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Pikachu Celebrates New Movie by Photobombing the AR Camera in Pokémon GO

Pikachu in a competitive arena setting with dramatic lighting.

The perfect promotion for Pokémon: Detective Pikachu has finally come to fruition as Niantic has added some movie-related perks to Pokémon GO.

Starting Tuesday at 4 p.m. Eastern time and continuing until the same time on May 17, Pokémon GO players taking photos with the enhanced GO Snapshot camera may encounter Detective Pikachu, complete with deerstalker cap, and then have the chance to capture the creature.

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According to an official blog post detailing the promotion, players will have an increased chance to find the pocket monsters featured in the film, including Bulbasaur, Jigglypuff, Psyduck, Snubbull, and Aipom (in standard and shiny varieties). The game will offer raids and field research featuring the movie's characters as well. On top of that, experience points (XP) are doubled for any Pokémon captured in the wild during the promotional period, regardless of their movie status.

In addition, players have the opportunity to customize their in-game avatars with movie-themed items, including t-shirts adorned with the film's logo and a detective hat with Pikachu ears, which players can acquire from the official site.

Upon the release of the Detective Pikachu Playmoji pack for the Pixel Playground app last week, I wondered aloud whether the film's promotion would find its way to the AR game that shares its name and IP bloodlines and, fittingly, the wishes of fans have been granted.

For those who are keeping score, we are on pace for at least three straight summers of theatrical releases that pair with a location-based AR game. Last summer, it was the Jurassic Park franchise. This summer, it's Pokémon. Next summer, we'll have a new Ghostbusters installment (assuming production isn't derailed) alongside its own geocached game.

You know, now I kind of want a location-based Marvel game to go along with the Avengers Playmoji and whatever Marvel movies drop in the summer of 2021.

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Cover image via Warner Bros. Pictures/YouTube

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