How to choose stadiums in Pokemon Sword & Shield’s online battles

A Pokemon player discovered a neat trick in Sword & Shield that lets you pick the stadium you fight in with online matches. The feature lets you choose your battlegrounds.

Pokemon entered its eighth generation with the debut of Sword & Shield in November 2019. The Nintendo Switch RPG introduced players to the Galar region, while adding new features to the franchise like Dynamaxing and Raid Battles.

The game also features online matches where Trainers from around the world can battle it out. A player on Reddit discovered that you can actually determine which stadium you take your opponent on in. Here’s how.

Pick online battle stadiums in Pokemon Sword & Shield

In the Gen VIII title, League Cards were introduced which track the progress of the player as they further the story. You can edit the item using the Card Maker at Poke Centers, and change your character’s photo.

Over on Reddit, user ‘EzequielGI‘ posted a guide on how use these cards to change the stadiums you fight in with online battles. According to the user, “If you choose the background of a specific location you can Dynamax in, then that place will be set as one of the possible stadiums the online battle will take place in.”

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Ezequiel then listed the locations that this works with, stating, “All gyms except for Spikemuth,the Battle Tower and the Master Dojo. If the background isn’t related to any of those locations, then your selected stadium will be the normal one.”

Interestingly, the user also revealed that the game gives you a 50/50 chance, as it might also select the other user’s location on their League Card. So if you are always getting the same Stadium each battle, now you know why – change your League Card background!

While some fans may already know this information, there were a fair few who were not aware of the feature when it was posted online. If nothing else, it’s just another example of how much depth the title actually has.

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Despite only releasing in November 2019, Sword & Shield is already on track to becoming the third best-selling title in the franchise. Proof that fans can’t get enough of the series addicting ‘Gotta Catch ‘Em All’ design.