Pokemon Sword and Shield Gets a Surprise New Event

Pokemon Sword and Shield is hosting a new event for players in celebration of Pokemon Day. From now until February 27th, players will have the opportunity to battle and capture Gigantamax versions of Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise in the Wild Area of Pokemon Sword and Shield. This marks a rare opportunity for Pokemon Sword and Shield players to obtain Gigantamax versions of Blastoise and Venusaur without purchasing the DLC content added in 2020. Typically, players can obtain one of the two Pokemon during the course of the Isle of Armor DLC storyline, while the other Pokemon can be obtained either through Raid Battles or by feeding a Venusaur or Blastoise a Max Soup.

Unlike other Wild Area events, the Pokemon Day event doesn't feature any increased shiny rates. However, the 5-Star battles feature Level 80 Pokemon instead of Level 60 Pokemon, which makes the battles significantly harder than usual. 

The Pokemon Company has continued to support Pokemon Sword and Shield over two years after release with regular new events in the Wild Area. Most of the these events are tied to real-world events of some kind, with occasional "repeats" such as a New Year's event focused on Shiny Magikarp. Still, this marks the first time that the Gigantamax versions of the Kanto Starter Pokemon have been featured in a Wild Area event. 

Today's Pokemon Sword and Shield event announcement is the second in a series of announcements leading up to Pokemon Day 2022. Yesterday, Pokemon Masters EX announced new content, while Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl received some additional updates to its Colosseum features with a late night release. This week will also feature new announcements from Pokemon Unite, Pokemon Go, and the P25 Music project. The Pokemon Company has confirmed they will be announcing a new project on Pokemon Day this year, but has not provided any additional details. Notably, The Pokemon Company has not signaled whether they will announce a Pokemon Presents, which usually serves as the herald for new game announcements.