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How to claim Mystery Gifts in Pokemon Sword & Shield – all free codes & rewards

Published: 31/Dec/2020 22:50 Updated: 15/Jan/2021 0:40

by David Purcell
Pokemon Mystery Gifts
Pokemon, Nintendo

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Pokemon Sword & Shield

Pokemon Sword and Shield players can get their hands on some of the coolest free Mystery Gifts and if you would like to claim them, there are some tricks you need to know about. They do have deadlines, though, so act fast! 

With both expansions for Sword and Shield — The Isle of Armor & The Crown Tundra —  released, there’s nothing stopping us from opening some special presents in the Galar Region this year, with the chance to get ahold of a number of useful items for a limited time.

If you’re looking to catch ’em all in these Pokemon games, opening some mystery gifts will certainly help you along the way. So, let’s take a look at what you can claim and how it all works.

Crown Tundra with Glastier Spectrier on mountain
Pokemon Company
Glastier and Spectrier became available on October 22nd with The Crown Tundra expansion.

Mystery gifts mostly have different variants of PokeBalls in them, but recently actual Pokemon have been added to the mix.

How to get Mystery Gifts in Pokemon Sword & Shield

Mystery Gifts can be unlocked in a number of ways. Occasionally, there will be free codes linked to an event like a Pokemon anniversary or new release. Players can also unlock Mystery Gifts through Ranked Battles and in-game events.

Claiming your Mystery Gifts in Pokemon is easy, but it won’t be available until you complete the game’s first event in Slumbering Weald. This is where you encounter Sword or Shield’s legendary Pokemon for the first time.

Once you’ve done this, follow the steps below to claim your Mystery Gift:

  1. Load up Pokemon Sword or Shield.
  2. Open the game menu by pressing X and select Mystery Gift, with the pink present icon.
  3. Select the Get A Mystery Gift option.
  4. Choose which method you want to use to receive a gift. If you have a code, select the Get With Code/Password option.
  5. Collect your gifts and enjoy!
Pokemon / NintendoHere’s the menu you need to visit in order to redeem your Mystery Gift codes.

Pokemon will be added to your Party or your Pokemon Boxes if there’s no room. Fashion items can be found by visiting the fitting room of any in-game boutique. Non-fashion items will appear in your Bag.

You can see previously downloaded Mystery Gifts by choosing ‘Check Mystery Gifts’ in the menu.

Pokemon Sword & Shield Mystery Gifts (January)

Free Kibo’s Pikachu

To celebrate the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, The Pokemon Company teamed up with the International Space Station to give away a free ‘mon to Sword & Shield players.

Pokemon Sword & Shield screenshot of Kibo Pikachu.
Game Freak / The Pokemon Company
Sword & Shield trainers can get their hands on this Pikachu from space for a limited time.

Kibo’s Pikachu is available in the Nintendo Switch titles until January 15, 2021 and can be obtained via Mystery Gift’s “Get via Internet” option – no code needed! The special monster holds a Comet Shard and has a unique Ribbon, as well as the Thunderbolt, Swift, Wish, and Celebrate moves.

More free rewards in Pokemon Sword & Shield

There are plenty of wonderful gifts and rewards that players can claim for their journey across Galar:

Free Zarude

By heading to the Official Pokemon website and signing up for a newsletter before December 18th 2020, players can obtain a free level 60 Zarude via email. Once signed up, Pokemon will begin rolling out emails that will contain the code for this fantastic Pokemon.

Zarude in Pokemon Sword & Shield
Pokemon Company
Zarude will fare you well across all of your Pokemon battles.

This grass and dark-type Pokemon’s codes have already gone out to those that are in America, but European players can still take advantage of this fantastic chance to grab this popular Pokemon.

Free Gigantamax capable Melmetal

Those who have played Pokemon Go are in luck, as transferring Pokemon between Pokemon Go & Pokemon HOME will allow you to open a Mystery Box in Sword & Shield containing a special Melmetal with Gigantamax capabilities!

Free Gigantamax capable Pikachu & Eevee

Those who have played Pokemon Let’s Go: Pikachu or Pokemon Let’s Go: Eevee and have saved data on their game can grab themselves a special version of the game case stars in the Galar Region.

Gigantamax Pikachu and Eevee
The Pokemon Company
Grab yourself a Gigantamax capable Pokemon for free!

You will receive a Pikachu or Eevee, depending on what title you played, that can transform into its Gigantamax form. You can collect that free gift inside the Wild Area’s train station. More information on how to do that in our guide.

On that note, there we have it! Those are all of the ways we have found to receive a free mystery gift in Pokemon Sword and Shield. If we find any more, we’ll update this article with more codes and tricks.

Overwatch

Overwatch’s tank mains want nerfs as Echo & Zenyatta make ranked “hell”

Published: 15/Jan/2021 20:44

by Michael Gwilliam
echo overwatch
Blizzard Entertainment

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Echo Zenyatta

Overwatch tanks have been on the receiving end of some major nerfs lately with Sigma and Wrecking Ball on the chopping block, but now players are calling for changes to two heroes responsible for making ranked “hell” for them.

Tanks in Overwatch are critical pieces of any team composition and while they’ve seemed overpowered for quite some time, now, Echo and Zenyatta seem to be on the receiving end of fury from the playerbase.

Notably, Echo’s ability to delete targets with ease thanks to her ammo count and powerful Focusing Beam makes her a dangerous foe while Zenyatta’s Discord Orb shreds tanks.

When applied, Discord Orb causes an opponent to receive 30% extra damage. As such, large health pool tanks can be obliterated when focused down thanks to Zen’s utility.

Echo using Focusing Beam
Blizzard Entertainment
Echo has a lot of tools to be a pain for enemy teams.

Players on Reddit have been vocal in calling for changes. “Tanks f**king suck to play right now and the sigma nerfs just solidified that for me,” wrote user HaMx_Platypus.

“None of the tanks actually feel like tanks at all when you’re going up against 30% Discord,” they added.

Redditors chimed in with their own thoughts. “Completely agree, Discord should be taken back down to 25% at least,” one wrote.

Zenyatta attacks

“Echo’s issue is that her clip is too big,” another pointed out. “The Sticky [cool down] doesn’t matter, the issue is she can often use them again before having to reload.”

“It’s bonkers that she can combine all 3 abilities (right click, throw out a few left clicks and then immediately use beam) to stack the damage, as it will literally kill any hero in the game if you land the stickies,” a fan blasted.

Another took their criticism of Echo and Discord to another level. “Discord is simply too powerful. It’s literally like 6 Mercy boosts at a time and 90% of the time that’s going onto the main tank. Plus you add the spam damage that Zen does and it’s just unreal,” they slammed.

“Echo was poorly designed. I couldn’t tell upon release but it’s much clearer now. She just has too many tank-busting abilities and not enough punishability,” the user further remarked.

With so many players voicing their frustration, it may be a sign for Blizzard to consider some slight nerfs on the Experimental Mode in the coming weeks.