Pokemon Sword & Shield has enamored fans since its initial release, having already sold over 20 million copies. Players have had a adventure to adventure through the Galar region and through ii new areas thanks to the DLC packs and take seen just about everything the game has to offer.

For those looking to get the most out of their games, it might be time to take on a Pokemon challenge. Fans of the serial have designed many challenges to make the games harder over the years, with difficulty ranging everywhere from demanding to downright mind-numbing.

Updated Sept 28th, 2021 by Russ Boswell: Pokemon continues to abound in popularity, which is wild because it's over 25-years-old. Nintendo is starting to branch out with its IP, giving additional studios a crevice at perfecting the Pokemon formula in a diverseness of spin-off games and other media. Only, at its root, the core Pokemon experience is still 1 of the most tried-and-true formulas in video game history. Only that doesn't mean it won't get dried for certain players, from fourth dimension to time. The all-time way to suspension up the monotony is with a challenge run. There are a lot of awesome Pokemon Sword Challenges floating around the net (as well as Pokemon Shield Challenges). To shine a better calorie-free on some of the fun Pokemon Sword & Shield Challenges that players tin can try, the post-obit list has been updated with even more entries.

fifteen Raidlocke

Pokemon Sword Shield gyrados Pokemon Raid Gigantamax

One of the interesting new elements added to Pokemon Sword & Shield are raids. Players can tackle Gigantamaxed Pokemon in specialized Raid dens either solo (with CPU) or with players online. It's fun, challenging, and players have an opportunity to secure some truly powerful Pokemon depending on how lucky they are. Because of how nifty this mechanic is, players accept developed a claiming around it.

The Raidlocke run forces players to complete the game past only using whatsoever the first 6 Pokemon are that they run across in Raid dens.

14 Powerlocke

Pokemon Sword Shield Zigzagoon standing tongue out

One of the easiest ways to beat the Pokemon storyline is to create a team of strong Pokemon by evolving them into powerful creatures capable of laying waste to any enemies or rival trainers. Merely what if players weren't allowed to evolve their Pokemon?

That'south the premise of the Powerlocke, which keeps all Pokemon in their commencement stage evolution, making the beginning areas of the game exceptionally challenge. Information technology forces players to grind a lot more and tin provide headaches for some gyms. Power-locking Pokemon until the Post Game tin can be a pretty fun claiming without making things as well overwhelmingly hard or random.

xiii The Clones Challenge

Pokemon Sword Shield Dracovish staring at the camera

There are a ton of Pokemon thanks to the series running strong for over 25 years. As of the time of writing, players accept 898 Pokemon to choose from, all of them with varying types, abilities, movesets, strengths, and weaknesses. That said, there are definitely some Pokemon that are much amend than others and it's not likely that players will employ every Pokemon they come in contact with in Sword & Shield (unless they fall in love with their design).

The Clones Claiming puts the idea of "good versus bad" Pokemon to the test. The concept is uncomplicated, with players using a random number generator to produce a number between 1 and 898. Whatever number they get is the merely Pokemon they can use throughout the entire game. Players can have up to six Pokemon so long every bit they're the aforementioned type, to help with movement variance. This challenge can be piece of cake or downright devastating depending on the number rolled.

12 Walk It Off

Pokemon Sword Shield Pokemon Center nurse joy

Pokemon isn't a peculiarly difficult game thanks to the fact that players become teams of half-dozen Pokemon and are capable of reviving their Pokemon in boxing should they faint. Those with defensive creatures can always "concord out" for a few turns to heal the rest of their team before being overwhelmed by the enemy. It takes away a lot of the "fright of losing" and then long equally a player is completely stacked with healing items.

Simply what if players weren't immune to heal? The Walk Information technology Off claiming takes away Pokemon Centers and all healing items (including leftovers). The end event has players forced to utilize Pokemon that are capable of healing themselves.

11 Never Faint

Pokemon Snivy Fainting anime

Never Faint is a scrap more forgiving in allowing players to use healing items merely much more than stressful when it comes to battles. If a Pokemon faints in the Walk It Off challenge, players can simply catch another ane, but Never Faint adds a terrifying layer of impending doom by completely invalidating the run if ANY of the thespian's Pokemon faint.

Allowing a Pokemon to faint ways completely resetting the run and starting over from the beginning. It's tense, difficult, and requires a lot of healing items and strategy.

x Nuzzlocke Challenge

The first Nuzzlocke Challenge Comic
From Nick Franco'southward Nuzzlocke Comics

The Nuzzlocke Challenge is likely the almost famous challenge in all of Pokemon. Players need to follow the ii core rules to participate:

  • Any Pokemon that faints is considered expressionless and must exist removed from the party (and released if players are hardcore.)
  • Players may only catch the first Pokemon they encounter in each area.

