After a long wait, Pokemon Sword & Shield are finally here, marking the release of the first official mainline Pokemon games on the Nintendo Switch. Here’s how Pokerus works in Pokemon Sword & Shield, along with how you can get it and what it does.
Pokerus in Pokemon Sword & Shield
Just like in past games in the series, Pokerus makes a return in Sword & Shield as well. It’s basically a virus that your Pokemon can randomly get, and it allows them to enjoy doubled EV growth rates during battle. It’s a good thing, and definitely benefits the Pokemon that you want to grow at an accelerated rate.
Previously, Pokemon with Pokerus could only spread it to other Pokemon that were adjacent to them in the party list. However, it looks like that restriction is gone in Pokemon Sword & Shield.
How to Get Pokerus in Pokemon Sword & Shield
The Pokerus occurrence also seems to be a lot more common in the new entries. For the most part, trying to get Pokerus is still a random occurrence, and there’s no indication of how or when you’ll get it.
However, it looks like Grookey has a pretty high chance of contracting the virus early on in the game and spreading it to the rest of the party. Reddit users have reported that they’ve all encountered the virus with Grookey in the party.
In our own experience, we’ve also contracted the virus about partway through the game, when Rillaboom was discovered with it and spread it to everyone else.
How to Check If Your Pokemon Has Pokerus
In Pokemon Sword & Shield, you can check if a Pokemon has Pokerus by looking at their summary screen. The word ‘Pokerus’ will appear to the side of the screen. There’s no telling how long the virus will last, and will usually fade away after a few days. Furthermore, once a Pokemon has been cured of the virus, it will become permanently immune to it.
That’s all you need to know about how Pokerus works in Pokemon Sword & Shield. Be sure to check our guide wiki for more tips and information on the game.
Here are a few other guides to help get you started:
