Last Chance For Pokemon Sword And Shield's Shiny Pikachu Raid Event

Another Max Raid event has begun in Pokemon Sword and Shield. This one only runs through this weekend, and it revolves around the series' adorable mascot, Pikachu.

Until today, August 9, Pikachu, Pichu, Raichu, and Alolan Raichu will all appear more frequently in Max Raid dens across both Sword and Shield. On top of that, you'll have a chance to find a Shiny Pikachu in five-star Raids, and it seems Mimikyu has snuck into some dens as well as part of this event.

The Pikachu Mass Appearance event runs until 4:59 PM PT, so you only have a limited time to take part in it. Before the Pikachu will begin appearing in your game, you'll need to refresh your Raid dens. You can do so either by connecting online via the Y-Comm or going into Mystery Gift from the menu screen and selecting Get the Wild Area News.

That's not the only Max Raid event happening in Sword and Shield this month. Until August 31, Water- and Ground-type Pokemon like Gastrodon, Milotic, and Hippowdon are appearing more frequently in Max Raids, as are the Gigantamax forms of Drednaw and Sandaconda. You can also earn some valuable items like Pearls and Stardust for completing the event Raids.

Pokemon Sword and Shield launched for Switch back in November 2019 and have been huge hits for Nintendo. The games have sold more than 18 million copies combined as of June 30, making them the third-best-selling generation in the series behind Red and Blue and Gold and Silver. Their second DLC expansion, The Crown Tundra, is slated to release sometime this fall.