Sword and Shield Pokémon players will have two weeks to pick up a special Pikachu that will be linked to today’s International Space Station event. By January 15, Sword and Shield Pokémon players can pick up a special Pikachu that knows the moves of Thunderbolt, Swift, Wish and Celebrate, and comes with a Comet Shard using the games’ Mystery Gift feature. Pikachu doesn’t usually learn Wish and has only had the Celebrate movement as part of special gifts. Note that Celebrate is a non-damaging move that literally causes a Pokémon to celebrate in battle with no other effect. The move is only effective when used as a Z-Move, a feature that is not there Sword and Shield Pokémon.
This particular Pikachu is a special gift that relates to the current live broadcast by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency of the first sunrise over the International Space Station. As part of the festivities, Pikachu and Rayquaza appeared through augmented reality in space. Pikachu appeared next to an astronaut on the International Space Station, while Rayquaza flew over Earth, similar to how Pokémon has appeared in various Pokémon media.
Despite some advertising on the Internet, the live broadcast did not contain significant Pokémon ads. Some expected the Pokemon Company to use the ad to announce new games, such as remakes of Diamond and Pearl Pokémon, or use the event to formally launch your 25th anniversary celebration. However, because the live broadcast was by an agency independent of the Pokemon Company (and the Pokemon Company barely announced the live broadcast), any major announcement was the best.
The Pikachu, called KIBO’s Pikachu according to the Japanese experiment model on the International Space Station, can be obtained through the Mystery Gift feature from now until January 15th. Players will need to connect to the Internet to retrieve the Pikachu, which is available to all players.