With The Pokémon Company’s first ever foray into live-action cinema due to arrive in just a few short days, franchise-wide celebrations have begun taking place to commemorate the occasion. Pokémon Go developer Niantic, in particular, has a bumper update planned for the mobile title in the form of a crossover event. Due to go live any moment now, the limited-time campaign brings with it a myriad of new activities for Pokéfans to indulge in, not least the ability to catch their very own version of Ryan Reynolds’ titular Pikachu.
Just like the electrically-charged mouse’s standard version, this deerstalker-donning critter can be found out in the wild all over the world, though it’s not yet clear how rare the encounter rate will be. In addition to that, new avatar items adorned with the film’s logo will be up for grabs, with a generous helping of double XP modifiers mixed in for good measure.
All of that alone provides Trainers new and old plenty of incentive to log in and begin the hunt, though there’s one component still shrouded in mystery – raid battles. Niantic’s original announcement stipulates that the event’s commencement will trigger the addition of new Field Research opportunities and raid bosses, though the powerful ‘Mons taking up residence at said gyms has yet to be revealed.
Previous information dumps confirm that occurrence rates for Pokémon set to star in Detective Pikachu will be boosted for the event’s duration, so the likelihood is that somehow unique versions of these will head-up the new raids. It’s unlikely, after all, that Niantic would simply make the likes of Charizard more common in tall grass. The fire-breathing dragon would be much better suited to an endgame appearance.
Chances are, specific details will be shared once the event goes live, though there’s plenty already going on in Pokémon Go in the interim. Three brand-new legendaries, as well as the opportunity to nab your own shiny Pikachu or Eevee, are just some of the recent events to have arrived in-game. See the respective links for each to learn more.