As promised last week, Pokémon Go developer Niantic has just kicked off its celebration of the popular mobile title’s 5th anniversary, in turn delivering a host of limited-time bonuses for players around the world to enjoy. From today, July 6th, until July 15th, Trainers scouting their surroundings for rare digital fauna will have the chance of stumbling upon an appropriately-themed special Pikachu. This version of the franchise’s iconic mascot can be found attached to a 5-shaped balloon in the wild as well as in one-star raids.
In addition to the above, Gen V critter Darumaka has received a noticeably boosted encounter rate in both its standard and Shiny variants, though it’s worth noting that the latter will still be an incredibly rare find. As always, the most effective method of getting hold of the latter will be to encounter as many Darumaka as possible during the event period.
Elsewhere, all Lure modules used at PokéStops over the next week will have double the duration (1 hour) and more frequently attract starter Pokémon from Generations I through V. If you’re in need of some associated candies to make each evolve into their final forms, more can be obtained via the completion of daily Field Research tasks.
Rounding out the festivities are a collection of 5th-anniversary stickers obtainable from other players by opening gifts as well as through Pokémon Go‘s in-game store, which now allows visitors short on inventory space to further expand their bag slots to a maximum of 3,500 spaces. Naturally, these will cost real money and it’s not immediately clear from the blog’s wording if this is intended to be a permanent or temporary fixture.
Already stumbled upon some rare finds during your adventures? Be sure to share them in the usual place below!