From December 31st, 2021 until January 9th, 2022, players of Pokémon Sword and Shield can encounter Meowth, Sudowoodo, Darmanitan, and Magikarp more frequently in Pokémon Dens and they might even encounter a Shiny Magikarp!

Meowth, Sudowoodo, Darmanitan, and Shiny Magikarp in New Years Raid Battles

Celebrate the new year in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, and you just might encounter a Shiny Magikarp!

For an opportunity to encounter these Pokémon in a Max Raid Battle, you'll need to connect your Nintendo Switch system to the internet through Y-Comm or by selecting Mystery Gift in the X menu, then selecting Get the Wild Area News. After that, whenever you see a pillar of light shining from a Pokémon Den, you can walk up to the Pokémon Den and interact with it to start a Max Raid Battle.