GameStop will be giving away Shiny Zacian and Zamazenta codes to owners of Pokémon Sword and Shield, coinciding with the release of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. A similar Shiny Pokémon Diamond and Pearl pre-order event in South Korea and Japan will also be held, while a similar event has yet to be revealed for other regions.
The modern Pokémon games have used a mixture of in-person events and online distributions to giveaway special Pokémon. Not long ago, players had to go to physical events to earn Mythical Pokémon, but these event Pokémon are now often given away as free downloadable codes. These are often linked to special promotions, such as the recent release of Shiny Celebi and Dada Zarude for Pokémon Sword and Shield, which was done to promote the premiere of Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle on Netflix.
Shiny Zacian and Shiny Zamazenta codes for Pokémon Sword and Shield will reportedly be coming to the US via GameStop. According to PokéBeach, there will be a event for each Pokémon. Pokémon Shield owners can claim a Shiny Zacian from October 22 to November 11, while Pokémon Sword owners can claim a Shiny Zamazenta from November 12-27. This will be around the time that Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl releases, as the Gen 4 launch on November 19. Shiny Zacian and Zamazenta codes will presumably be redeemable through Pokémon Sword and Shield’s Mystery Gift menu.
The nature of the event means people who only own one version of the game will be claiming the opposite box Legendary Pokémon from the one that they own, as Zacian is Pokémon Sword‘s featured Legendary and Zamazenta is on Pokémon Shield‘s cover. This event is also so far the only official way to acquire these Pokémon, as the Galarian Fairy and Fighting-type Legendaries are Shiny locked in Pokémon Sword and Shield. Developer Game Freak prevent some Pokémon from ever randomly appearing Shiny in-game, despite still having their Shiny versions in games’ code (likely to avoid bugs). The only other way to acquire these Shiny Pokémon is by hacking the game.
The era of the Galar region is winding down, so it’s unsurprising to see The Pokémon Company figuratively close the doors on Pokémon Sword and Shield with a giveaway for Shiny versions of its mascot Legendary Pokémon. The Nintendo Switch releases were host to a number of controversies, but they also became the third best-selling Pokémon game duo of all time. Regardless of how one feels about Pokémon Sword and Shield, giving away free Shiny Zacian and Shiny Zamazenta codes seems like a generous way to say farewell to Gen 8.
