Pokemon sword and shield Players have two weeks to collect a special Pikachu to tie in with today’s International Space Station event. Between now and January 15th Pokemon sword and shield Players can collect a special Pikachu that knows the moves Thunderbolt, Swift, Wish and Celebrate and hold a Comet Shard by using the game’s Mystery Gift feature. Pikachu usually can’t learn Wish and has only had the Celebrate move as part of special giveaways. Remember, Celebrate is a harmless move that literally causes a Pokemon to celebrate in battle without any other effects. The move is only effective when used as a Z-Move, a feature not present in Pokemon sword and shield.
This particular Pikachu is a special giveaway that ties into Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s current live stream of the first sunrise over the International Space Station. As part of the festivities, Pikachu and Rayquaza appeared in space through Augmented Reality. Pikachu appeared next to an astronaut on the International Space Station, as Rayquaza flew over Earth, similar to how the Pokemon has appeared in various Pokemon media.
Despite some internet hype, the live stream did not contain any Pokemon announcements worth mentioning. Some hoped the Pokemon Company would use the announcement to announce new games, such as remakes of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, or use the event to officially launch the 25th anniversary. However, since the live stream was run by an agency other than the Pokemon Company (and the Pokemon Company barely advertised the live stream), every major announcement was a longshot at best.
The Pikachu, named KIBO’s Pikachu after the Japanese experiment model on the International Space Station, can be obtained between now and January 15 through the Mystery Gift feature. Players must connect to the Internet to retrieve the Pikachu, which is available to all players.