The Pokémon Go Crown Clash event is an exciting prospect for me, and not just because of all of the opportunities you get to catch a shiny with an event like this, though that is an undeniable bonus. Instead, it's the long-awaited debut of Kingambit, the best Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet. If you'd like to contest me on that, my favorite Samurai and I will see you on the hill at dawn.
Kingambit made its franchise debut in Paldea as part of the gen 9 Pokémon line-up, becoming the new final stage for the Pawniard evolution line. Pawniard and Bisharp are part of the gen 5 Pokémon games, meaning it took 12 years for Bisharp to get its own evolution, but boy, was it worth the wait, and I'm sure it's worth the even longer wait to see Kingambit in Pokémon Go.
Getting your hands on Bisharp's evolution takes a bit of work, though, which shouldn't be too much of a surprise considering the hoops you need to jump through to get the steel Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet. Luckily, Bisharp is worth the effort in Paldea, and I think it's fair to assume it still is in Pokémon Go. In the free mobile game, you need to defeat 15 steel-types or dark Pokémon in Pokémon Go raids with Bisharp as your buddy.
Once you go through all of that, it's time to turn your attention from warriors to royalty, as Nidoking and Nidoqueen have fresh looks for this event, with both of them donning crowns on their heads. You can even get shiny versions of these new costumes, because seeing these beasts with gold tiaras on their heads isn't enough. I have to admit, I usually find Nidoking intimidating, but this crown makes him look adorable.
Pokémon Go Crown Clash begins 10am local time on May 10 and concludes at 8pm local time on May 18, giving you eight days to track down those royal shinies. During this time, you can also expect frequent encounters with Pokémon like Slowpoke, Piplup, and Litleo, then, if you're really lucky, you might encounter a shiny Pawniard, which means you could get a shiny Kingambit in the long run.
With how likely you are to bump into Kingambit in future battles following its debut, I highly recommend you check out our dark Pokémon weakness and steel Pokémon weakness guides to get the lowdown on how you can beat it.