How to catch Eternatus in Pokémon Sword and Shield

Eternatus is the third legendary Pokémon that makes up the main trio for Sword and Shield. But instead of battling it after catching either Zacian or Zamazenta, you end up catching the story’s main threat first. 

In a slight departure from the traditional formula, you battle the Dynamax destroyer alongside your rival and the pair of legendary wolves in one of the final moments of the story instead of controlling the title legends in the battle. This leads to the big No. 400 in the Galar Pokédex being a target for capture much earlier than it would be in any other story. 

And while that might seem intimidating at first since most legendary Pokémon are difficult to capture and you aren’t given the Master Ball prior to this encounter, it’s actually one of the easiest catches you’ll ever have. 

Now that doesn’t mean the battle to actually weaken it isn’t hard. It can be extremely difficult depending on what level your team is at since it takes place in the middle of what’s essentially your Elite Four challenge. But because it’s formatted exactly like a Max Raid Battle, the fight will go by quickly. And soon enough, you’ll be selecting which ball to throw.

But unlike Max Raid Battles and other encounters with Pokémon in the wild, you don’t need to worry about screwing something up. 

Eternatus is one of the few Pokémon you can’t fail to catch, so throw a normal Poké Ball if you want to, because it doesn’t matter in the end. The game essentially gives you a free Uber Tier Pokémon that also has a move, Dynamax Cannon, that deals a base 200 damage to any target that’s Dynamaxed. 

So just toss whatever you feel like at it, whether you think it looks cool or if it’s just a safe Ultra Ball. You can’t go wrong. 

If you aren’t against using a legendary Pokémon in your party, Eternatus will help you make quick work of Leon in the Champion Cup. It’s also a good choice to compete in Max Raid Battles in the postgame since it can lay the smackdown on the raid bosses. 

You won’t be able to Dynamax your Eternatus once you capture it, and its final form, Eternatus Eternamax, isn’t obtainable in the game. But that probably won’t matter much once you hit level 88 and get one of the most powerful moves to ever exist in the entirety of the series, Eternabeam, which is basically just an even more suped-up Hyper Beam. 

Have fun blowing away the competition with one click if they aren’t prepared for that.