How to Get Gigantamax Snorlax in Pokemon Sword and Shield

So, Gigantamax Snorlax has been unleashed upon Galar. You now have until January 4, 2020 to find, defeat, and catch it. But just how do you find the majestic Giga-chungus in Pokemon Sword and Shield? 

Below, we outline how to access a special raid to spawn the Snorlax, as well as how to beat it and how to capture it. We include the Snorlax’s weaknesses and what Pokemon are best used against it. And we share what pokeballs are best for capturing it. 

How to Get Gigantamax Snorlax: Summoning the Sumo King

Gigantamax Snorlax is a Promoted Raid. You can easily force your copy of Pokemon Sword or Shield to spawn a special raid, making this step easier.  

Go to Mystery Gift in the menus. Then select Get the Wild Area News. The game will automatically spawn a Promoted Raid in one of the Wild Area dens.

Spawning a Promoted Raid will require access to the internet. Once you do so, you should receive a message prompting you to “go have a look in those Pokemon Dens!”. 

You may need to clear out all of the existing raids in your game before the Promoted Raid can spawn. Don’t panic if you don’t see Snorlax immediately.

Once you’ve hunted down the correct den, make sure to save your game in front of it. Doing so allows you multiple attempts at catching Snorlax in quick succession. Promoted Raids have lowered capture rates compared to the regularly spawning raids in the Wild Area. 

Conquering the Colossus

Once you have saved your game, enter the raid battle. Snorlax, a plain Normal-type, is weak to Fighting-type moves. A heavy hitter like Gigantamax Machamp would be a solid Pokemon to take with you. 

Of course, if you have completed the game, then Eternatus, Zacian, or Zamazenta are probably your best bets. 

All three of these Pokemon have moves that deal double damage to Dynamaxed targets. Dynamax Cannon for Eternatus and Behemoth Blade/Bash for the Sword and Shield doggos work wonders. Using these moves, you can easily beat a 5-star Gigantamax Snorlax. 

Equipping Leftovers to your Pokemon is also a good strategy to adopt. Taking down Snorlax can take a long time, so being able to out-grind the target is incredibly valuable in raids. 

Catching the Chungus

Once you have managed to defeat Gigantamax Snorlax, you have two main options for capturing them.

Repeat Balls will give you the best odds (3.5x) if you have already caught that Pokemon. Dusk Balls will give you the best odds (3x). Raid dens count as caves for the purpose of using Dusk Balls.

If your Gigantamax Snorlax breaks out of the ball, you can either close your game and reload your save for another try, or you can repeat the process and search for your new G-Max raid if you consider this an exploit. There have been mixed reactions to Raid exploits from the community, after all.

For more tips on raid battles, check out our Raid Guide, or check out our full list of guides for Pokemon Sword and Shield.