Pokémon Sword and Shield’s addition of Max Raid Battles and Pokémon Dens have extended the game’s lifetime indefinitely. Players return regularly to capture a new Gigagantmax Pokémon, which are often troublesome to find in the base game. The latest event in May 2020 brings Gigantamax Meowth out of exclusivity. The ‘mon was previously exclusive to players that picked up Sword and Shield before January 15, 2020 but now it’s fair game for all. “Meeeoowth, that’s right!”
This week, let’s gather around a local Pokémon Den to capture a Gigantamax Meowth.
How good is Meowth?
You may have spent your childhood admiring Meowth as Team Rocket’s third member and the only Pokémon capable of human speech, but now they’ve finally gotten the recognition they deserve. From their inclusion alongside Eevee and Pikachu in May raids, we can finally call Meowth an official mascot, but how effective are they?
Not very. Similar to the other Pokémon being given away during this three-week event, Gigantamax Meowth isn’t a competitive Pokémon. If you get them, they shouldn't be used in combat if you’re trying to win battles with ease. This Meowth, however, can be extremely useful for completing your Pokédex and racking up cash. Kantonian Meowths, such as this one, are rarities in Pokémon Sword and Shield.
Normally, you can only obtain a Kantonian Meowth by trading a Galarian Meowth at the Turffield Gym. This event provides a less-involved opportunity to add the Pokémon to your Pokédex. Unfortunately, you’re unable to evolve a Kantonian Gigantamax-capable Meowth, so you’ll have to breed the obtained Meowth then evolve their offspring to get a Persian.
This Meowth’s second use is financial farming. By using Meowth’s exclusive G-Max move, Gold Rush, you can gain up to 99,999 in-game currency from each battle. The path to prosperity begins by leveling up your Gigantamax Meowth to at least level 84. G-Max Gold Rush provides the user income equal to 100x the Meowth’s level on the first use. This stacks with every successive use, yielding 300 times your Meowth’s level on the third and final use. You can further stack your earning potential by equipping Meowth with Luck Incense or Amulet Coin. Either item will double your income from G-max Gold Rush, making up to 600 times your level on your third turn.
Competitively, you won’t make much headway with Meowth. Their 290 base stat total is paltry compared to more viable Pokémon. If you’d like to attempt using them, teach your Meowth the moves Pay Day (learned at Level 12), Fake out (known by default), Fury Swipes (learned at Level 29), and Taunt (learned at Level 20)
Gigantamax Meowth release and end dates
Gigantamax Meowth will only be available within Max Raid Battles from Monday, May 25 at 8 p.m. Eastern to Monday, June 1 at 8 p.m. Eastern.
How to add Gigantamax Meowth to your Pokémon Den rotation
Before you can begin your hunt for the Scratch Cat Pokémon in earnest, you have to add the event to your game. Open your main menu by clicking the X button then head to the Mystery Gift option. Once there, select “Get the Wild Area News.” Doing so will update your game to include Gigantamax Meowth as a possible spawn within the Wild Area.
How to find Gigantamax Meowth
Having activated the Wild News, Gigantamax Meowth will now be randomly available within active Pokémon Dens emitting red or purple lights. Luckily, if you run into an event pool of Gigantamax Pokémon, they will always be Meowth. According to Serebii, there’s currently almost only Meowth spawning in Sword and Shield right now.
Battling Gigantamax Meowth
Before confronting the Scratch Cat Pokémon with the longest body around, make sure to strengthen your favorite Fighting-type Pokémon, as it’ll have double effectiveness against Meowth. Make sure not to try using any Ghost-types because Meowth is immune to such attacks.
Now it’s up to you to put your best foot forward and defeat the behemoth! This is the last Pokémon in the three-week event distributing once-exclusive Gigantamax critters, with the previous two being Gigantamax Eevee and Pikachu.
