Is Shiny Pikachu Coming To Pokemon GO Next Week? This Is Everything We Know So Far

Is shiny Pikachu coming to Pokemon GO next week? If you’ve been hanging around Facebook at any point during the last 24 hours, there’s a pretty good chance that you’ve been mislead into believing that shiny Pikachu is definitely being added to Pokemon GO next week. Here’s everything we know so far:

To begin, the first real mention of shiny Pikachu being made available in Pokemon GO came from an article published by Slashgear. (Yes, the very same Slashgear that incorrectly predicted a Legendary Pokemon event at Christmas, and even more recently, incorrectly predicted a fighting type event last month.)

Inside their article, they claim that thanks to an anonymous tip (it’s always an anonymous tip), they’ve been informed that shiny Pikachu will be released in-game next week, as part of the one-year anniversary. Is their information correct, or are they just making things up? Here are the facts:

Yes, a “rare Pikachu” is in fact going to be added to Pokemon GO in the near future. In an email sent out to certain people attending SIGGRAPH 2017 (a computer graphics convention in Los Angeles), it was mentioned that “Niantic, Inc., creator of Pokemon GO, will release a rare Pikachu.”

However, all this memo mentions is a rare Pikachu, not a shiny Pikachu. For all we know, it could be another hat-wearing Pikachu, or a surfing Pikachu, or a flying Pikachu, etc. This rare Pikachu could even be exclusive to the people who are attending SIGGRAPH 2017! We just don’t know yet.

And, yes, Slashgear are correct when they say the code for shiny Pikachu is already in the game. In fact, the code for shiny Pikachu, along with the code for every other shiny Pokemon from the first two generations, has been inside the game since December 2016. This doesn’t mean shiny Pikachu will be released next week, however.

At the end of the day, there’s every chance that shiny Pikachu could be released next week. And, on the flip side, there’s currently no real evidence to suggest that shiny Pikachu will be released next week. Until there’s an official announcement from Niantic, or until more credible information is discovered, don’t get your hopes up!

But what do you think? In your opinion, is shiny Pikachu coming to Pokemon GO next week? Or do you think we’ll be seeing something different for the one year anniversary? As always, let me know your thoughts in the comment section below!

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