Pokemon Sword and Shield are bringing players back to the game by switching out which Pokemon appear in the Max Raid Battles. For the month of March, its Gigantamax Machamp and this guide will help players defeat it. Pokemon Sword and Shield introduced the Dynamax mechanic in its debut back last November. All Pokemon have the ability to transform and supersize in the battle for a few turns (In the lore of the game, Pokemon can only Dynamax in specific locations). While all Pokemon are able to Dynamax, only a few Pokemon are allowed to enter a form called a Gigantamax. These are unique forms to Pokemon Sword and Shield and give new designs to very specific Pokemon. Fan favorites like Pikachu and Gengar have their own Gigantamax forms and achieving each of these has proven to be a difficult task. For starters, each Gigantamax form is only achievable by capturing them in a Max Raid Battle or by trading with another trainer. The catch rate of these creatures are surprisingly low and the way developer Game Freak handles what Pokemon appear when making it harder to achieve them all in on go. Gigantamax Pokemon cycle in-and-out of the game every few weeks and for the month of March, Gigantamax Machamp is ready to be battled. This guide will help players defeat this fighting machine.

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It is important to mention that Gigantamax Machamp only appears in Pokemon Sword. Gigantamax Gengar is the version exclusive that appears in Pokemon Shield. To battle both, play with friends or have both versions of the game. Gigantamax Machamp is not the only Pokemon who is available in the month of March to battle. Gigantamax Snorlax, which initially made its debut around the time the Pokemon anime introduced it, makes its return after being removed a few months back. Gigantamax Pokemon cycle in to encourage players to return back to the game when new Pokemon are introduced. There has been a stigma around the series about the lack of replayability after completing everything that is available in-game such as capturing every Pokemon and completing the Pokedex. Game Freak's solution around this is to hide certain Gigantamax Pokemon as timed exclusives during short periods of time. Gigantamax Snorlax and Machamp raids are only available from March 9th to March 25th. Once March 25th comes by, a new set of Pokemon will be cycled in and players will have to wait until they return at a later date. Gigantamax Machamp is one of the more difficult Pokemon to defeat in the game. This guide will help players figure out what it takes to defeat it.

How To Defeat Gigantamax Machamp in Pokemon Sword and Shield

Pokemon Sword Shield Max Raid Battles

To add Gigantamax Machamp to the rotation, go on to the Mystery Gift and select "Get Wild Area News". The new Pokemon will start to appear in the raids. When participating in raids of Gigantamax Pokemon, it is always recommended to play with real-life players rather than the unreliable AI. Max Raid Battles require teamwork in order to beat them, and typically the AI does what they want at their own pace, not truly participating in the battle the way they should be. Always bring a full party of players. It only takes one mistake to cost the players the game. Although, finding the battle can take a while, as other Gigantamax Pokemon are still in play, meaning finding Machamp may require some time and patience. There is a Pokemon Raid exploit players can use that Game Freak has yet to patch out that makes it much easier for Machamp to spawn.

This exploit makes it easier to re-roll the use of Wishing Pieces in dens, allowing players to save time in finding their desired Pokemon. There has been debate about using this exploit, pointing out this is unethical and cheating, but that's up to the player's very own judgment. To do the exploit, turn off the auto-save feature and set the text speed to slow. Throw a Wishing Piece into a den and as the beam of light appears, press the Switch home button. If it is not a purple beam, restart the game and try again until it is. Once the purple beam appears, click on it to see if its Machamp. If not, select "Invite others" and return to the Switch settings and change the date to the next day. This will change the Pokemon that appears in the den. Repeat this until Machamp appears.

Now that Gigantamax Machamp has appeared and the player has a full party of friends, make sure to bring Fairy, Flying, or Psychic-type Pokemon into the battle, as these moves are super effective in doing damage. The leader of the room should Dynamax as soon as the battle begins to start dishing out damage immediately. Gigantamax has a devastating physical attack stat that can heavily damage any Pokemon, regardless of its typing. Dwindle down its HP until it explodes, giving the player the opportunity to capture it. As mentioned, capturing a Gigantamax Pokemon is up to chance and may take a few attempts in succeeding.

Pokemon Sword and Shield's method of containing Pokemon behind a limited-time wall is an excellent way to keep players returning back to the game. It causes these Gigantamax Pokemon to feel more like an event every time they happen. It creates a social buzz that can generate more and more attention to the game itself. Unlike previous titles, events for the game were very rare and barely happened in certain regions of the world. In Pokemon Sword and Shield, a new event happens every month or so. To promote the release of the remake of the First Pokemon Movie, raids for Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, and Mewtwo were all added into the game. This event only lasted for a few days, so those trainers who were able to successfully capture these Pokemon contain a small piece of Pokemon history. As the upcoming Pokemon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass release later this year, more content is sure to keep trainers returning for years to come.

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Pokemon Sword and Shield are available now on the Nintendo Switch.