New Pokemon Sword & Shield Max Raid Event Makes It Easier To Catch Version-Exclusive Pokemon

A new Max Raid event has begun in Pokemon Sword and Shield. For a limited time, Pokemon that are typically version-exclusive will appear more frequently in Max Raid dens, giving you a chance to catch monsters you couldn't otherwise find in your game.

Until March 25, Pokemon Sword players will be able to encounter Galarian Corsola, Ponyta, Oranguru, and female Indeedee, while Shield players will be able to find Galarian Farfetch'd, Darumaka, Passimian, and male Indeedee. Other rare Pokemon like Karrablast, Shelmet, and Pincurchin will appear in both games.

In addition to those Pokemon, Gigantamax Snorlax, Machamp, and Gengar are also still available. All three of those monsters will appear more frequently in Max Raids until March 25. Gigantamax Pokemon are normally incredibly rare, making this your best chance to catch them. You can see all the Max Raid events happening right now in our roundup.

There's also still a little time left to claim some in-game freebies. Until the end of the month, you can receive 20 free Battle Points as well as a free Bottle Cap via Mystery Gift. You can take a look at all the free gifts available right now for Pokemon Sword and Shield here.

In other Pokemon news, Nintendo recently rolled out an update for Sword and Shield. The patch "fixed several issues" according to Nintendo's patch notes, including one that would cause the game to crash if you received a hacked Pokemon through Surprise Trade.