Get your Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield teams powered up, Trainers. You’re about to face new Gigantamax Pokémon during a special Max Raid Battle period. Pokémon Sword players are more likely to encounter Gigantamax Coalossal and Gigantamax Flapple in Max Raid Battles, while Pokémon Shield players are more likely to encounter Gigantamax Lapras and Gigantamax Appletun. Players are more likely to encounter Gigantamax Alcremie in both games.

To encounter these Pokémon in a Max Raid Battle, you’ll need to connect your Nintendo Switch system to the internet. Then, whenever you see a pillar of light shining from a Pokémon Den in the Wild Area, you can walk up to the Pokémon Den and interact with it to start a Max Raid Battle with a Dynamax Pokémon. In rare cases, one of these Gigantamax Pokémon can appear instead of a Dynamax Pokémon.

To get some valuable advice for tackling these challenging battles, be sure to read our Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield Max Raid Battle Tips article. And don’t wait—these Pokémon will be appearing in Max Raid Battles only until early February. Don’t miss out on your chance to catch them!