Can You Gmax Without Isle of Armor?
You can Gigantamax your Pokémon without the Isle of Armor by finding them in a Gigantamax Den, but to give a Pokémon the ability to Gigantamax through Max Soup, you need to have the Isle of Armor DLC, and then you can trade the Pokémon with someone who has the DLC, have them use Max Soup on it, and then trade it back. The Isle of Armor expansion is a key part of the Pokémon Sword and Shield experience, offering new environments, Pokémon, and the Master Dojo, where you can learn to make Max Soup and unlock the Gigantamax potential of your Pokémon.
Understanding Gigantamax and Isle of Armor
The Isle of Armor is the first part of the Pokémon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass, which also includes the Crown Tundra DLC, and it introduces a new way to upgrade your Pokémon with Gigantamax forms, which are even more powerful than their Dynamax counterparts, with unique G-Max Moves that replace certain types of moves for each species.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the difference between Dynamax and Gigantamax?
Dynamax Pokémon gain Max Moves, which are more powerful versions of the regular moves they already know, while Gigantamax Pokémon gain ultra-powerful G-Max Moves, which are unique to that Pokémon’s species and replace a certain type of move for each species.
2. How do you unlock Gigantamax?
Players who have the Isle of Armor expansion can feed Max Soup to any Pokémon with Gigantamax potential to give them the ability to Gigantamax.
3. How do you know if a Pokémon can Gigantamax?
To check whether a Pokémon you’ve got has the ability to Gigantamax, check their summary, if they are able to Gigantamax, you’ll see a red icon to the left of the Pokémon name and right of the ball icon they’re housed in.
4. Can any Pokémon become Gigantamax?
In order to Gigantamax a Pokémon, you’ll need to ensure it has the ability to do so, as only certain species in Pokémon Sword and Shield can Gigantamax.
5. How do you get Gigantamax starter without Isle of Armor?
You will need to trade your starter to someone who has the DLC, have them use Max Soup on it, then trade back, as Max Soup is the only way to add or remove the G-Max factor from a Pokémon.
6. How early can you get Gigantamax Pokémon?
The moment you get to the Wild Area, if you have an LGPE save file on your account, you can talk to a person in the train station and they’ll give you G-max Pikachu or G-max Eevee based on which game you have.
7. Can you fake out Gigantamax Pokémon?
Fake Out will fail if called by Instruct, even if it is the first turn the user is on the field, and when used on a Dynamax or Gigantamax Pokémon successfully, Fake Out deals damage but will not make the target flinch.
8. Can you evolve Gigantamax Pikachu?
Unfortunately, a Gigantamax-capable Pikachu is unable to evolve into Raichu, they’re permanently stuck as Pikachu.
9. Does Raichu have a Gigantamax form?
Raichu doesn’t have a Gigantamax form of its own, so a Pikachu capable of such power is probably better off remaining as it is regardless.
10. How do I get Eternatus to Eternamax?
Eternatus does not have evolutions, but it does have two forms, Eternatus’s regular form and the Eternamax form, which is only encountered in the battle at the Energy Plant.
11. What is the strongest Pokémon that can Gigantamax?
The strongest Gigantamax Pokémon include Urshifu, Charizard, Corviknight, Gengar, Kingler, Grimmsnarl, Pikachu, and Machamp.
12. What’s the strongest Dynamax Pokémon?
Dragapult is the best Pokémon to Dynamax, given its already staggering attack power and base speed stats.
13. How do you tell if a max raid is Gigantamax?
You can fairly easily tell if a Raid features a Gigantamax Pokémon by its silhouette when you interact with a Raid Den, if the silhouette looks different than the Pokémon’s typical sprite, then you’ll be battling its Gigantamax form.
14. Why is my Pokémon not Gigantamax?
Your Pokémon will not Gigantamax if it was not caught in a Gigantamax Raid, as Pokémon must be caught in Gigantimax Raids to Gigantimax, otherwise they just Dynamax.
15. Can you get crown tundra without Isle of Armor?
If you want to visit the Crown Tundra in Pokémon Sword and Shield, then you first need to purchase the Expansion Pass, which includes both the Isle of Armor DLC and the Crown Tundra DLC.