The Crowned forms of Zacian and Zamazenta are getting their time in the spotlight as part of Pokémon Go Fest 2025, allowing you to power up these puppies into their big strong forms – that can even be used in Max Battles, even though they’re not Dynamax.
Unlike previous special Legendary Pokémon that use energy, these are not fusions. You don’t need two Pokémon to get a Crowned version or anything like that. You just need a Zacian or Zamazenta, as well as their respective energy.
You can also turn any previously caught Zacian or Zamazenta into their new shiny forms, as long as they know the right move.
Below we explain how to get Crowned Sword Zacian and Crowned Shield Zamazenta in Pokémon Go, as well as how their Adventure Effects work, along with other information we have on these two powerful Legendaries.
How to get Crowned Sword Zacian and Crowned Shield Zamazenta in Pokémon Go
To turn your Hero of Many Battles Zacian and Zamazenta into their Crowned versions, you will need to do the following:
- To get Crowned Sword Zacian, you’ll need to have a Zacian that knows the move Iron Head, 1,000 Crowned Sword Energy, and 30 Zacian Candy.
- To get Crowned Shield Zamazenta, you’ll need to have a Zamazenta that knows the move Iron Head, 1,000 Crowned Shield Energy, and 30 Zamazenta Candy.
Once you have these items, you can just select the “change form” button on the Pokémon’s respective information screen to turn them. The move Iron Head will turn into their respective specialty moves, Behemoth Blade or Behemoth Bash.
To get the Crowned Energy, you’ll need to take on raids for the respective energy and Pokémon (and you can grab a handful by redeeming some codes). As you’d expect, you get Crowned Sword Energy from Zacian and Crowned Shield Energy from Zamazenta. Zamazenta will be in raids on Saturday, June 28 and Zacian will be in raids on Sunday, June 29. The ticketed event Special Research for Go Fest Global 2025 also gives you enough energy to upgrade either Zacian or Zamazenta, depending on which branching choice you make.
Crowned Sword Zacian and Crowned Shield Zamazenta Adventure Effects, explained
Image: Scopely
Yes, these Pokémon are super strong and they also have Adventure Effects. Unlike previous Adventure Effects (like Origin Forme Dialga and Palkia’s) that only affect things outside of battle, Zacian and Zamazenta effects power you up in battle.
- Crowned Sword Zacian knows Behemoth Blade, which strengthens your Pokémon’s attacks in raids and Max Battles for six minutes.
- Crowned Shield Zamazenta knows Behemoth Bash, which strengthens your Pokémon’s defense in raids and Max Battles for six minutes.
These are pretty straight-forward effects, thankfully. According to datamines, Behemoth Blade boosts attack by 10% in raids and 5% in Max Battles. Similarly, Behemoth Bash boosts defense by 10% in raids and 5% in Max Battles.
Both effects cost 5,000 Stardust and five Zacian or Zamazenta Candy to activate. You can extend the duration of the timers on these effects by spending the aforementioned amount of resources to make it last up to 24 hours total.
Can you revert Crowned Sword Zacian and Crowned Shield Zamazenta to their original forms?
Unlike previous energy-using Legendary Pokémon (like Kyurem or Necrozma), you can revert your Crowned doggies back into their Hero of Many Battles form freely without worrying about energy cost. Once you initially turn them into their Crowned Forms, you can swap back and forth with no extra cost.
That being said, there isn’t too much of a reason to do this, as the Crowned Form versions are much stronger than the meager Hero of Many Battles forms, but… it’s nice to have the option!
What else do we know about Crowned Sword Zacian and Crowned Shield Zamazenta?
- Yes, both Zacian and Zamazenta can be shiny!
Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Niantic
- Both of these very strong dogs can be used in Max Battles, despite the fact that they are not Dynamax or Gigantamax Pokémon.
- As per usual with Adventure Effects, you can only have one active at once – which means you cannot stack both Zacian and Zamazenta’s, nor can you throw White Kyurem’s or Origin Forme Dialga’s into the mix.
- Crowned Sword Zacian and Crowned Shield Zamazenta cannot be transferred to Pokémon Home. You’ll need to revert them to their Hero of Many Battles forms to do so.
Did you finish that already? There’s still more to do for Pokémon Go Fest 2025. Check out our rotating habitat schedule guide to see when you can find certain critters.
We also have tons of guides for everything Zacian and Zamazenta, including raid guides for the both of them and a list of free codes to score extra Crown Energy. We also have an explainer for the Zacian and Zamazenta Special Research and the Volcanion Special Research, which you’ll have if you bought the Go Fest 2025 ticket.
