Everything you need to know about Pokémon Sword and Shield's Gigantamax Festival
The gangs all here!
To celebrate the release of the Pokémon Sword and Shield DLC later this month, Nintendo is giving players a chance to catch Gigantamax Pikachu, Meowth, and Eevee for the first time. Previously, each of these Pokémon were exclusively tied to purchasing other games. New pathways will be opening up throughout the month of June, allowing players to obtain nearly every Gigantamax Pokémon the game has to offer with ease.
With all these giant 'mons available, here's how you can catch 'em all.
What Gigantamax Pokémon are available?
The pool that you pull from varies if you're playing Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield.
Pokémon Sword players can find Gigantamax Snorlax, Gengar, Kingler, Lapras, Garbodor, Corviknight, Appletun, Toxtricity (Amped Form), Centiskorch, Grimmsnarl, Alcremie and Duraludon in their Max Raid Battles.
Pokémon Shield players can find Gigantamax Snorlax, Charizard, Butterfree, Machamp, Orbeetle, Drednaw, Coalossal, Flapple, Sandaconda, Toxtricity (Low Key Form), Hatterne and Copperajah in their Max Raid Battles.
If there's a Gigantamax Pokémon you want that's exclusive to the opposite game, remember you can always join another person who owns the game. That person can be either a friend or a random party. These limitations only affect what Pokémon are native to your personal game.
How good are these Gigantamax Pokémon?
A fair number of them like Lapras, Charizard, Hatterne, and Grimmsnarl have proven to be crucial in competitive Gigantamax teams. Lapras' G-Max move, G-Max Resonance, is incredible for doubles matches. G-Max Resonance can protect your entire team with a defensive veil while dealing 140 damage! Charizard is absolutely divine as a Giantamax Pokémon — it's already won multiple championship matches, making it a big-time Pokémon MVP. Again in doubles, Charizard is an all-star. G-Max Wildfire will take away 1/6 of the opponent's health for four turns, making your victory a cinch (or a ... singe). When in Gigantamax form, Charizard also boasts 100 Speed and 109 Special Attack.
While Gigantamax Pokémon are often more player trophies than team-bolstering assets, this group has oodles of critters you won't want to miss. Make sure to catch at least a few.
June Gigantamax release and end dates
June Gigantamax Pokémon will only be available within Max Raid Battles from Monday, June 4 at 8 p.m. Eastern to Monday, June 29 at 8 p.m. Eastern.
How to add the June Gigantamax to your Pokémon Den rotation
Before you can begin your hunt for the Gigantamax Pokémon can begin in earnest, you have to add the event to your game. Open your main menu by clicking the X button then head to the Mystery Gift option. Once there, select “Get the Wild Area News.” Doing so will update your game to include the June Gigantamax Pokémon as spawns within the Wild Area.
How to find Gigantamax Pokémon
Having activated the Wild News, Gigantamax Pokémon will now be randomly available within active Pokémon Dens emitting red or purple lights. Luckily, if you run into an event pool of Gigantamax Pokémon, they will always be a Gigantamax Pokémon. Which one you get depends on the stars shown and their silhouette. You can get a full run-down of what Pokémon are available for each star through this list from Serebii.
How to battle the June Gigantamax Pokémon
If you're looking to battle specific Pokémon available during this event, we have separate guides for nearly all of them.
- How to battle Gigantamax Snorlax
- How to battle Gigantamax Machamp and Gengar
- How to battle Gigantamax Charizard, Garborder, Copperajah, and Duraludon
- How to battle Gigantamax Toxtricity
Pokémon Sword and Shield's first DLC, Isle of Armor, will be released on June 17, 2020.
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