It can exist a bit harder to ensure the randomness of the second rule in Sword & Shield, so most players blindfold themselves when entering a new area until they run into a Pokemon. While not required, most players in a Nuzzlocke Challenge will also nickname all of their Pokemon and should non reload the game if something goes wrong.

9 Surprise Trade Challenge

Sometimes it'due south fun to just let fate decide which Pokemon a trainer has to utilize! Utilizing the Surprise Merchandise feature, players should catch the get-go Pokemon in whatsoever given area and immediately trade it for a mystery Pokemon. Players looking to make the claiming hardcore will likewise follow the rules of the Nuzzlocke claiming, releasing any Pokemon that faints and only getting ane new Pokemon per area.

8 Apocolocke Challenge

Apocolocke Challenge

This challenge requires a 4-sided die (or a random number generator) so make certain to come prepared! The thought is to roleplay that the Pokemon globe has gone through a major apocalypse. Depending on the number that players gyre, they have to just use certain types of Pokemon. Normal-types are allowed on all teams, but Fairy types are forbidden.

The types players get to use are as follows:

  • 1: Tsunami - Water, Grass, Flight, and Dragon-types.
  • two: Heat Wave - Fire, Electric, Ground, and Rock-types
  • 3: Ice Age - Ice, Steel, Night, and Fighting-types
  • 4: Nuclear - Bug, Psychic, Poison, and Ghost-types

vii Gym Leader Challenge

Gym Leaders Generations

Sometimes chosen a Monotype claiming, the idea is to only use Pokemon of the same blazon — just like a gym leader! Players could choose to exist a apprehensive Issues trainer or potentially a Dragon chief. Either fashion, this can create a significant challenge when players accept to take on trainers or real gym leaders where they have farthermost type weaknesses.

half dozen The All-Star Claiming

PC Box

The All-Star Claiming is one of the longest and hardest Pokemon challenges always devised. Afterwards every gym, players demand to eolith every unmarried Pokemon in their party into the PC except for one. Players then have to utilise that Pokemon to catch another Pokemon on the next route before depositing it every bit well.

This makes information technology then that players are required to grab an entirely new team each and every single fourth dimension they defeat a gym leader! It takes a long time to train upward all of the Pokemon but those that manage to consummate the challenge will find it quite rewarding.

v Shiny Only Challenge

white and orange fire pokemon that have been bred.

This claiming can either result in very small-scale teams or trainers being forced to hunt or breed Pokemon for a very long time. Players are but allowed to utilise shiny Pokemon on their team — not including the starter Pokemon as it's shiny locked. Once players get their first shiny nonetheless, their starter must exist put into the PC.

4 Wedlocke Challenge

Pokemon Wedding

Till death practice us part taken to its Pokemon extreme, Wedlockes follow the rules of a normal Nuzzlocke challenge with one exception — players must proceed their squad gender-counterbalanced. This means if their starter Pokemon is a Male, the adjacent Pokemon they catch must exist a female. Genderless Pokemon can be matched with whatsoever other Pokemon, making them a unique wild card.

Each Pokemon is coupled when a pair is defenseless, and so when one Pokemon faints, the other must as well be removed from the party. If trainers make up one's mind to put one Pokemon in the PC, its partner must also be deposited.

3 Genderlocke Challenge

Nidoran Male And Female

This challenge is also similar a Nuzzlocke challenge, merely each Pokemon caught must be of the same gender. This means if the starter Pokemon is male person (which is an eight in ane gamble) the rest of the team must be male.

Some players eliminate the starter gender requirement and simply allow players to but utilize a single gender of Pokemon at any given time. This also allows genderless Pokemon teams to likewise exist which can add variety to the challenge.

2 Generational Challenge

For this challenge, players may only use Pokemon that were introduced in a single generation. This means players tin choose to simply use Pokemon originally institute originally in Kanto, attempt to only use new Pokemon from Sword & Shield, or choose another game to take their teams from. Information technology tin be fun to practise this challenge focusing on the game that first got players into the series.

1 Starter Only Challenge

Pokemon Gen 8 starters (Grookey, Scorbunny & Sobble)

Choosing a starter Pokemon is already a challenge, so imagine if it was the simply Pokemon that could be used the entire game. This challenge requires players to go through the game just the very start Pokemon that e'er joins their political party. This can make things challenging equally it's easy to accidentally faint and lose a battle, thus being forced to start it over once more.

For players that want a truly masochistic challenge, they tin can choose to fully restart the game if their starter ever faints simply like they would have to in a Nuzzlocke Challenge.

NEXT: Pokemon Sword & Shield: A Guide To All Clothes & Hairstyles

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