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Pokémon Crown Tundra - Dynamax Adventures: Shiny odds, Endless Dynamax Adventure mode and rental Pokémon explained

Everything you need to know about Dynamax Adventures in Pokémon Sword and Shield.

Dynamax Adventures is a new mode introduced in the Crown Tundra DLC for Pokémon Sword and Shield. It sees you travelling through a network of Pokémon Dens battling against a variety of Dynamax Pokémon with rental Pokémon.

You might find yourself fighting a Legendary Pokémon during a Dynamax Adventure and maybe even, if you meet the requirements, an Ultra Beast.

Below you'll find everything you need to know about Dynamax Adventures, including the shiny odds for the Pokémon you encounter, how to unlock Endless Dynamax Adventure Mode and every available Legendary Pokémon listed.

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Dynamax Adventures in Pokémon Sword and Shield Crown Tundra explained

Dynamax Adventures in the Crown Tundra consist of four Max Raids against Dynamax Pokémon, which, if you're lucky, might end with a Legendary Pokémon or Ultra Beast encounter.

Once you've selected your first rental Pokémon, you'll be given a short overview of the Pokémon Den network you've found yourself in; displaying which types of Pokémon, though not the Pokémon themselves, are available to battle and the location of the various assists, such as the berries.

Remember you can use the right analogue stick to survey the Pokémon Den network, which will show you all the possible Pokémon Dens and the elemental type of the Pokémon hiding there. You might even be able to tell which Pokémon is hiding in the den by their shadow! Ideally, you want to collect a Pokémon that has an advantage over the final boss of the adventure.

Before each Max Raid Battle, you'll be given the option of two paths with a 20 second timer to make your decision. If you're playing online, every player will vote on which route they'd like to take and the one that receives the most routes will be taken. If you're playing alongside NPCs, the route you choose will be automatically selected.

Time is nearly up!

After selecting a path, you'll find yourself in a Max Raid against the Pokémon guarding that specific route. These raids work exactly the same as Max Raids do in the Wild Area, except without the use of shields.

To move forward you need to defeat this Dynamax Pokémon and, if you do, you'll be given the chance to catch it. We recommend catching every Dynamax Pokémon you defeat, because you're guaranteed a successful catch and you might catch a shiny Pokémon.

If you do catch the Pokémon, you'll be given 20 seconds to decide whether or not you want to switch it with your current rental Pokémon; doing so, won't prevent you from keeping this specific Pokémon once the Dynamax Adventure ends.

Depending on the route you take, you might find yourself encountering one of the three assists in the Pokémon Den network. These assists are:

  • The Backpacker - offers a selection of items that you can give your rental Pokémon. This item will stay if you decide to switch rental Pokémon later on.
  • Berries - heals some of your Pokémon's HP.
  • The Scientist - will offer you a new rental Pokémon, but you'll only know what that Pokémon is after you've accepted or rejected the switch.

At the end of the Dynamax Adventure, you can keep one of the Pokémon that you've caught.

In the terms of Legendary Pokémon, it's important to know that, while you can battle them multiple times, you can only catch each individual legendary once. This means that you may have to pass up on Legendary Pokémon, battling them over and over again, if you're shiny hunting or looking for one with a specific set of stats.

If you do decide to leave a Legendary Pokémon behind, the scientist in charge of Dynamax Adventures will offer to jot down the location of that Pokémon, so, if you want to battle it again, you can select a route that guarantees a battle with that Legendary at the end.

Peonia will also occasionally tell you the location of a specific Legendary Pokémon in exchange for 5 Dynite Ore, which will add that legendary to your selection list.

A Dynamax Adventure will end if a single battle takes 10 turns or if your Pokémon faints four times. This fainting is kept count by the four hearts in the top left-hand corner of the tunnel screen and is not reset if you switch rental Pokémon.

You can find the hearts in the top left-hand corner!

How to start a Dynamax Adventure in Pokémon Sword and Shield Crown Tundra explained

If you want to partake in a Dynamax Adventure in Pokemon Sword and Shield, then you need to ensure that you've purchased the Expansion Pass, which unlocks both the Isle of Armor DLC and the Crown Tundra DLC.

Once you've purchased the pass, you can start the Crown Tundra DLC and play through the first section of the Crown Tundra DLC to unlock Dynamax Adventures.

After you've completed both of these tasks, you can start a Dynamax Adventure by talking to the scientist in front of the tunnel. This scientist will also hold records of three Legendary Pokémon that you've previously faced in Dynamax Adventures, allowing you to automatically select them as a final boss.

You will then have the option of inviting up to three other players to join your Dynamax Adventure or, if you'd prefer to go it alone, the other three slots will be taken by three NPC characters.

If you want to play with actual real life players, you must first ensure that you're either near other players using the local wi-fi or that your Nintendo Switch is connected to the Internet. This can be easily done by opening your Y-Comm and connecting to the Internet by pressing the + button. You may, however, need to connect to an Internet network first in the Nintendo Switch settings.

Once you're connected to the Internet, select the option 'Invite others' on the first Dynamax Adventure screen, followed by 'Ready to battle!' when other players join your group.

There are a number of difference when playing a Dynamax Adventure online compared to by yourself. These differences are:

  • Possibly having to wait to select your first rental Pokémon
  • Voting on which route you take
  • 50 seconds to pick a move in battle
  • 50 seconds to decide whether to catch a Pokémon
  • Only one player can Dynamax their Pokémon at a time
  • Increased Dynite Ore reward

If you're playing by yourself, you'll be given 20 seconds to select a rental Pokémon and, if you don't do this before the countdown ends, one will be selected for you. Your NPC crew will then select their Pokémon and your Dynamax Adventure will begin!

