Earlier this week, the Pokémon Company announced a new Gigantamax form for a longtime, fan-favorite Pokémon: Snorlax! Gigantamax Snorlax will begin appearing next month in Sword and Shield Max Raid Battles, which players can trigger in the Wild Area at Dynamax spots. Players should get ready to search for it soon, though, as Gigantamax Snorlax will only appear in Max Raid Battles from December 4 to sometime in “early January,” according to the reveal trailer.
The description of the reveal trailer notes that the schedule for Max Raid Battles is “subject to change,” so Gigantamax Snorlax may hang around the Wild Area longer than we’d guess, but we’ll have to wait for more official information from the Pokémon Company and GameFreak to be sure.
Gigantamax Pokémon are completely new forms of Pokémon that come from Dynamaxing. When a Pokémon Dynamaxes, they grow exponentially in size. Some Pokémon can go one step further and actually change forms when Dynamaxing, which is what “Gigantamax” refers to. Gigantamax Snorlax brings the total number of Gigantamax Pokémon available in Sword and Shield so far to 24. Other Gigantamax Pokémon include Pikachu and Charizard.
Gigantamax Snorlax maintains Snorlax’s Normal Type, but has an exclusive Normal Type move called “G-Max Replenish.” In addition to dealing damage to the opponent, G-Max Replenish allows Snorlax access to berries previously consumed in battle. For example, as seen in the trailer, G-Max Replenish restores a Sitrus Berry previously consumed in the battle, allowing Snorlax to eat it again and restore its HP.
The design of Gigantamax Snorlax features Snorlax lying down on its back with an entire landscape on its belly, including a path, grass, bushes, and a tree. Because of this, some fans have drawn comparisons between Gigantamax Snorlax and Torterra, the evolved form of the Gen IV Grass Type starter, Turtwig.
Though Gigantamax Snorlax will only be available for a short time, there’s nothing to suggest it won’t become available again in Max Raid Battles sometime in the future. This announcement also opens the door to possibly more Gigantamax Pokémon to be revealed further down the line, providing players with a stream of new content for a while after the games’ launch.
For any players looking for tips on finding Gigantamax Pokémon, check out the guide the Pokémon Company recently released.