Pokémon Sword & Shield Will Get A Special Pikachu After ISS Event

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company will be giving Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield a special Pikachu in January. In case you didn’t see it, the company teased an event that would be taking place aboard the Japanese Kibo Space Module at the International Space Station to kick off the first Lunar Sunrise of 2021. If you blinked you would have missed it as both Pikachu and Rayquaza appeared on the space station through Augmented Reality. We have no clue if that makes them the first characters from the franchise in space, because for all we know someone could have smuggled a Psyduck aboard to cuddle with inside their weightless cabin years ago. But it was a fun little thing to do where the company got their characters out to the public, especially those in Japan who tuned in to check out the event live.

But the entire ordeal doesn’t end there! As part of a celebration of it happening, the company will be giving players a specialized Pikachu to celebrate.  Right now in both Sword and Shield, you can snag a special git called “KIBO’s Pikachu Gift”. This particular Pikachu comes with the moves Thunderbolt, Swift, Wish, and Celebrate, which all seem appropriate to ring in the new year. Plus it’s also holding a Comet Shard, because of course, it is, it’s been to space! This particular Pikachu is available through the Mystery Gift selection in the game with an internet connection until January 15th, 2021. After that, you’ll just have to shake your head in disappointment that for some reason, you spent two weeks not connecting online to snag a free creature. Enjoy your free present as we ring in 2021 screaming “PIKA!”