One of the biggest new features in Pokemon Sword and Shield is the Wild Area, an open stretch of land that is home to all sorts of Pokemon and the new raids. If you're looking to complete your Pokedex, it's also where you'll be spending a lot of your time; you can find evolved forms of Pokemon out in the open here, for example. But the kinds of Pokemon you can encounter vary with the weather, which in turn varies throughout the Wild Area and changes every day. To make the most of the Wild Area, there are several things you need to know about how weather works.
The Wild Area is broken up into different sections, which you can see on your map. The name of each zone will pop up as you enter it so you're always clear on where you are; if you're looking up a Pokemon's habitat in the Pokedex and it can be found in the Wild Area, the Dex will display the name of the section and what weather conditions you can find that Pokemon in. Different Pokemon will show up in different sections.
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The Pokemon you encounter throughout the Wild Area and in Max Raids change with the weather, and there are certain Pokemon you can find only in a specific type of weather. You can check the weather from anywhere at any time using your map.
The effects of weather on Pokemon spawns are mostly logical. Harsh sunlight brings out more Fire-types, rain brings Water-type Pokemon, and snow brings the Ice-types. Water-, Electric-, and Dragon-type Pokemon spawn during thunderstorms. Some types of weather aren't available until you make progress in the story, such as fog, which isn't available until after you become Champion.
Below is a list of the weather conditions and a description of the symbols that represent them in the map and Pokedex.
Harsh sunlight: increases damage from Fire-type moves and decreases damage from Water-type moves; Solar Beam charges instantly; Synthesis, Moonlight, and Morning Sun recover more health; all Pokemon are immune to freezing; activates certain abilitiesRain: increases damage from Water-type moves and decreases damage from Fire-type moves; Thunder and Hurricane hit consistently; weakens Solar Beam, Solar Blade, and light-based recovery moves; activates certain abilitiesHail: damages all Pokemon at the end of each turn (except Ice-types); enables Aurora Veil; Blizzard hits consistently; weakens Solar Beam, Solar Blade, and light-based recovery moves; activates certain abilitiesSandstorm: damages all Pokemon at the end of each turn (except Rock-, Steel-, and Ground-types); increases the special defense of Rock-type Pokemon; weakens Solar Beam, Solar Blade, and light-based recovery moves; activates certain abilities
Electric: increases power of Electric-type moves used by Pokemon on the ground; Pokemon on the ground won't fall asleepPsychic: increases power of Psychic-type moves used by Pokemon on the ground; Pokemon on the ground can't be hit by moves with increased priorityMisty: decreases damage taken from Dragon-type moves; Pokemon on the ground can't be affected by paralysis, burn, poison, freezing, or sleepGrassy: increases power of Grass-type moves used by Pokemon on the ground; heals all Pokemon on the ground a bit each turn; decreases damage from Earthquake, Bulldoze, and Magnitude