The Gigantamax mechanic introduced in Pokemon Sword and Shield on the Nintendo Switch was one of its biggest selling points as a unique addition to battle akin to Generation 6's Mega Evolutions and Generation 7's Z-Moves. Some of the Gigantamax-capable Pokemon like Pikachu, Eevee, and Meowth have only been available under certain conditions until now, but that's going to change starting with Gigantamax Pikachu Max Raid Battles available now.
Pokemon fans were originally only able to get their hands on a Pikachu or Eevee capable of using a Gigantamax transformation if they had data on their Switch consoles for Pokemon Let's Go, Pikachu and Let's Go, Eevee. Meanwhile Gigantamax Meowth was only available as a Mystery Gift players could download before January 15, 2020.
The Gigantamax Pikachu Wild Area Event which began today will last until May 18, after which the next two weeks will feature raids for Gigantamax Eevee and Gigantamax Meowth according to sites like Serebii. Releasing these special monsters more widely and with the ability to grind encounters for shiny and hidden ability variants also coincides with the recent announcement of Gigantamax Pikachu and Meowth plushies in Japan.
Though the post-launch excitement about the latest mainline Pokemon games has somewhat died down thanks to more recent titles like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Pokemon Sword and Shield have continued to see rather frequent updates cycling what monsters can be found taking precedence in the open-air Wild Area. Developers are also working on major additional content releases in the form of The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra Expansion Pass.
As part of that DLC Expansion, there will be new Gigantamax Pokemon available for trainers to try out on top of additional returning Pokemon in a pair of Wild Area-esque locales. The Galar Starter Pokemon will get Gigantamax forms, as will Kanto's Blastoise and Venusaur to join the Gigantamax form of Charizard which has been available since the beginning.
The frequent content updates have likely been much appreciated for Pokemon fans as much of the world remains shut down due to ongoing social distancing measures to counter the coronavirus pandemic. That pandemic has had other effects on the multimedia Pokemon franchise at-large, including the delay of new episodes of the Pokemon anime on account of Japan's state of emergency.
Pokemon Sword and Shield are available now on the Nintendo Switch
Source: Serebii