battles in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield through June 6, 2021, at 4:59 p.m. PDT. These Pokémon include Venusaur, Politoed, Croagunk, and Seismitoad. Gigantamax Venusaur and Shiny Politoed can also be encountered.