The Ball Guy from Pokémon Sword & Shield is giving out codes to redeem rare Pokéballs on social media. Last November, the release of the game was followed by several controversies surrounding the developer’s choice to get rid of some of the series’ long-running characters.

At E3 2019, developer Game Freak revealed that Sword & Shield would be getting rid of the Pokémon National Pokédex, meaning not all the pocket monsters from the franchise would be featured in the game. Likely, the reason for this decision is because, over the different generations of the series, the number of available Pokémon has grown so much that now it’s very difficult, if not impossible, to make them all available in one single video game. However, the absence of the National Pokédex in the title upset the fans to the point that some of them created a petition asking United States President Donald Trump to ban Sword & Shield from being sold. Surprisingly, the backlash didn’t stop the title from becoming one of the fastest-selling titles for Nintendo Switch ever, with over six million copies sold in the first week after the game’s release.

As NintendoLife reports, recently some Mystery Gift codes for Sword & Shield have been divulged over social media which allow players to collect rare Pokéballs for free. Here are the codes players can currently redeem in the game:

  • K0UN1NMASC0T, provides 1 Level Ball, 1 Moon Ball, and 1 Fast Ball, expires on January 15th, 2020 1YAHAYA, provides 1 Heavy Ball, 1 Lure Ball, and 1 Beast ball, expires on January 15th, 2020 0KUGAFUKA1B0RU, provides 1 Love Ball, 1 Friend Ball, and 1 Dream Ball, expires on January 15th, 2020 PRESENT, provides 10 Luxury Balls, expires on January 3oth, 2020

The codes can be redeemed by opening the main menu, then selecting “Mystery Gift.” In the next screen, the player needs to select “Get a Mystery Gift,” then “Get with Code/Password.” After these steps, the user will see a dialog screen which asks them to input one of the codes listed above, and afterwards the gift can be redeemed. Each of the available Pokéball types has different features and usually will make catching certain types of Pokémon easier.

The new Pokémon Sword & Shield codes arrive just in time for the holidays, when most players have more time to spend trying to catch new Pokémon and battling other Pokémon trainers. In fact, despite all the backlash on social media, Sword & Shield is likely to be among the most played — and sold — titles for Nintendo Switch this holiday season. Hopefully, the developers will keep implementing time-limited Mystery Gift codes and other events in order to to keep the players interested even if they don’t have the chance to catch all of the little monsters and the various different versions of Meowth.

Next: Pokemon Sword & Shield Guide: Fastest Ways to Earn Money

Source: NintendoLife