Rental Pokémon for Dynamax Adventures in Pokémon Sword and Shield Crown Tundra explained

Unlike regular Dynamax Battles in Pokémon Sword and Shield, you can't take your own Pokémon into a Dynamax Adventure. Instead, you rent a Pokémon from the scientist running the investigation into the Pokémon Den network.

For your first rental Pokémon, you'll be able to choose one Pokémon from a random selection of four and, since you don't know what's ahead of you, your choice will most likely be decided by your knowledge of the Pokémon, including their moves, on offer.

This Pokémon doesn't, however, have to be the only Pokémon you use throughout your Dynamax Adventure.

Terrifying...

You'll have the chance to catch every single Pokémon you defeat in the Dynamax Adventure and, after you catch them, you can switch that Pokémon with the one you're currently using. This Pokémon will be at both max health and max PP for all of its moves, so, if your Pokémon is at death's door, then it's a good idea to switch it out.

The downside is that you can't switch back, so always make the decision to switch out your Pokémon very carefully.

You may also encounter a scientist in the Pokémon Den network who will offer you a new rental Pokémon. They won't, however, tell you which new rental Pokémon you'll receive, so be prepared to end up with anything!

A good strategy is to try and switch your rental Pokémon with one that has an advantage over the final boss for your Dynamax Adventure. This will involve careful planning and the hope that your teammates will agree with your route if you're playing online, but this could be what brings you victory in the final den.


With it finally in the wild, here's how to start the Crown Tundra DLC and our full Pokémon Crown Tundra walkthrough. Plus, here's how to catch Calyrex, Glastrier and Spectrier, the Regieleki and Regidrago puzzle solution and Regirock, Regice, Registeel locations, details on how to catch Legendary Birds Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres in the Crown Tundra, the Ultra Beasts and Necrozma adventure, Dynamax Adventures, including the legendries you can catch on these adventures, and the new Crown Tundra Pokédex and returning Pokémon explained. For Isle of Armor players, here's how to find the Slowpoke, where to find Max Mushroom locations, and how to get Kubfu, become best friends and evolve it, plus all Diglett locations too! For the base game, here's info on the ability to transfer Pokémon to Pokémon Home, the Wild Area, lists of all TM locations and TRs, all Galarian forms and finally our main Pokémon Sword and Shield walkthrough for the whole game.


Shiny odds in Dynamax Adventures in Pokémon Sword and Shield Crown Tundra explained

It is possible to catch shiny Pokémon during a Dynamax Adventure in the Crown Tundra DLC for Pokémon Sword and Shield.

You won't, however, know if you've got a shiny Pokémon till you've either completed or been knocked out of a Dynamax Adventure. When you're reviewing the Pokémon you've caught during the Dynamax Adventure, you'll be able to see if one of them is shiny and then select that Pokémon as the one you wish to keep.

No shiny for me...

Here is SciresM from Twitter explaining the shiny odds for Pokémon in Dynamax Adventures:

Endless Dynamax Adventure mode in Pokémon Sword and Shield Crown Tundra explained

Endless Dynamax Adventure is a special mode that you'll unlock in Crown Tundra after successfully completing five Dynamax Adventures and, like with the Ultra Beasts, all of Peony's adventures in the Crown Tundra.

Unlike regular Dynamax Adventures, this mode will send you to another network of Pokémon Dens after you've defeated the boss Pokémon for a set of dens. You keep going, defeating Dynamax Pokémon and switching out rental Pokémon, until you're finally defeated.

Aside from this, the only thing that is different compared to a regular Dynamax Adventure is that you can't keep any of the Pokémon you've caught.

You can start an Endless Dynamax Adventure run by talking to the man to the left of the scientist who is in charge of regular Dynamax Battles. He will also keep a record of your best Endless Dynamax Adventure run, so that you can focus on beating your high score.

Apart from the challenge of an Endless Dynamax Adventure run, you'll also be rewarded with more Dynite Ore compared to a regular Dunamax adventure.

Dynite Ore and Dynamax Adventures rewards in Pokémon Sword and Shield Crown Tundra explained

After you complete a Dynamax Adventure in the Crown Tundra, you'll be given some Dynite Ore, with the amount you receive being determined by your performance in the Dynamax Adventure.

The criteria that determine these rewards includes how many times your Pokémon fainted, your progress in the Dynamax Adventure and whether or not you caught a Legendary Pokémon.

You can exchange Dynite Ore by talking to the Backpacker on the right-hand side of the entrance to the Dynamax Adventures.

Here is what she'll offer in exchange for your Dynite Ore:

ItemDynite Ore
Ability Capsule50
Ability Patch 200
Armorite Ore3
Beast Ball150
Bottle Cap25
Calcium2
Carbos2
Dynamax Candy2
Exp. Candy L1
Exp. Candy XL3
HP Up2
Iron2
Premier Ball1
Protein2
Wishing Piece 3
Zinc2

Peonia will also occasionally offer to tell you the location of a Legendary Pokémon within the Pokémon Den network in exchange for five Dynite Ore. Doing so will allow you to ensure that you meet this specific Legendary Pokémon at the end of a Dynamax Adventure.

Disconnection penalties for Dynamax Adventures in Pokémon Sword and Shield Crown Tundra explained

Since you can compete in Dynamax Adventures online, Nintendo has included a disconnection penalty to discourage people from purposely leaving Dynamax Adventures midway.

If you disconnect from three Dynamax Adventures in a row, then you'll have to pay a minimum penalty fee of three Dynite Ore before you're allowed to go on another adventure. This fee will increase every time you incur the penalty.