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Pokémon: Sword & Shield

Max Lair (First Trip)

By
Ben Chard
&
Vincent Lau

If it’s Legendary and rare Pokémon you’re after, then you’ll be coming back here often!

When you enter, Peony will be arguing with a scientist. Agree to listen to the scientist’s explanation about Dynamax Adventures. Otherwise Peony will be be stuck here all day. We’ll cover the basics of Dynamax Adventures in this page, but if you need more help, please refer to our dedicated page!

So far so good? Well, Peony completely botches the explanation and runs straight in anyway. Oh gosh, you’d better chase after him before he makes a mess of things. Speak to the scientist again. Before you begin each Dynamax Adventure, you must save your game. Unless you’ve changed your mind, save so you can enter.

You’ll be shown a familiar menu screen, if you’ve done any Max Raid Battles. Here, you can choose to invite other players or not. You can also set a Link Code to match with other players who have also set the same link code. You can play with others locally or online, depending on your communication settings in the Y-Comm.

For your first Dynamax Adventure, you don’t have to worry about winning or losing, so just go with the flow. Try to catch all the Pokémon you find, unless you really dislike them. After the adventure, you can only choose one Pokémon to keep. This will probably be the Legendary Pokémon if you made it far enough or a shiny Pokémon if you’re lucky!

(1 of 2) This is where you’re trying to go. A Water-type Legendary awaits!

This is where you’re trying to go. A Water-type Legendary awaits! (left), But to get there, you need to choose your paths carefully! Hmm, Electric could be useful against the Water Legendary. (right)

At the start of each adventure, the map will scroll up to show you the branching paths. The game will also emphasise the Type of the Legendary Pokémon at the end. If the Pokémon you’ve chosen at the start isn’t the right Type to deal with the Legend, you’ll probably want to swap partway through.

When you’re in control, you can use the right circle stick to scroll the map yourself. Like the Legendary Pokémon at the end, you can see the Types of each Pokémon on the map. Also note the location of NPCs and berries along the paths–if you happen to bump into them, you can acquire certain, often useful, bonuses.

On the map, you’re given a limited amount of time to vote for which path to follow. Depending on the layout of the current map, choosing a certain path right now may prevent you from going through other path(s) later on. So keep that in mind. Once the votes have been tallied, you’ll automatically move to the path with the most votes.

The Max Raid Battles themselves work just like normal ones. To begin with, Player 1 will have the option to Dynamax. If they decline, Player 2 can Dynamax on Turn 2 and so forth. If a player’s Pokémon faints, they will be out of action for one turn, before returning with full HP. But fainting will consume one of the team’s four lives, which is a no-no.

The key difference is that the opposing Dynamax Pokémon will not put any shields up. That means you can safely use status afflicting or stat lowering moves. However, your opponent can still neutralise these from time to time, so your mileage may vary. Also, you have a guaranteed catch rate–and this applies for every type of Poké Ball.

You can encounter the same Legendary Pokémon multiple times, but you can only catch and keep it once.

With luck, you’ll safely reach the 4th and final Dynamax Pokémon, which for your first encounter should always be a Suicine. This Legendary dog is defensive based, so your chances of winning are fairly decent. Hopefully your team has plenty of lives and health by this point. If you lose, no big deal; you can always come back.

Once the adventure is complete, you can choose one of the Pokémon you’ve caught to keep. You’ll also receive an amount of Dynite Ore depending on your progress, whether you played with other human players or not and if you somehow managed to win with all 4 lives remaining. After that, your game will be saved.

In the very depths of the Max Lair, you’ll bump into Peony’s daughter. She’ll ask you a big favour: to keep her dad company while she runs off to have fun. You’ll return to the entrance of the Max Lair, where Peony is lying on the ground. We could just leave him there, but… Aw, heck, let’s go this over and done with!

Speak to Peony and he’ll learn about what you and Peonia discussed. Despite his disappointment, he decides to let you go exploring with him. As a welcoming gift, you’ll also receive Peony’s League Card. Peony will run out of the Max Lair, towards Freezington. When you’ll ready, follow him outside.

Hidden Ability Pokémon aren’t usually found in the wild–you can get them from places like the Dream World, Friend Safari etc. Or, in this game, Max Raid Battles if you’re lucky.

Slippery Slope

Back outside, you’ll watch as Peony jogs across the snow, towards Freezington. Head straight forward to begin with, across the wide open space. When you begin to reach the trees, look out for a line of wooden fencing along the left. There’s also a max raid den near the fences.

Head towards the wooden fence and go down the slope on its right. At the foot of the slope, you’ll arrive at your destination.

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Pokemon Company International
  • Platforms,
    Switch
  • Genre
    RPG
  • Guide Release
    15 November 2019
  • Last Updated
    21 March 2024
    Version History
  • Guide Author

Share this free guide:

Welcome to our comprehensive strategy guide for Pokémon: Sword and Shield, the latest entries in the Pokémon video game franchise. Our guide also incorporates all the DLC, including the Isle of Armor and brand new Crown Tundra DLC.

In Sword and Shield, you explore the Galar region, based on the United Kingdom, alongside rivals Hop, Bede and Marnie, with the aim to dethrone the Pokémon League Champion.

The games introduce several new features such as Dynamaxing and Gigantamaxing, functions that increase size and change forms of certain Pokémon; the Wild Area, a large open world with free camera movement; and raids with co-op battling. They also reintroduce features previously seen in Sun and Moon and Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee!, such as regional variants and roaming Pokémon depicted in the overworld.

Brand New October 2020:

Version 1.2

  • A Complete Walkthrough of the Isle of Armor.
  • Details of all 16 new Wild Areas, including Pokémon encounter rates.
  • All the new Max Raid Dens: Locations and Featured Pokémon.
  • Images and Locations of All 150 of the Missing Diglett.
  • The Isle of Armor Pokédex (featuring 100 Returning Pokémon).
  • Recipes for the Cram-o-matic.
  • A Full Walkthrough featuring Pokémon encounter rates.
  • All Gym Encounters and Strategies.
  • New Items: Mints & Natures Explained.
  • Post Game content including Champion Cup.
  • Dynamaxing and Gigantamaxing.
  • The Galar Region Pokédex (featuring 400 Pokemon).

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