Pokemon Sword And Shield Theme Available Again In Tetris 99 [Last Chance]

Pokemon Sword and Shield's second DLC expansion, The Crown Tundra, launches later this week, and to celebrate its release, Switch Online members will have another chance to unlock a Pokemon theme in Tetris 99. The online puzzler's 17th Maximus Cup event is now underway, and it brings back the Sword and Shield theme from last November.

Like the previous Sword and Shield Maximus Cup, this weekend's event is a point-based competition. You'll earn points depending on how highly you place each round, with the theme unlocking once you hit a specific milestone. Previously, you needed to amass 100 points to unlock the Sword and Shield theme, but this time around, you'll only need to earn 50.

The Maximus Cup runs until 11:59 PM PT on October 19 (2:59 AM ET on October 20), and you'll need to have an active Nintendo Switch Online subscription to participate. You can read more about the event on the official Tetris 99 website.

The aforementioned Crown Tundra expansion, meanwhile, launches October 22. It's the second part of Sword and Shield's Expansion Pass, and it introduces a wealth of additional content to the games, including a new arctic region to explore, new and returning Pokemon to catch, and new gameplay modes and items (like the incredibly helpful Ability Patch). The Expansion Pass costs $30 USD.

In the lead up to The Crown Tundra's release, The Pokemon Company is giving away eight free Pikachu for Sword and Shield players all month long. Each of these Pikachu is wearing one of the different hats that Ash wore from the Pokemon anime series. You can claim the free Pikachu by inputting special passwords into Mystery Gift.