Pokemon Sword And Shield Add Gigantimax Blastoise, Charizard, And Venusaur For Pokemon Day

Pokemon Sword and Shield are making some hard-to-find Pokemon a little easier to catch as part of this year's Pokemon Day celebration. You can now find Gigantamax versions of the original Kanto starters--Blastoise, Venusaur, and Charizard--in the Wild area. You have until February 27 at 3:59 PM PT.

The Gigantamax Kanto trio will appear in Pokemon dens, and can be taken on with a Max Raid Battle. To enable the battle, you'll need to connect your Switch to the internet and then select Mystery Gift followed by Get the Wild Area News. Once you've done that, the chances of getting a Gigantamax Pokemon in a Max Raid battle are significantly increased.

Normally, the easiest way to get Gigantamax versions of the Kanto starters involves playing through the Isle of Armor DLC and using a special item to upgrade your starters. This method makes them a good bit more available. Whether you catch or defeat them, you'll also get a Max Mushroom, which can be used in battle for a big stat boost, or out of battle to craft Max Soup, which allows you to Gigantamax a compatible Pokemon.

Pokemon Day will be February 27, 2022, marking the 26th anniversary of the original release of Pokemon Red and Green in Japan. This year the Pokemon Company is celebrating the lead-up to the big day with a week of announcements, with updates to games like Pokemon Masters, Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, and of course, Sword and Shield.