How to change the weather in Pokémon Sword and Shield’s Wild Area

If you have visited the Wild Area anytime in Pokémon Sword and Shield, you might have noticed that the weather is finicky and changes at random throughout your play session.

It often feels like there is no way to control the weather or to make the most of what Pokémon are offered in every subsection of the Wild Area. But this is only partially true.

There is a way to take more direct control of the weather in the Wild Area even if we use the word “control” lightly. While you might not have any control on what weather will show up in each section, you can at least manually control when it changes.

The weather in the Wild Area is predetermined by the current date and time on the player’s Nintendo Switch system. So by changing those two settings, you can change the weather in the Wild Area.

Here is how to players can change the Wild Area’s weather:

With the game open, press the Home button and navigate to the System Settings option on the Switch’s main menu. Click on the gear icon and scroll down until you come across the System tab.

Click the Date and Time tab. Then, make sure to turn off the Synchronize Clock via Internet setting and change the current date by one day either direction.

Now, load back into the game and you will notice that the weather has changed. While it might not be the weather you want, you can rinse and repeat this method until the area has the weather you are after.