Pokémon Go Legendary Heroes: All wild encounters, Sword or Shield paths, event bonuses, and Field Research tasks

Will you choose Sword or Shield during the Legendary Heroes event?

Pokemon Go Legendary Heroes
Image via Niantic

The Legendary Heroes event has come to Pokémon Go, and this short event allows you to choose your favorite version between Pokémon Sword or Shield. There are incentives to this choice, with bonuses on each side, and the choice will matter beyond the standard available Timed Research rewards.

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There are only select differences between the Sword and Shield versions of the Legendary Heroes event. We still have several other similarities for all Pokémon Go players during the event. We’ll be breaking down the various wild encounters, significant differences between the Sword and Shields paths, all the event bonuses, and Field Research tasks you can earn during the Legendary Heroes event, which takes place from Sept. 26 to Oct. 1.

All wild Pokémon encounters for Legendary Heroes in Pokémon Go

Galarian Weezing, a two-headed Pokemon with smoke-stack like hats.
Galarian Weezing will make an appearance during the Legendary Heroes event. Image via Niantic, Remix by Dot Esports

Although you’ll choose between a Sword and Shield version of the Legendary Heroes event, the wild Pokémon encounters remain the same. All Pokémon Go players should expect to find the same Pokémon spawning in the wild, regardless of their choice. Here’s a full breakdown of all wild Pokémon you can expect to see during Pokémon Go‘s Legendary Heroes event. We’ve added an asterisk (*) next to their name, signifying if you can find a Shiny version of that Pokémon.

  • Galarian Darumaka*
  • Galarian Ponyta*
  • Grookey
  • Koffing*
  • Scorbunny
  • Skwovet*
  • Sobble

Differences between Legendary Heroes Sword and Shield paths in Pokémon Go

The significant differences between the Sword and Shield paths during the Legendary Heroes event come down to what Pokémon you can find when you activate your incense and the Collection Challenges. The Collection Challenges are directly tied to the Pokémon you can find with your incense, meaning if you choose the Sword path, you’ll be after those Pokémon, or you’ll be after the ones from the Shield path. Despite the different challenges in Pokémon Go, they should have the same rewards.

These are all the Pokémon you can find if you choose the Sword path when you activate an incense.

  • Deino*
  • Gothita*
  • Passimian*
  • Scraggy*
  • Seedot*
  • Swirlix*

These are all the Pokémon you can find if you select the Shield path when you activate an incense.

  • Croagunk*
  • Larvitar*
  • Lotad*
  • Oranguru*
  • Solosis*
  • Spritzee*

All Legendary Heroes event bonuses in Pokémon Go

A series of passive event bonuses are available to all Pokémon Go players during the Legendary Heroes event. Even if you don’t participate in the larger event and only walk around, catching Pokémon occasionally, these bonuses still go to you and provide an incentive to start focusing on the event Pokémon. You can expect to get these active event bonuses during the Legendary Heroes event in Pokémon Go.

  • All special trades require 50 percent less Stardust
  • Koffing can evolve into Galarian Weezing

All Legendary Heroes Field Research tasks and rewards in Pokémon Go

These Field Research tasks and rewards are available to all Pokémon Go players during the Legendary Heroes event. You can get them by spinning the Poké Stop or Gym dials while you have a free Field Research task slot. If you don’t, these won’t pop up, and you can’t receive more than one Field Research task from Poké Stop or a Gym on the same day. You’ll have to come back to them. These Field Research tasks will have the event-exclusive banner on them, making them easier to track down.

These are all the Legendary Heroes Field Research tasks and rewards you can get in Pokémon Go.

We’ll be updating this section as we learn more.

Author
Image of Zack Palm
Zack Palm
Zack Palm has been writing about video games for the past five years. He spends his free time trying to learn about a new board, reading high-fantasy series, or working on his latest DnD character.