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Every Pokemon Sword / Shield Max Raid Event: Gigantamax Gengar, Charizard, And More

A handful of special Pokemon are appearing more often in Max Raids for a limited time; here are all the monster Sword and Shield players can catch right now.

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Pokemon Sword and Shield introduce a variety of new features to their series, but one of the most exciting is Max Raids. Much like in Pokemon Go, you can team up with three other trainers (either locally or online) and take on supersized Dynamax Pokemon together in cooperative battles.

The Pokemon you encounter in these Max Raids are special in a few different ways. First, there's a chance the monster will have its Hidden Ability. Regular wild Pokemon you come across in Sword and Shield will never have these, making Max Raids the only way to obtain Hidden Abilities in the games (outside of breeding, and in that case one of the parents would need to have the Hidden Ability in order to pass it down).

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Depending on the level of the Raid, the Pokemon will have a couple of perfect IVs (base stats) as well, making them useful for breeding if you're trying to put together a competitive team. You'll also receive an assortment of rewards for clearing Max Raids, including Exp. Candy and TRs, which can otherwise only be purchased with Watts (and are quite costly). Finally, Max Raids are the only way to encounter Gigantamax Pokemon; unlike standard monsters, these Pokemon take on a different appearance when they Dynamax and all have a unique G-Max move.

Which Pokemon you encounter in Max Raids is typically up to chance, but developer Game Freak periodically hosts Max Raid events that make certain monsters--such as Gigantamax Pokemon--much more common for a limited time. You can see the full list of Max Raid events happening right now in Pokemon Sword and Shield below. Be sure to also check out our Max Raid guide for tips to help you conquer these Dynamax monsters.

Pokemon Sword & Shield Current Max Raid Events

PokemonVersionEnd Date
Gigantamax SnorlaxSword & ShieldJune 29
Gigantamax GengarSwordJune 29
Gigantamax KinglerSwordJune 29
Gigantamax LaprasSwordJune 29
Gigantamax GarbodorSwordJune 29
Gigantamax CorviknightSwordJune 29
Gigantamax AppletunSwordJune 29
Gigantamax Toxtricity (Amped Form)SwordJune 29
Gigantamax CentiskorchSwordJune 29
Gigantamax GrimmsnarlSwordJune 29
Gigantamax AlcremieSwordJune 29
Gigantamax DuraludonSwordJune 29
Gigantamax CharizardShieldJune 29
Gigantamax ButterfreeShieldJune 29
Gigantamax MachampShieldJune 29
Gigantamax OrbeetleShieldJune 29
Gigantamax DrednawShieldJune 29
Gigantamax CoalossalShieldJune 29
Gigantamax FlappleShieldJune 29
Gigantamax SandacondaShieldJune 29
Gigantamax Toxtricity (Low Key Form)ShieldJune 29
Gigantamax HattereneShieldJune 29
Gigantamax CopperajahShieldJune 29

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