The Pokémon Trading Card Game is celebrating its collaboration with Pokémon GO by giving away a free hat-wearing Pikachu card promo for a limited time. The special crossover expansion was originally announced in 2021 with the release of the Pokémon GO Professor Willow TCG card which was given out as a promotional item on the official Pokémon Center store. The Pokémon GO TCG is getting another free promo card based on the mobile game, as players will be able to score a special Pikachu TCG collectible at various retailers.
After months of anticipation, the Pokémon GO TCG set is launching in stores on Friday, July 1st. The TCG expansion has a setlist of over 101 cards for players to collect, including many rare VSTAR, VMAX, and Radiant Pokémon. Because the Niantic collaboration is a special set similar to 2021's Shining Fates, the July Pokémon card release is launching with more promotional cards than most TCG expansions. The Pokémon GO TCG Radiant Eevee card, for example, can only be obtained by purchasing the Premium Collection boxset. To celebrate the release of the Pokémon GO crossover, The Pokémon Company is giving out a rare Pikachu promo card for free.
The Pikachu card giveaway was announced by the Pokémon TCG account on Twitter in a June 29th tweet. According to the social media post, players will be able to go to retailers GameStop, BestBuy, and Barnes & Nobles to obtain the free Pokémon GO TCG promo card. The official press release also confirmed that Canadian fans would be able to go to GameStop, Toys R Us, London Drugs, Mastermind Toys, and Indigo Books to pick up the free item. The rare collectible features adorable artwork of Pikachu wearing a hat with the TCG logo on it.
The promo card is based on the Pokémon GO TCG Crossover Hat Pikachu, which can be caught in the mobile game during an event that is running from June 16 to Thursday, June 30, 2022. While The Pokémon Company hasn't specified how limited the Pikachu promo card will be, a blog post on the official Pokémon website encourages fans to act quickly as the card will only be available "while supplies last." Although the Pokémon GO TCG set doesn't actually release until July, it appears that the hat-wearing Pikachu promo can be picked up at stores starting today, Wednesday, June 29th.
There are a total of fourteen promotional cards in the Pokémon GO TCG set including the newly announced hat Pikachu. The expansion's promo card setlist also includes Pokémon Red and Blue Starters Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur, as well as Pokémon GO Team Leaders Candela, Blanche, and Spark. One of the most sought-after promos though is the Pokémon GO TCG Elite Trainer Box's Kanto Legendary Pokémon Mewtwo card. The Niantic crossover expansion with the Pokémon Trading Card Game was created to celebrate Pokémon GO's sixth anniversary in July.
Source: Pokémon TCG/Twitter