It’s impossible to go anywhere without catching the Pokéfever right now. In a matter of days, Detective Pikachu will commence its stay in theaters across North America, marking the franchise’s first exciting foray into live-action territory. Ryan Reynolds’ adorable portrayal of the titular character is, of course, the headline attraction, though witnessing that performance first-hand is simply the first step in weeks-long celebrations elsewhere.
As of yesterday, Pokémon Go developer Niantic commenced its own event to coincide with the film’s release, bringing with it a plethora of new limited-time goodies for players to obtain, not least the chance to catch their very own Detective Pikachu, deerstalker hat and all. However, going about finding the talented ‘Mon isn’t quite so simple – there’s some legwork required to even make him show up.
To get started, you’ll want to open-up Pokémon Go‘s in-game camera and start taking snaps of every Pocket Monster you come across. The subject of your lens doesn’t matter – just keep adding images to your library until there’s a sizable stack to review. In any one of these photographs, there’s a chance for either a Detective Pikachu or Smeargle to photobomb your work. Assuming it’s the former you’re after, back out to the world map once the above conditions are met and sitting there, in plain view, should be the hatted critter. Simply follow the usual protocol for any standard encounter and voila, it’s yours!
Once you’ve achieved that feat, it’s time to get cracking on the all-new Field Research missions, the reward for each being an encounter with a rare Pokédex entry. Do note, too, that all of the Pokémon involved in these challenges have increased spawn rates throughout the event period, as well as boosted chances of being a shiny variant.
See below for all the details, and good luck!
- Catch the Seed Pokemon that is seen walking in a river – Catch Bulbasaur
– Reward: Treecko encounter - Catch the Fire-type Evolution of Eevee – Catch Flareon
– Reward: Arcanine encounter - Catch the Water-type Pokemon carried in a backpack – Catch Psyduck
– Reward: Magikarp encounter - Catch 10 Jigglypuff, Aipon or Snubbull
– Reward: Ditto encounter