Max Raid Battle Events | Pokemon Sword Shield

Read this Pokemon Sword and Shield guide to learn more about Max Raid Battles! Find out the latest news including raid events, schedule, and featured Dynamax and Gigantamax Pokemon!!!

Table of Contents

Latest Max Raid Event
Past Max Raid Events
What Are Max Raid Battles?

Check Out the Latest News & Updates Here!

Latest Max Raid Battle Event

Bug and Poison Pokemon Rate Up

Duration	11/2 ~ TBD

Starting November 2nd, the boosted Pokemon appearing in the Wild Area will change over - the Halloween event is over and now instead, Bug and Poison Pokemon will appear at a higher rate. Of these Pokemon, Garbodor and Butterfree will also have a chance of being Gigantamax.

Pokemon
Garbodor	Butterfree	Ninjask
Shuckle	Croagunk	Vileplume

Previous Dynamax & Gigantamax Raid Battles

Ghost Pokemon Halloween Event

※ List includes only Pokemon we've confirmed ourselves. Previous evolutions of these Pokemon may also be obtainable!!!

Pokemon
Cofagrigus	Trevenant	Gourgeist
Mimikyu	Polteageist	-

Event Duration	Oct 30th ~ Nov 2nd

Perhaps in celebration of Halloween, Ghost Pokemon will be appearing more frequently across dens in the Wild Area (as well as the The Isle Of Armor and Crown Tundra)! Use this opportunity to get access to the above Pokemon, some of which can be hard to obtain as they require trade evolution!

Some Pokemon Have A Higher Shiny Rate

Some of the Pokemon listed above are also reported to have a slightly higher than usual shiny rate, so if you participate in Max Raids enough, you might just get lucky!

Electric and Grass Pokemon Appear More Frequently

Event Duration	September 1st, 9:00 - ?

The Electric and Grass Pokemon outlined below will be appearing at a higher rate during the month of September in Pokemon Dens all across the Wild Area (as well as the Isle of Armor)! Get these before they go away.

Pokemon Sword
Toxtricity (Low Key)	Flapple	Boltund	Ferrothorn
Heliolisk	Eldegoss	-	-
Pokemon Shield
Toxtricity (Amped)	Appletun	Boltund	Ferrothorn
Heliolisk	Eldegoss	-	-

Some Pokemon Appear As Gigantamax

Of the above mentioned Pokemon that are seeing increased spawns across the wild area, we've confirmed that Toxtricity, Flapple, and Appletun are showing up in their Gigantamax variants!

Rock and Steel Pokemon Event

Event Duration	June 30th - August 1st

The following are all the Pokemon we've been able to confirm so far!!!

Pokemon
Rhyperior	Perrserker	Coalossal	Copperajah
Steelix	Onix

Some Gigantamax Pokemon Appear As Well

The current rotation of Max Raid Pokemon has changed, with the above Pokemon popping up more frequently. Note that Gigantamax versions of Coalossal and Copperajah will continue to appear in this event as well.

Shiny Zeraora Event

Event Duration	June 17th - June 28th

A new special challenge is being held - 1 million players must defeat Zeraora in-game within 11 days. If this condition is met, all players will receive a Shiny Zeraora for free!

> Check Out The Zeraora Event In Detail Here

June 2nd ~ June 30th Event

Sword Only
Gengar	Kingler	Lapras
Garbodor	Corviknight	Appletun
Toxtricity (Amped Form)	Centiskorch	Grimmsnarl
Alcremie	Duraludon
Shield Only
Charizard	Butterfree	Machamp
Orbeetle	Drednaw	Coalossal
Flapple	Sandaconda	Toxtricity (Low Key Form)
Hatterene	Copperajah

Appearing In Both Versions
Snorlax

All Gigantamax Pokemon Appearing

Starting from June 2nd, all Gigantamax Pokemon will appear in Wild Area dens! However, Pokemon that spawn will differ according to your game version, so you'll need to play online to catch all of them.

