The shiny Zacian and Zamazenta Pokemon distribution is one of the most annoying yet, involves GameStop

The ‘essential business’ GameStop

Going to a GameStop, especially when my walking-distance-location closed, in 2021, is an incredibly annoying prospect for me. So much so that I’ll probably miss out on the shiny Zacian and Zamazenta distribution event. But somehow this one is more annoying than past ones.

So that shiny Zacian and Zamazenta distribution run for Pokemon Sword and Shield that was rumored last week is true, and it’s been officially unveiled by GameStop over the weekend. You have to go to the store, that much is a given, but it has another hidden wrinkle: both Pokemon are actually split up and are roughly half a month apart. Zuh?

Yep, shiny Zacian is running from October 22 through November 11, and shiny Zamazenta will be distributed from November 12 through November 26. It’s a curse for people who have had local GameStops go out of business in the last year, on top of an incredibly crummy time period. While The Pokemon Company has typically never reconsidered breaking a GameStop agreement, a lot of folks are pretty mad for all of the reasons above, and are trying to get a different distribution method.

It’s an odd turn of events all around for a game that’s about to be replaced in a few months with Pokemon Legends, but amiibo exclusives and physical distribution events are a cold business.