Let's be real for a second. If you’re looking for a Konami code or a "Master Ball" button in Galar, you’re going to be disappointed. Game Freak stopped putting traditional cheat codes in these games years ago. But that doesn’t mean the community hasn't found ways to break the game wide open. Honestly, what we call pokemon sword and shield cheats are basically just clever exploitations of the game's internal clock and networking systems.
You’ve probably seen people with dozens of Shiny Charizards or a bag overflowing with Ability Patches. They didn't type in a secret password. They manipulated the code.
The Date Skip Exploit is the Real MVP
This is the big one. If you want to talk about pokemon sword and shield cheats, you have to start with the "Den Reset." It’s the foundation for almost everything else. Basically, the game checks your Nintendo Switch system clock to determine when daily events happen. By tricking the game into thinking a day has passed while you’re inside a Max Raid Den, you can cycle through rewards until you get exactly what you want.
It works like this. You find a purple beam (a rare encounter), go into the menu, and select "Invite Others." While the game is searching, you press the Home button, go into your System Settings, and move the date forward by one day. When you jump back into the game and quit the raid, the Den has refreshed. The Pokemon changed. The Watts increased. You can get 2,000 Watts every single time you do this. In an hour, you're a millionaire.
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It's a bit tedious. It feels like a chore. But it’s the only way to farm for specific Hidden Abilities or those incredibly low-percent spawn rates without losing your mind.
Why the Watts Matter
You might think, "Okay, I have 100,000 Watts, so what?" Well, Watts are the currency of the Wild Area. You take those Watts to the Luxury Ball guy. You buy as many Luxury Balls as possible and then sell them at a Poke Mart for actual cash. This is the fastest way to get rich in Galar. You’ll need that money for vitamins like Protein and Iron because, in this generation, you can actually max out a Pokemon’s EVs just by using items. No more battling 252 Gastlys to max out your Special Attack.
The Missing Link: Shiny Raid Manipulation
This is where things get complicated and a little "gray area." There is a community of players who use external hardware or complex seed-checking bots to predict when a Shiny Pokemon will appear in a Raid Den. It isn’t a "cheat" in the sense that they are changing the game's code, but they are using external tools to see data that Game Freak hidden from the player.
Once they find a "Shiny Frame"—let's say it's 3,000 days into the future—they use the date skip exploit to fast-forward the game to that specific day.
Then, they host the raid for their friends. They can even reset the game without saving, meaning they can host that same Shiny raid over and over again. If you see a streamer hosting "Infinite Shiny Den Giveaways," this is exactly what they are doing. It has completely changed the economy of the game. Shinies used to be these legendary, one-in-a-million occurrences. Now? They’re basically trade fodder for items.
What About the "MissingNo" and Modified Saves?
You’ve probably heard rumors about people using a "MissingNo" in Sword and Shield. It did happen. Shortly after the game launched, hackers found a way to inject "God Eggs" into the game. These were glitched items that, when placed in a nursery, would hatch into literally anything or cause the game to crash.
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Eventually, Nintendo started swinging the ban hammer.
This is the part where you need to be careful. While date skipping is generally considered "safe" because it only uses internal system settings, using a modified save file or a hacked Pokemon in online ranked battles is a one-way ticket to getting banned from Nintendo Switch Online. They can detect "illegal" move sets—like a Machamp that knows Fissure when it shouldn't—and they will flag your account.
The Mystery Gift Loophole
Every once in a while, Game Freak releases official pokemon sword and shield cheats in the form of Mystery Gift codes. These aren't exploits; they're just freebies. But because the game is older now, many of these codes have expired. You’ve got to keep an eye on sites like Serebii.net, which is basically the gold standard for Pokemon data. Joe Merrick, the guy who runs it, is a machine. If there’s a new code for a Shiny Galarian Articuno or a free Master Ball, he’ll have it up within seconds.
Speedrunning Glitches: The "Air Walk"
If you really want to see the game break, look at the speedrunning community. There’s a glitch called "Air Walking" that allows players to bypass entire sections of the map. By using the bike and specific menu-buffering techniques near certain ledges, you can essentially trick the game into thinking you're still on solid ground while you're actually floating over the water or past story triggers.
It’s useless for a casual player. It's actually kind of a nightmare to pull off. But it shows how "thin" the programming for Sword and Shield actually is. The game is held together by digital tape and prayers.
Duplicating Items (The Hard Way)
In older games, we had the "Cinnabar Island" glitch or the "Ditto glitch." In Sword and Shield, item duplication is much harder. Most people do it by "cloning" Pokemon through a glitch in the God Egg era, which, again, is super risky.
The "legit" way to get more rare items like Gold Bottle Caps or Rusted Swords is through the Cram-o-matic in the Isle of Armor DLC. It's not a cheat, but if you know the specific recipes, you can turn garbage into treasure. For example, four Rare Candies put into the machine will always net you an Ability Capsule. It’s about knowing the internal "point value" of every item you pick up.
The Moral of the Story with Galar Cheats
Pokemon Sword and Shield is a game about the grind. Whether you're breeding for a 6IV competitive Dragapult or hunting for a Shiny Wooloo, the game wants you to put in the hours. Exploits like date skipping just respect your time a little more.
Does it ruin the fun? That’s up to you. For some, the hunt is the point. For others, the fun starts when they have a perfect team and can jump into the Master Ball Tier on the ranked ladder.
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Your Next Steps in Galar
If you're ready to start using these pokemon sword and shield cheats (or exploits, let's be honest), here is how you should prioritize your time to get the most out of the game without getting banned.
- Start with the Date Skip: Go to a Max Raid Den in the Wild Area, use a Wishing Piece, and start cycling dates. Use this to farm Watts first. You’ll need the money for everything else.
- Max Out Your Money: Buy Luxury Balls with those Watts and sell them. You want at least 2 million PokeDollars before you start serious competitive breeding or training.
- Use the Cram-o-matic: Head to the Isle of Armor and look up a recipe list. Stop guessing. You can craft Bottle Caps and PP Ups if you have the right junk in your bag.
- Check Your Dates: If you're hunting for a specific weather condition—like a sandstorm to catch a Lucario—don't wait for the real-world weather to change. Just change your Switch clock to June 1st, 2020. That date specifically sets the weather to "Clear" across the entire Wild Area.
- Stay Legal: Never, ever take a Pokemon with an impossible move or an "impossible" Poke Ball into a ranked match. The game's internal legality checker is stricter than it used to be, and it's not worth losing your save file over.
The "Golden Age" of finding a secret island by surfing along the coast is over, but the era of manipulating the system clock is in full swing. Just remember to set your clock back to the "Sync with Internet" setting when you're done, or your Animal Crossing island is going to be covered in weeds and your daily events in other games will be completely broken. This is the trade-off for being a Galar "cheater." Good luck out there, and may your Raid Dens always glow purple.