Shiny Galarian Meowth Appearing In Pokemon Sword And Shield This Weekend

Another limited-time Max Raid event is happening now in Pokemon Sword and Shield. This weekend, all three regional variants of Meowth will be featured in Max Raid Battles across both games, and you'll even have a chance to find Shiny Galarian Meowth.

Until May 2, Kantonian Meowth, Alolan Meowth, and Galarian Meowth will all appear in Max Raid dens more frequently than usual across the Wild Area, Isle of Armor, and Crown Tundra. Not only is this a good chance to catch Kantonian and Alolan Meowth, which don't normally appear in Sword and Shield, but Gigantamax Meowth and Shiny Galarian Meowth will also be available in five-star Max Raids. Those two will be fairly rare, however, so you'll need to check Raids often if you're hoping to catch them.

Gigantamax Meowth was initially only available as an early purchase bonus for those who picked up a copy of Sword or Shield shortly after their launch. It was brought back later as part of a Max Raid event, but it's still among the rarest Gigantamax forms in the games. Like Gigantamax Pikachu and Eevee, however, Gigantamax Meowth is not able to evolve, but it knows an exclusive move called G-Max Gold Rush that confuses foes and nets you more money after the battle.

The Meowth Max Raid event runs until 4:59 PM PT / 7:59 PM ET / 11:59 PM UTC on May 2, giving you only a few days to catch the Pokemon. Before they can begin appearing in your game, you'll need to refresh your Max Raid dens. You can do this either by connecting online via the Y-Comm, or by opening Mystery Gift from the menu screen and selecting Get the Wild Area News.

In other Pokemon news, the series' latest spin-off game, New Pokemon Snap, is now available on Nintendo Switch. Later this year, the hybrid console is getting remakes of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, while a new Pokemon adventure set in ancient Sinnoh called Pokemon Legends: Arceus is slated to release in early 2022.