Pokemon Sword & Shield How to Change Weather

This guide explains how to change the weather in Pokemon Sword and Shield. This is done by selecting specific dates in the Nintendo Switch Settings. It works because specific dates correspond to specific weather. This is extremely helpful when hunting for Pokemon. Every Pokemon appears only during certain weather conditions. By manipulating the weather you take the waiting time and guesswork out of it and can complete your Pokedex much faster!

How to Change Weather in Pokemon Sword & Shield: To change weather you must change the date in your console settings. The specific dates listed below each trigger a specific weather condition across all wild areas. To change weather: Press the Home-Button > System Settings > System > Date and Time.

•  Normal Weather – May 01, 2020
•  Overcast – March 01, 2020
•  Raining – October 01, 2020
•  Thunderstorm – November 01, 2020
•  Snowing – December 01, 2020
•  Snowstorm – February 01, 2020 – unlocks at some point midway through the game
•  Intense Sun – July 01, 2020
•  Sandstorm – April 01, 2020 – unlocks at some point midway through the game
•  Heavy Fog – June 01, 2020 – only after becoming champion (finished story)

There’s no need to close the game application. You can continue right where you left off without restarting, and the weather is changed instantly.

It’s worth noting that three weather conditions (Snowstorm, Sandstorm, Heavy Fog) are not available from the start. That’s because they make certain rare and more powerful Pokemon spawn that the game doesn’t want you to see until you’ve made more progress. After you’ve become champion and finished the main story, you will have access to all weather conditions.

How to Check Active Weather: Open the Town Map and press  to see a weather map (refer to above icons if you are unsure what icon corresponds to which weather). If you put in the specified dates from above you will see it’s the same weather everywhere in all of the wild area. Some routes are not affected by this, but you can try changing the date manually until you get your desired weather condition for specific routes.

Note: Changing the date will also change the available Max Raids in the wild area.

That’s all the tricks to switch to any weather condition you want in Pokemon Sword and Shield, enjoy!