Highlights

  • Pokemon GO announced a new event celebrating the release of the Pokemon Horizons anime, which is to take place from March 5 to March 11.
  • The event will star Captain Pikachu with Volt Tackle, a Gen 3 move which hasn't been featured in Pokemon GO yet.
  • Scarlet and Violet's Charcadet and its two evolutions will also debut during the event, as will some unique Snapshot opportunities.

Pokemon GO is adding another special Pikachu variant, three Scarlet and Violet mons, and several other novelties. The new content is set to debut as part of a cross-promotion event celebrating the Netflix release of Pokemon Horizons: The Series.

February 27 marked yet another Pokemon Day, the anniversary of the first game in the beloved series that The Pokemon Company has been actively celebrating since 2016. This year's commemoration revolved around a new Pokemon Presents livestream, which opened with some Pokemon GO news. Specifically, the broadcast revealed that Niantic will celebrate the release of the Pokemon Horizons anime with an in-game collaboration event set to run from March 5 to March 11.

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Captain Pikachu Is Coming to Pokemon GO

The star of the event will be Captain Pikachu, a well-known version of the series' mascot donning a ship captain's cap for maximum cuteness. This Pikachu specimen—which can also be shiny—will even know Volt Tackle, an Electric-type attack that was originally introduced in the Generation 3 games but hasn't yet made its debut in Pokemon GO. Niantic's implementation of the move gives it 90 power, which makes it as powerful as Wild Charge. The attack will also have a bonus effect in trainer battles, as it will decrease the opponent's Defense rating by one level.

3 More Scarlet and Violet Mons Are About To Have Their Pokemon GO Debuts

The upcoming event will also mark the in-game debuts of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Charcadet and its two evolutions, Armarouge and Ceruledge. Evolving Charcadet will require equipping it as a buddy, then defeating 30 Psychic- or Ghost-type mons, which will result in Armarouge and Ceruledge, respectively. While Charcadet will be encounterable in the wild, players will also be able to hatch it from 10km eggs for the duration of the event.

Its evolution process might sound familiar to the most dedicated players, as it's similar to how Primeape evolves into Annihilape in Pokemon GO. As for the rest of the event's agenda, Liko and Roy from the Netflix-exclusive anime will appear in Pokemon GO Snapshots, while Team GO Rocket balloons will have increased spawn rates for the duration of the promo. Finally, hatching eggs over the six-day period ending March 11 will yield double XP.

This upcoming March event aside, Niantic hasn't forgotten to commemorate Pokemon Day 2024. To that end, the Generation 1 starters, Pikachu, and Eevee wearing party hats will all be appearing in the game until the end of the day.