The Max Raid Battle is a new feature that appears in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, where four players can simultaneously battle a Dynamax or Gigantamax Pokémon. It is also the only way for players to acquire Gigantamax Pokémon without using the Isle of Armor DLC, barring the Charizard that Leon gives the player post-game and mystery rewards.
Overview[]
As stated above, the Max Raid Battle consists of four players. If there are not enough available players, AI Trainers will be placed to fill the slots. These AI Trainers are always guaranteed if the player attempts the raid alone.
The AI Trainers always come with the same Pokémon. They may have a Focus Band equipped.
- Togepi
- Heatmor
- Salazzle
- Pikachu
- Eevee
- Wobbuffet
- Clefairy
- Maractus
- Hawlucha
- Torkoal
- Dhelmise
- Qwilfish
- Weavile
- Snorlax
The Pokémon that appear varies on the Pokémon Den. The beam of light that also shoots out also determines its rarity - a normal Pokémon causes the den to shoot out a basic red beam, while a rare or Gigantamax Pokémon causes the den to shoot out a focused purple beam.
When a Max Raid is started, the enemy Pokémon that would appear is hidden out, but can still be mostly identified by the shape and class types. Unlike normal Dynamax, the enemy Pokémon is in this state permanently, while the player team is capped at one Dynamax Pokémon at a time. Dynamax is available once every three turns and cannot be carried across turns.
Max Raids come in five difficulties, indicated as stars. The amount of stars in the raid determines how strong the Pokémon is. The Dynamax/Gigantamaxed Pokémon is capable of using Max/G-Max moves alongside normal attacks and abilities. They can occasionally launch a debuff that nullifies all players' Pokémon abilities and stat changes. Gigantamax Pokémon can only be found in specific dens.
The Max Raid ends when four allied Pokémon faint or ten turns pass without the enemy Pokémon being defeated, whichever comes first. When an allied Pokémon faints, the game will give warnings regarding the storm above the enemy Pokémon of its intensity. Fainted Pokémon will return to the battlefield after one turn has passed with full health.
One and Two Star raids[]
The simplest raids, these play out much like a normal battle would.
Three and higher raids[]
In these raids, the battle becomes slightly more complex, as the Pokémon now has damage caps in place to prevent players from defeating the Pokémon in one turn. When these damage caps are reached, the Pokémon becomes more desperate and their attacks become more aggressive. A mysterious barrier will also appear with a random amount of durability bars ranging from 3-5, with attacks removing one or sometimes two at a time. When this bar is completely depleted, the barrier shatters, dealing damage to the Dynamaxed Pokémon and causing both their normal and special defense to drastically drop. Four and five star raids generally have two of these barriers.
Gigantamax Pokémon are always considered a five star fight.
Special raids[]
During Sordward and Shielbert's havoc across Galar, players will face a Dynamaxed Pokémon. During the first three Gyms, the battle involves four Trainers. After the pair acquire the Wishing Stars from their infiltrator assistant, they will cause havoc at the remaining Gyms (except Spikemuth, due to its lack of a Power Spot), with the player facing a single Pokémon in a one-on-one fight. The Pokémon from these fights cannot be caught.
Regigigas' raid is a one-on-one fight with no assistance from other players or AI, due to the special requirements needed to face it.
Rewards[]
The Dynamaxed or Gigantamaxed Pokémon can be caught after its health is fully depleted. While the chance of catching the Pokémon is very high, it is still possible to fail the catch, in which the Pokémon will end up fleeing.
The Pokémon caught will have Dynamax proficiency, the level of which is determined by the difficulty of the raid. Gigantamax catches have a higher Dynamax level compared to Pokémon of a similar level and are also able to Gigantamax themselves in fights where it is allowed.
After you defeat or catch a Max Raid Pokémon the player will receive an assortment of awards, including TRs and Exp. Candies for defeating the Pokémon. The candy's size is determined by the difficulty, while the TRs will usually be that of the Pokémon's types. The player's Pokémon will not receive any Exp. Points from the battle itself.
Gallery[]
