Pokemon Sword And Shield Featuring Shiny Politoed And Gigantamax Venusaur This Weekend

A new Max Raid event is underway in Pokemon Sword and Shield. To celebrate the start of the rainy season, frog Pokemon are appearing more frequently in Max Raids across the Wild Area, Isle of Armor, and Crown Tundra until June 6.

During this event, you'll have more chances to encounter Croagunk, Seismitoad, Politoed, Venusaur (which is indeed a frog), and their pre-evolved forms in Max Raid dens. Additionally, Shiny Politoed and Gigantamax Venusaur are appearing in five-star Raids. These will be much rarer to find, however.

The Max Raid event runs until 4:59 PM PT / 7:59 PM ET / 11:59 PM UTC. Before the featured Pokemon can begin appearing in your game, you'll need to refresh your Max Raid dens. You can do so by either connecting your game online or selecting Get the Wild Area News from the Mystery Gift menu.

If you miss your chance to catch Gigantamax Venusaur during this event, there will be another opportunity to get one. Following this month's Pokemon Home update, The Pokemon Company will give away a free Bulbasaur and Squirtle to all users. Both monsters will have the Gigantamax factor, meaning they'll be able to Gigantamax when they've evolved into Venusaur and Blastoise. If you purchased a Sword or Shield Expansion Pass, you can also teach a Venusaur how to Gigantamax in the Isle of Armor.

Ahead of E3 2021, Nintendo announced release dates for Pokemon Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl and Pokemon Legends: Arceus. The former are set to launch on November 19, while the latter is coming January 28. With their release on the horizon, there's a chance we could see more of the games during E3. You can see the full E3 2021 schedule here.