The Pokemon GO 5 year anniversary event has arrived, celebrating a half-decade of Niantic's genre-defining AR title. To commemorate the event, spawn rates have been increased for some of Pokemon GO's most sought-after Pokemon. Players can even catch a brand new variant of the Flying Pikachu, floating with the help of a 5-shaped balloon.
The Flying Pikachu is a lighthearted variant of the most famous Pokemon of all, floating in the air from a bunch of colorful balloons. The variant was introduced in the splash screen for Pokemon Yellow back in 1998, the first Pokemon game to center around the iconic electric mouse. Since then, Flying Pikachu has appeared in several other Pokemon products, including the manga and trading card game. The airborne mouse was introduced in Pokemon GO during a GO Fest 2020 Weekly Challenge, but if players want the 5-shaped balloon version they'll have to catch it during the 5 year anniversary event.
How to Catch a 5th Anniversary Flying Pikachu in the Wild
The first way that Pokemon GO players can catch a Flying Pikachu with the 5-shaped balloon is out in the Wild. Spawn rates have been increased for Flying Pikachu for the event, so with enough searching, it shouldn't be too difficult to come across one. Once a player has encountered a Flying Pikachu, all they need to do is catch it with the Poke Ball of their choice.
Flying Pikachu can be a little harder to catch than their ground-based cousins due to their bobbing around, but the use of a Nanab Berry can make them less erratic. It's also worth noting that Flying Pikachu can be Shiny, though it's unconfirmed whether this extends to the 5-shaped balloon version as well. To increase their chances of encountering a Shiny, players should focus on encountering as many Flying Pikachu in a row as possible.
How to Catch a 5th Anniversary Flying Pikachu in a Raid
To make sure that players have a good chance of getting a Flying Pikachu during Pokemon GO's 5-year anniversary event, they've also been added to one-star Raids. Like all Raids, these take place at Gyms and can be joined locally by using a Raid Pass, or remotely with a Remote Raid Pass.
If the players taking part in the Raid manage to defeat the boss, they'll be given a chance to catch the Flying Pikachu with a 5-shaped balloon. Catching Pokemon after Raids is a little different from in the Wild, and players won't be able to use their normal Poke Balls. Instead, players will be given a number of Premier Balls to use based on their performance in the Raid. With a good throw and some luck, anyone should be able to snag themselves a Flying Pikachu in time for Pokemon GO's 5 year anniversary.
Pokemon GOÂ is out now for Android and iOS mobile devices.