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‘Pokemon Go’ 2nd anniversary event introduces a new summer Pikachu

Published Jul 6th, 2018 9:01PM EDT
Pokemon Go 2nd Anniversary
Image: Niantic

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At long last, many of the most highly anticipated features for Pokemon Go are finally becoming a reality. Just days ago, Niantic added friends lists and trading, and it’s only been a few months since research missions gave countless trainers a compelling reason to come back to the game. But while we wait for player vs. player battles — which might be the next major addition — Niantic wants us to celebrate the game’s second anniversary.

Pokemon Go first launched on the App Store on July 6th, 2016, which makes today its second anniversary. To mark the occasion, Niantic is hosting a new event which will see Pikachu and Pichu spawn more frequently from now until July 31st. There will also be a special “Summer Style” Pikachu with a killer straw hat.

If that’s not enough Pikachu for you, a selection of Pikachu Fan Avatar items will be available in the store. Everyone with a gold Pikachu Fan medal will be able to purchase all the festive items, like a T-shirt and Pikachu ears.

The second anniversary event is live in-game right now, but Niantic had another surprise in store as well. In the “near future,” the developer says that a Special Research mission focused on the Mythical Pokemon Celebi will be available globally. This will presumably take the place of the Mew mission, but Niantic didn’t offer any further details. Either way, if you haven’t completed the tasks to acquire Mew yet, you might want to prioritize those in the coming days.

Jacob Siegal
Jacob Siegal Associate Editor

Jacob Siegal is Associate Editor at BGR, having joined the news team in 2013. He has over a decade of professional writing and editing experience, and helps to lead our technology and entertainment product launch and movie release coverage.