Pokemon Sword and Shield Gets Easter Themed Max Raid Battles

Since their release in 2019, Pokemon Sword and Shield have continued to hold Max Raid events to coincide with real-world holidays and celebrations, and the theme for Easter 2021 has now been revealed. This new event comes off the back of the game's April Fools' Day event where uncatchable Magikarp was the only Pokemon that trainers could find in Max Raid battles.

In Pokemon Sword and Shield, trainers can find Pokemon Dens throughout the game's Wild Area and fight Dynamax and Gigatamax Pokemon in Max Raid battles as part of a four-person team. The Pokemon in these battles, when caught, usually have better than average stats and may even be capable of Gigantamaxing, though sometimes the Pokemon can only be battled and not captured.

Starting from April 2nd, 2021 to April 4th, 2021, to mark the celebration of Easter, the Pokemon featured in Max Raid battles are all based around bunny Pokemon. During this event, trainers will have a better chance at catching a shiny Azumarill, whose shiny version changes from blue to gold. The event will also allow trainers to battle Cinderace, but the Pokemon cannot be caught. The full list of the Pokemon appearing in the event include:

These events do a good job at getting players to return to the games for a few days which boosts online play and are likely another reason for the Pokemon Sword and Shield financial success as the games are still being supported well beyond their release. This is important as some of the harder Max Raid battles are very difficult without other players as the NPCs vary widely in the capabilities.

Pokemon Sword and Shield are the first games in the series to offer an Expansion Pass rather than releasing a newly updated game, which has given the games a long lifespan than most Pokemon games. While some fans have voiced their upset over the length of the DLCs, both the Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra have added new systems and Pokemon to the game and, alongside regular Max Raid events, have given players a reason to continue to return to the game.

While Pokemon Sword and Shield have been criticized for their faults, and some fans are still upset about the National Dex controversy, the games have some great experiences to offer their players. The Max Raid events are a great example of this, and it is good to see a developer supporting a game so long after release, even in the simplest ways.

Over the years, as Pokemon games have changed and evolved, one aspect of the series that has gradually become a fan favorite are the sprites from the original games. And although some Pokemon are nearly unrecognizable in their Pokemon Red and Blue sprites compared to now, the artwork conveyed various dynamic poses and infused many of the monsters with personality.

For almost 2 decades, Pokemon games used 2D sprites to depict the lovable creatures, with the 5th generation of games even implementing animated sprites for every single Pokemon. As the mainline Pokemon games made the jump from 2D to 3D however, 3D models were made for each Pokemon, and the mainline titles have continued to use 3D models ever since Pokemon X and Y in 2013. But now, one pixel artist has recreated the most recent generation of Pokemon in the style of Pokemon Yellow.