Gigantamax Meowth Hits Wild Areas

Event Duration	May 26th, 2020 ~ June 2nd, 2020

The final of the 3 Gigantamax Events this time around, Gigantamax Meowth, has arrived in Wild Areas. It will be available to catch until June 2nd, so make sure you don't miss out! This Pokemon has a great G-Max move that can be used for making money!

Check Out The Gigantamax Meowth Raid Event

Gigantamax Eevee Is Here

Event Duration	May 19th, 2020 ~ May 26th, 2020

The second Pokemon in the most recently announced series of Gigantamax Raid Battles has arrived. This time players will be facing Gigantamax Eevee in battles across the Wild Area!

Check Out The Gigantamax Eevee Max Raid Event

Gigantamax Pikachu Appears

Event Duration	May 12th, 2020 ~ May 19th, 2020

Gigantamax Pikachu is an extremely rare Pokemon that was only obtainable by having a save file of Let's Go Pikachu on your Switch. It now makes its appearance as a wild Pokemon in the Wild Area!

Check Out The Gigantamax Pikachu Max Raid Event!

Other Gigantamax Events Coming Soon After

In addition to this, Gigantamax Eevee will be coming to Wild Areas starting on May 19th, followed by Gigantamax Meowth on May 26th. These 3 Pokemon were previously only obtainable by pre-order bonuses or save files, so this is an important opportunity for players to get these rare Pokemon. Gigantamax Meowth is particularly important for a key money making strategy, so don't miss it!

May 12th - May 19th	Pikachu
May 19th - May 26th	Eevee
May 26th - June 2nd	Meowth [Now Active]

※ Note that events will end at 8:59 am and new ones will begin at 9:00 am on the day of a turnover!!!

Dragapult, Tyranitar, and Excadrill Raid Battle Event

Event Duration	April 28th, 2020 - May 11, 2020

Although details are yet unavailable, it seems that a certain set of Pokemon which are popular in the current competitive meta are currently being encountered more frequently in the Wild Area!

Catchable Dynamax Pokemon
Excadrill	Tyranitar
Togekiss	Dragapult
Rotom-Heat

No Gigantamax Appearing This Time Around

Previous Wild Area events usually included special Gigantamax Pokemon appearing, but this time seems to be different. The focus now is on increasing the spawn rate of popular competitive Pokemon. If you haven't gotten some of these key S Tier Pokemon, make sure you get them now!

Gigantamax Copperajah, Duraludon,

Event Duration	March 27th - April 27th, 2020

As a part of the newest Gigantamax Raid Battle Event, you'll have a higher chance of encounter Gigantamax Duraludon and Copperajah in Pokemon Sword, and Gigantamax Garbodor and Charizard in Pokemon Shield!

Available Gigantamax Pokemon
Pokemon Sword	Duraludon	Copperajah
Pokemon Shield	Garbodor	Charizard

Catch the above Gigantamax Pokemon while you still can, as opportunities to get them are limited. Some of them might even be good to try out in competitive ranked battles!

Gigantamax Machamp, Gengar, and Snorlax

Event Duration	March 8th - March 25th, 2020

A new official Max Raid Battle event was announced. Starting from March 8th, you will be able to encounter Gigantamax Machamp & Gengar in the wild area. Gigantamax Snorlax will also be making a comeback here!

Catchable Gigantamax Pokemon
Machamp	Gengar	Snorlax

Gigantamax Snorlax is also sometimes seen in competitive online play, so don't miss this opportunity to get one!

Check Out Our Report On The Current Ranked Meta Here

Mewtwo Special Event

Featured Pokemon	Mewtwo
Duration	February 27, 2020 ~ March 3, 2020

For Pokemon Day 2020, Mewtwo will be making an appearance in Max Raid Battles! Take it on to get cool rewards! This Mewtwo can not be caught, however.

>> How To Beat Mewtwo Guide
>> Other Pokemon Day Events

Kanto Starters Event

Duration	February 28th, 2020 ~ March 3rd, 2020

Pokemon Which Appear
Squirtle	Charmander	Bulbasaur
Wartortle	Charmeleon	Ivysaur

As part of Pokemon Day events, you can catch the 6 above Kanto starters! What's more is, some of them will have Hidden Abilities, while others might drop rare items like the Flame Orb.

