Sword & Shield

The Long Speedrun Summit (LSS) are hosting the 2024 edition of their speedrunning marathon from September 13th through September 30th. Pokémon Red/Green, Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee, Pokémon Sword/Shield, and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond are set to feature towards the end of the event, and can be watched from their official Twitch channel starting September 26th.

The 2024 edition of the Catch a Million charity marathon is continuing all week, with more than two dozen separate streamers (and counting!) taking part in the event. Lists of all streamers currently live can be found on the Tiltify page for the event, as well as by searching for #catchamillion on Twitch.

The Pokémon Company has announced that Super Music Collections for Pokémon Sword and Shield + Expansion Pass, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and Pokémon Sword and Shield + The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero will each be released in Japan on Pokémon Day on February 27th, 2024. Pre-orders are now open on the Pokémon Center ONLINE website in Japan, while stocks last, and are limited to a maximum of 2 items per person.

Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield's November 2022 Season for Ranked Battles (Season 36) has begun. This season will be the final Ranked Battles Season for Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, and will run continuously until support for the games is ended an unspecified time in the future. Trainers competing in this season will not receive any rewards.

Glastrier and Spectrier are appearing more frequently in Max Raid Battles in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield until October 23rd, at 4:59pm (PDT). Players who defeat them can receive many useful items that wouldn't normally be earned in Max Raid Battles. This event may possibly be the final Wild Area News to be released for Sword and Shield, with the impending release of Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet. A notice on the Nintendo Switch News Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield channel last week stated that Wild Area News will not be updated after November 1st.

Registration for the final Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield Online Competition, The Ultimate Finale is now open for registration, and will remain open until October 27th, at 4:59pm (PDT). The competition itself will then run from October 27th, at 5:00pm to October 30th, at 4:59pm (PDT).

Several stores in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand will be distributing code cards across October and November that can be used to receive Genesect, Volcanion, and Marshadow in Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield. No purchase is required for players to receive these codes, however supplies will be limited and will only remain available while stocks last. Each person can only receive one code card, and each code can only be used once.

The distribution of code cards to redeem Shiny Eternatus in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield that were previously announced for several countries has now also been announced to be distributed in Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. In Taiwan and Hong Kong, the code cards will be distributed from October 18th, while it will distribute from October 21st in Japan. Both will distribute them until November 17th. No purchase will be required for players to receive these code cards, however supplies are limited and will only be available while stocks last. Each person can only receive one code card, and each code can only be used once. The codes will expire on November 24th in Japan only.

Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield's October 2022 Season for Ranked Battles (Season 35) has begun. This season will run until 4:59pm PDT on October 31st. This season will follow the Series 13 regulations, in which Trainers can battle alongside special Pokémon that are normally restricted. However, there are no restrictions on the number of special Pokémon that may be registered to the Battle Team. Dynamaxing or Gigantamaxing are also allowed.

A limited-time distribution of Lucario was announced for Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield during the September 16th broadcast of Pokémon Journeys: The Series (Pocket Monsters) in Japan. This Lucario is based on the Lucario used by Ash Ketchum in the World Coronation Series. Players can redeem this Lucario using the code「HAD0UW0CATCH」. This code can only be redeemed until September 29th.

Players of Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield will be able redeem Shiny Eternatus in-game using a code card that will be distributed starting from the end of this week at several retailers in North America and across the Asia-Pacific region. The distribution of code cards will begin from Friday September 16th in Malaysia, Singapore and The Philippines, and from Sunday September 18th in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The distribution ends on October 1st in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and on November 17th in Malaysia, Singapore and The Philippines. No purchase will be required for players to receive these codes, however supplies are limited and codes will only be available while stocks last. Each person can only receive one code card, and each code can only be used once. No date has yet been given for when these codes will expire after the distribution concludes.

Several stores across Europe are currently distributing free code cards that can be redeemed for Genesect, Volcanion, and Marshadow in Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield. No purchase is required for players to receive these codes, however supplies are limited, and they will only remain available until September 30th, or while stocks last.

Registration for the Champion League Online Competition in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield started earlier this week, and will remain open until September 22nd, at 4:59pm (PDT). The competition itself will then run from September 22nd, at 5:00pm, through to September 25th, at 4:59pm (PDT).

Pyukumuku, Pincurchin, and Snom will all be appearing more frequently in Max Raid Battles in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield through September 18th, at 4:59pm (PDT). Very rarely, Shiny Snom can also be encountered.

A limited-time distribution of Sirfetch'd was announced for Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield during the September 9th broadcast of Pokémon Journeys: The Series (Pocket Monsters) in Japan. This Sirfetch'd is based on the Sirfetch'd used by Ash Ketchum in the World Coronation Series. Players can redeem this Sirfetch'd using the code「H1SSATSUNEG1」. This code can only be redeemed until September 22nd.

A limited-time distribution of Gengar was announced for Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield during the September 2nd broadcast of Pokémon Journeys: The Series (Pocket Monsters) in Japan. This Gengar is based on the Gengar used by Ash Ketchum in the World Coronation Series. Players can redeem this Gengar using the code「GENNGER0GE94」. This code can only be redeemed until September 15th.

A limited-time distribution of Dragonite was announced for Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield during the August 26th broadcast of Pokémon Journeys: The Series (Pocket Monsters) in Japan. This Dragonite is based on the Dragonite used by Ash Ketchum in the World Coronation Series. Players can redeem this Dragonite using the code「UM1N0KESH1N」. This code can only be redeemed until September 8th.

As announced together with the streaming schedule last week, limited-time distributions of a digital rewards for a variety of Pokémon games are currently being distributed in celebration of the 2022 Pokémon World Championships. These include a distribution of the Victory Pokémon, Victini, is currently being distributed for Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, a Path to the Peak card for the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online or Pokémon Trading Card Game Live, and a 2022 Worlds Tee avatar item for Pokémon GO.

The 2022 Pokémon World Championships will be taking place from August 18th to 21st, at the ExCeL Centre in London. The Pokémon Company International has today shared details about how fans can catch all the action via livestreams on the various official Pokémon Twitch channels. Also released were details on a variety of digital broadcast rewards that fans can receive simply by tuning in, including the Victory Pokémon, Victini, as well as a physical distribution of Sinistea for people attending the event in-person.

The Bulk Up Pokémon, Grimmsnarl is appearing more frequently in Max Raid Battles in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield through August 21st, at 4:59pm (PDT). Rarely, Grimmsnarl's Shiny variant can also be encountered.