Pokemon Go Collaborating With One Piece For Special Event

A special event is taking place soon in Pokemon Go. Niantic's hit Pokemon mobile game is teaming up with the popular manga series One Piece for a collaboration event next week, which will give players around the world a chance to capture a special Pikachu.

Beginning July 22, Pikachu wearing One Piece hero Luffy's iconic straw hat will begin spawning worldwide for a limited time. A straw hat avatar item will also be available from the in-game Style Shop, while players in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan will be able to visit statues of Luffy and other One Piece characters, which will serve as new PokeStops.

One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda was born in Kumamoto Prefecture, which was devastated by an earthquake back in 2016, just a few months prior to Pokemon Go's launch. The special Pokemon Go/One Piece event is an effort to help draw people to the area. Pokemon Go and One Piece are both also celebrating anniversaries in July, making this month a special occasion for both properties.

In the meantime, a new Legendary Pokemon is appearing in Pokemon Go. Armored Mewtwo can be found in five-star Raids from now until July 31. This version of the Legendary Psychic Pokemon is sporting the armor it wears from the new Mewtwo Strikes Back: Evolution movie. It also boasts different stats and can learn different moves than standard Mewtwo.

Pokemon Go's next Community Day is also just around the corner. The monthly event returns this Sunday, July 21. The featured Pokemon this month will be Mudkip, the Water-type starter from Ruby and Sapphire. On top of increased Mudkip spawns, players can also earn triple the usual amount of XP for capturing Pokemon during the event.