Check Out More Info Here!

Gigantamax Toxtricity Discovered

Featured Pokemon	Toxtricity
Duration	February 6, 2020 ~ March 8, 2020
Amped Form	Pokemon Sword only
Low Key Form	Pokemon Shield only

For a limited time, players will be able to encounter and fight a Gigantamax Toxtricity! Each version of the game will feature a different form of the Gigantamax Toxtricity, Sword having the Amped form while Shield having the Low Key Form!

Milcery Event

From January 30th to February 16th, you will be able to encounter special Milcery in the wild area. These Milcery will be able to Gigantamax after evolving into Alcremie!

Featured Pokemon	Milcery
Schedule	January 30th, 2020 ~ February 16th, 2020

4 New Gigantamax Pokemon!

During the January 9th Pokemon Direct, it was announced that a new raid event will be occurring this year. During this event you can find the following 4 Gigantamax Pokemon in Dens all across the Wild Area! The event will only last until early February, so don't miss out!

Featured Pokemon	Coalossal	Lapras
Featured Pokemon	Appletun	Flapple
Schedule	January 9th, 2020 ~ Early February 2020

Get Magikarp From Dens!

Featured Pokemon	Magikarp
Schedule	January 1, 2020 ~ January 3, 2020

Happy new year, trainers! From now until Friday, January 3, 2020, Pokemon dens will have an increased appearance of Magikarp. Do not miss the first max raid event of 2020!

Gigantamax Sentiskorch & Sandaconda Raid

Featured Pokemon	Sandaconda	Centiskorch
Schedule	December 12, 2019 ~ January 9, 2020

Get a chance to capture a Gigantamax Centiskorch or a Sandaconda from Dec. 12, 2019 to Jan. 9, 2020. Shield players are more likely to encounter Sentiskorch while Sword players are more likely to encounter Sandaconda.

Gigantamax Snorlax Raid

Featured Pokemon	Snorlax
Schedule	December 4, 2019 ~ January 5, 2020

Announced on Nov. 27, 2019, a new Gigantamax Raid will be coming to Pokemon Sword and Shield featuring the Normal-type Pokemon - Snorlax! The Gigantamax Pokemon will have a new move called G-Max Replenish!

Check Out the Galarian Pokedex Here!

Gigantamax Butterfree Raid

Featured Pokemon	Butterfree
Schedule	November 15, 2019 ~ early January 2020

Starting from the game's official release all the way up to the new year, players will be able to participate in Max Raid Battles against a Gigantamax Butterfree! Work together with your friends and defeat this formidable Pokemon to have a chance of catching it!

Increased Pokemon Appearances

Pokemon Sword	Pokemon Shield
Drednaw	Corviknight

During the same time period, players will have an increased chance of encountering certain Gigantamax Pokemon depending on their game! Pokemon Sword players will be able to battle against a Gigantamax Drednaw, while Gigantamax Corviknight will appear more often in Pokemon Shield!

Check Out Version Differences Here!

Extra TRs & EXP Candies From Delibird Raid

Featured Pokemon	Delibird
Schedule	December 20, 2019 ~ December 26, 2019

From now until Thursday, December 26, 2019, Pokemon dens will have an increased appearance of Delibird. Defeating Delibird will gift players with higher amount of Ice-type TRs & EXP Candy rewards!

Internet Connection Required

To get these limited-time bonuses, you'll need to connect your Nintendo Switch system to the internet. Then, check a pillar of light shinning from a Pokemon Den in the wild area!

What Are Max Raid Battles?

Capture Dynamax & Gigantamax Pokemon

Max Raid Battles are encounters with special wild Pokemon. These wild Pokemon have the ability to Dynamax or Gigantamax. To add to this, these Pokemon may also have hidden abilities that give them an advantage in battle!

Check Out Max Raid Battles Here!

Cooperate With Other Players

Max Raid Battles will require you to work with 3 other players to defeat the wild Pokemon. As Dynamax & Gigantamax Pokemon are tough to bring down, you will need all the help you can get!

Check Out Dynamax & Gigantamax Here!