[Last Chance] Pokemon Sword And Shield's Max Raid Event Is Ending Today

Pokemon Sword and Shield's latest Max Raid event is coming to an end very soon. The event concludes at 4:59 PM PT / 7:59 PM ET today, May 11, making this your last chance to easily score some of the games' most popular competitive Pokemon.

Until that time, players of both titles will have a much better chance of finding Tyranitar, Dragapult, Togekiss, Whimsicott, Excadrill, and their pre-evolved forms in Max Raids. Additionally, Heat Rotom will appear in Max Raids in Pokemon Sword, while Wash Rotom will be available in Pokemon Shield.

If you haven't yet participated in the event, you'll first need to connect online to refresh your Raid dens. You can do so either by activating the Y-Comm or going into Mystery Gift from the menu screen and selecting Get the Wild Area news. Be sure to also check out our Sword and Shield Max Raid guide for tips to help you defeat the Raid Pokemon.

Two DLC expansions for Sword and Shield--Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra--are scheduled to be released this year. The former is slated to arrive in June, with the latter following in the fall, and each will introduce a load of new content to the games, including new and returning Pokemon, additional features--like the ability to explore Raid dens with other players--and more.

Developer Game Freak is also introducing a new Mythical Pokemon called Zarude, which plays a feature role in the series' latest film, Pokemon the Movie: Coco. Zarude is able to learn a brand-new, exclusive move called Jungle Healing, which restores HP and cures status effects for Zarude and other ally Pokemon on the field. Fans in Japan fans who pre-order tickets to the Pokemon movie will receive download codes for Zarude and Shiny Celebi, but international distribution details have not yet been announced.

In other Pokemon news, Nintendo recently shared its updated list of Switch best-sellers, which revealed the new Pokemon games have now sold more than 17 million copies combined. Thanks in part to Sword and Shield and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the Nintendo Switch Online service has also passed a new milestone.