PokéNews (June 19): Pokémon Sword and Shield / Pokémon GO

19 June 202019 June 2020 Lite_Agent Game Freak, Niantic, Pokémon GO, Pokémon Sword and Shield, Pokémon Trading Card Game, The Pokémon Company

Today’s Pokémon news: latest Pokémon Sword and Shield news, but also…

Pokémon GO
Pokémon Trading Card Game
Pokémon merchandise

Pokémon Sword and Shield

Zeraora Max Raid Battle

The Pokémon Company have announced that, as of today, 272 335 players have managed to defeat Zeraora during the Max Raid Battle event currently running until June 29th. If at least 1 million players manage to defeat it, then all players will receive Shiny Zeraora via Pokémon Bank at a later date.

Source: The Pokémon Company (Twitter)

Competitive Ruleset

Here’s all you need to know about the latest Ruleset for Ranked Battle and VGC events, running from July onwards:

Pokémon allowed: all those from the Galar Pokédex, the Isle of Amor Pokédex, and Pokémon #638 to 640 and #722 to 730 on the National Pokédex. Galar or Battle Ready Marks required;
Gigantamax Pokémon allowed: Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, Butterfree, Pikachu, Meowth, Machamp, Gengar, Kingler, Lapras, Eevee, Snorlax, Garbodor, Rillaboom, Cinderace, Inteleon, Corviknight, Orbeetle, Drednaw, Coalossal, Flapple, Appletun, Sandaconda, Toxtricity, Centiskorch, Hatterene, Grimmsnarl, Alcremie, Copperajah, Duraludon, Urshifu
Teams: 6 Pokémon, 3 sent to battle
Level: 100 max., Level set at 50

Source: Serebii

Pokémon GO

New features

Niantic have announced two new features for Pokémon GO, currently in testing:

Daily guaranteed Pokémon encounters

A limited group of Trainers will soon get a special visit from Professor Willow! If you’re part of this test, he’ll tell you that he’s been working on a special kind of Incense. This Incense won’t appear in your Item Bag, but it’ll be active after Professor Willow gives it to you, attracting a Pokémon once a day that’ll appear only for you. Be sure to check the game every day to see what Pokémon will appear!

Daily Free Boxes in the shop

Soon, a small number of Trainers will be able to receive a free box of items daily in the shop! If you’re part of this test, the Shop button will display a notification when a Daily Free Box is available. To get your Daily Free Box, simply go to the shop and claim the box in the Free section. The box will contain different items each time, so be sure to claim your Daily Free Box every day to see what items you get!

Source: Niantic

Dragon Boat Festival

Another event for Pokémon GO has been announced: the Dragon Boat Festival, taking place from June 25th to June 29th in Taiwan. It will feature special Field Research tasks, allowing players to encounter Lickitung, Darumaka, Hippopotas, Almomola, and Audino.

Source: Serebii

Store

The following boxes are now available in the Store:

Special Box (480 Coins): Premium Battle Pass x2, Super Incubator x2, Star Piece x3
Ultra Box (1480 Coins): Premium Battle Pass x16, Super Incubators x4, Star Piece x3, Lucky Egg x3
Adventure Box (1480 Coins): Super Incubators x14, Star Pieces x3, Egg Incubators x4, Lucky Egg x3

Also, Niantic have announced that new Gift sticker designs are available for purchase. Previously released stickers can still be obtained for free from Gifts.

Source: Serebii / Niantic (Twitter)

Pokémon Trading Card Game

The Pokémon Company have announced the release of 9 V-Starter Decks for the Pokémon Trading Card Game, in Japan. They come out on July 10th, and cost 500 Yen each.

Here’s some pictures:

Source: 4Gamer

Pokémon merchandise

Pokémon Café Mix, announced during the first Pokémon Presents presentation, isn’t available yet (it comes out on June 23rd in North America, and June 24th in Europe and Japan), but it already has its own range of merchandise. It will be available from June 27th at the various Pokémon Center stores across Japan.

Here’s some pictures: