Pokemon Sword And Shield: Get Free Galar Starters With Hidden Abilities Via Pokemon Home

A few more free Pokemon are up for grabs for Pokemon Sword and Shield. Players who transfer a monster from either title to Pokemon Home will be able to claim the three Galar starters: Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble. What makes these particular Pokemon special is that they each have their Hidden Abilities, which up until now have not been available in Sword and Shield.

Grookey's Hidden Ability is Grassy Surge, which sets up Grassy Terrain as soon as the Pokemon enters the field. Scorbunny's is Libero; this changes the Pokemon's type to match whatever move it is using. Finally, Sobble's Hidden Ability is Sniper, which increases the amount of damage critical hits inflict.

To claim these starters, you'll first need to transfer a Pokemon from Sword or Shield to Pokemon Home on Nintendo Switch. Once you've done that, log into the mobile version of Pokemon Home and do the following:

• Select the Menu button at the bottom of the screen
• Select Mystery Gift
• Select Gift Box
• Tap on each Pokemon in the Gift Box and select Receive

You don't need to have a Pokemon Home subscription in order to take advantage of this offer, but some of the service's features--such as the ability to trade Pokemon or view their base stats--are locked behind a premium plan, which costs $3 USD for one month, $5 USD for three months, and $16 USD for one year. You can learn more in our breakdown of Pokemon Home free and premium plan features.

These aren't the only free Pokemon available right now. Sword and Shield players can also claim a free Galarian Corsola with its Hidden Ability until June 11. The Pokemon Company will be giving away a few more freebies in the lead up to Isle of Armor's launch, including a Galarian Meowth.

As for Isle of Armor, we recently learned the DLC expansion will release on June 17. The Pokemon Company shared a load of other new details about it, including new story tidbits, additional tutor moves, and more.