Pokemon Sword and Shield Player Starts the Game With Incredible Rare Discovery

Some Pokemon Sword and Shield players on Nintendo Switch simply end up luckier than others. That's certainly the case for Reddit poster Aeris_7, who made an early discovery that would make some players quite jealous; the poster's Grookey was infected with Pokerus just 15 minutes into playing the game! At that point, Aeris_7 and their Grookey had fought just two battles: one with Hop, and the other with a wild Skwovet. Aeris_7's math puts the odds of getting Pokerus that early at 0.00009%! That's incredibly unlikely, and should provide a nice benefit for the player at the start of the game.

The original Reddit post can be found embedded below.

My Grookey caught Pokérus within the first 15 minutes of a new playthrough (had only battled Hop for the first time and a single Skwovet in the Slumbering Weald). About a 0.00009% chance of catching it after 2 battles (if I've done my math right). from r/PokemonSwordAndShield

Introduced in Pokemon Gold and Silver, Pokerus is a virus that can be contracted by Pokemon. However, its effects are actually beneficial to the afflicted creature. While the Pokemon has Pokerus, effort values (or EVs) gained in battle will double. Pokerus can also spread to other Pokemon that are part of the team, allowing them to reap the same benefit. The effect eventually wears off, but it can provide a great boost!

Like encounters with Shiny Pokemon, Pokerus is a luck-of-the-draw scenario. Players can spend countless hours restarting the game over and over again to obtain Shiny versions of certain Pokemon, but there's no real way to do the same for Pokerus. It's been part of the series since Gen II, but there are probably a lot of players that have never actually encountered Pokerus. As such, the odds of a Pokemon getting it right at the start are incredibly slim, and very exciting.

It's always interesting to see the various encounters that players have in Pokemon Sword and Shield. Elements like Shiny Pokemon and Pokerus ensure that no two playthroughs are ever the same for players. Those boosted EVs should come in handy during the journey ahead!

Pokemon Sword and Shield is available now, exclusively on Nintendo Switch. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the game right here.

Are you a fan of Pokemon Sword and Shield? Have you encountered Pokerus in the game? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!