Sword & Shield

Between Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas, Boxing Day, and New Year's Eve, the October-December quarter is a big one for any business dealing with consumer products, and Nintendo is no exception to that. While Nintendo's latest quarterly investor briefing has revealed that their net sales over the holiday season in 2021 didn't quite match up to the performance of the previous year, several significant milestones have been set during this quarter for the Nintendo Switch, and for the Pokémon Franchise.

The Pokémon Company has announced three Pokémon 2022 International Challenge online competitions, which will be taking place over February, March, and April for all players globally. Top players from Japan in these online competitions will also qualify for the Pokémon Japan Championships 2022 Qualifiers that will be held in May. Successful trainers from that competition will then qualify to participate in the Pokémon Japan Championships 2022 in June.

Lucky-themed Pokémon will be appearing more frequently in Max Raid Battles in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield through January 10th, 2022, at 8:59 a.m. JST. These Pokémon include Meowth, Magikarp, Sudowoodo, and Darmanitan. Very rarely, a Shiny Magikarp may also be encountered. To encounter these Pokémon in a Max Raid Battle, players will need to connect their Nintendo Switch systems to the internet through the Y-Comm or by selecting Mystery Gift in the X menu, then selecting Get the Wild Area News. Simply walk up to and interact with any Pokémon Den in the Wild Area whenever you see a pillar of light shining from it to start a Max Raid Battle. This event does not affect the Pokémon encountered within Dynamax Adventures.

Registration for the Test Your Luck! Online Competition in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield has started, and will remain open until January 6th, 2022. The competition itself will then run from January 7th, 2022 at 00:00 UTC to January 9th, 2022 at 23:59 UTC.

Holiday-themed Pokémon will be appearing more frequently in Max Raid Battles in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield through until December 26th, 2021, at 3:59 p.m. PST. These Pokémon include Starmie, Delibird, and Cryogonal. Very rarely, a Shiny Delibird may also be encountered.

Registration for the new Tiny Tourney Online Competition in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield has started, and will remain open until December 9, 2021, at 3:59 p.m. PST. The competition itself will then run from December 9, 2021, at 4:00 p.m. PST until December 12, 2021, at 3:59 p.m. PST.

To celebrate Eevee Day on November 21, 2021, all of the Eeveelutions will be appearing more frequently in Max Raid Battles in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield through November 29, 2019, at 8:59 a.m. Each Pokémon has a chance to appear in their Shiny variant.

The Shiny Zacian and Shiny Zamazenta serial code distribution, which has already been running in a multitude of countries worldwide, has finally been announced for distribution in Australia. Starting November 19, codes will be available at EB Games stores nationwide.

At the end of the Pokémon Global Exhibition Day 2 livestream, a limited-time distribution for Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield was announced. By redeeming the code 「GL0BALCHAMP2021」 , players can receive a Charizard based on that used by Leonardo Bonanomi to win the Pokémon Global Exhibition.

The previously announced distribution at Pokémon Center stores in Japan, has also been confirmed for the Pokémon Center in Singapore. Players visiting Pokémon Center Singapore during the month of their birthday will receive a code card, which will then give Happiny when redeemed in-game in either Pokémon Sword, Pokémon Shield, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond, Pokémon Shining Pearl, or Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

From November 1, 2021, players of Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield can receive a different Sweet item in-game every day at Pokémon Center stores in Japan.

Halloween-themed Pokémon will be appearing more frequently in Max Raid Battles in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield through October 31, 2021, at 4:59 p.m. PDT. These Pokémon include Sableye, Dusknoir, Zoroark, Corviknight, and Thievul. Very rarely, a Shiny Zoroark may also be encountered.

The Gym Challenge online competition will be running in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield between November 11, 2021, at 4:00 p.m. PST and November 14, 2021, at 3:59 p.m. PST. Registration for the competition is open right now, and will remain open until November 10, 2021, at 3:59 p.m. PST.

The Pokémon Company International have announced that Play! Pokémon Premier Events will be resuming in North America and Europe from March 2022. Dates for Regional and International Championships across North America and Europe were also announced. The Play! Pokémon 2022 Championship Series season, leading to the 2022 Pokémon World Championships planned to take place in London in August 2022, will include four different Pokémon products: the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Pokémon video games, Pokkén Tournament DX, and for the first time, Pokémon GO in partnership with Niantic.

The Shiny Zacian and Zamazenta serial codes distribution, announced for Japan earlier this month and for Singapore, Malaysia, The Philippines, and Thailand earlier today, has now also been confirmed for distribution at 7-11 stores throughout Taiwan. The flyer containing both serial codes to redeem Shiny Zamazenta in Pokémon Sword and Shiny Zacian in Pokémon Shield will be distributed from October 22, 2021 to November 18, 2021 at select 7-11 stores in Taiwan. The flyers are being distributed 1 per customer, while supplies last, with no purchase necessary. The serial codes can be redeemed in-game by November 25, 2021. Only 1 Zacian and 1 Zamazenta can be received per game. Shiny Zacian has the held item Rusted Sword, while Shiny Zamazenta has the held item Rusted Shield.

The Shiny Zacian and Zamazenta serial codes distribution, announced for Japan earlier this month, has now also been confirmed for distribution across Singapore, Malaysia, The Philippines, and Thailand.

The Pokémon Company International has announced the regulations for Ranked Battles Series 11 in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, which will begin on October 31, 2021.

To commemorate the release of the Pokémon Trading Card Game: Celebrations special expansion, players can head to Best Buy stores in the United States to receive a code card which allows you to obtain two Dynamax Crystals that you can use in Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield. They let you encounter Gigantamax Pikachu and Gigantamax Eevee in Max Raid Battles. No purchase is required to receive the code card. They are available from October 10 to October 24, 2021, and while stock lasts. How to receive the Dynamax Crystal via Mystery Gift: Launch Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield from the Nintendo Switch HOME Menu. Press the X button during gameplay to access the in-game menu. Select MYSTERY GIFT. Select Get a Mystery Gift. Select Get with Code/Password. Enter the code and select OK. Select Dynamax Crystal Gift. Be sure to save your game after receiving your gift. After receiving the Dynamax Crystal: Go to the Watchtower Lair, a large Pokémon Den that lies at the base of the Watchtower...

Play! Pokémon and The Pokémon Company International have announced more details for the 2022 Play! Pokémon Championship Series. In the 2022 Pokémon Championship Series, Trainers from around the world will compete in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, Pokkén Tournament DX, and for the first time, Pokémon GO, for millions in prizes and travel awards.

The Japanese official Pokémon website has announced that Japanese players will be able to receive redemption codes for both Shiny Zacian in Pokémon Sword and Shiny Zamazenta in Pokémon Shield. Code cards will be distributed starting October 22, 2021, by most stores stocking video games throughout Japan (excluding convenience stores).