In Pokémon GO, players have an opportunity to catch a Pikachu wearing a TCG Hat inspired by the card game. The Pokémon GO TCG Crossover event begins on Thursday, June 16, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. and runs until Thursday, June 30, 2022, at 8:00 p.m. local time. Therefore, the only opportunity players will have to catch the exclusive Electric-type Pikachu wearing a blue baseball cap with two silver Pokémon cards during this window.
During the event, players have a chance to encounter a wild Pikachu in Pokémon GO wearing the event-exclusive hat in the wild. Additionally, players may encounter the outfitted Pikachu as a reward for completing some event-exclusive Field Research Tasks. Finally, players could also obtain a TCG Hat Pikachu by receiving it in a special trade. In addition to Pikachu wearing the TCG Hat, players may also receive Ivysaur, Charmeleon, Wartortle, or Wimpod as a reward for the event-exclusive Field Research Tasks. In addition, there is a small chance players could also receive rarer Pokémon such as Dragonite, Snorlax, Venusaur, Blastoise, or Charizard.
Once players find the limited-time Pikachu, they will still need to successfully make the catch. To improve their odds, players can use Ultra Balls and a curve ball throw coupled with a Razz Berry or Golden Razz Berry in Pokémon GO. In previous events featuring a limited-time cosmetic Pikachu, players have not been able to evolve it into Raichu. Accordingly, players will not need to prioritize using Pinap Berries to earn additional candy, which is required to evolve Pokémon. Similarly, players cannot evolve a Pichu to receive a Pikachu wearing the TCG Hat, even if they caught or hatched the Pichu during the crossover event.
Pokémon GO TCG Crossover Event: Rewards and Shiny Pikachu
There is a small chance players may even encounter a shiny Pikachu wearing the TCG Hat. The shiny Pikachu is very similar but has a darker yellow shade and grey-tipped ears. Players should expect their odds of finding a shiny variant to be about 1 in 500. Additionally, both shiny and standard Pikachu in Pokémon GO have slight visual distinctions between males and females. On a male Pikachu, the tail has a pointy end that forms a geometric line, and female Pikachu tails curve at the end, with the two rounded shapes meeting in the middle and resembling a heart. To maximize the amount of Pikachu they encounter, players can use Incense and Lure Modules in addition to completing as many Field Research Tasks as possible to continue their search for shiny Pikachu.
While Trainers are searching the wild for Pikachu wearing the TCG Hat, players will find that Wimpod and Golisopod are roaming the wild too. Players should also expect to discover that the Kanto starters, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander, have an increased appearance rate in addition to Lunatone, Solrock, and Meltan. Players may want to catch as many Meltan in Pokémon GO as possible during the event because it costs 400 candies to evolve into Melmetal. Each successful catch will reward a standard three candies, which players can double using a Pinap Berry or Silver Pinap Berry.
Pokémon GO is available now on iOS and Android.