If you’ve been playing Pokemon Go lately, you might have noticed a colorful Rainbow Pikachu appearing. This bright version of the beloved Pokemon is incredibly rare, and an addition that developers Niantic didn’t announce. If you’re wondering how to catch Rainbow Pikachu, and whether it has any different abilities, then you’re in the right place.
Pokemon Go: How to catch Rainbow Pikachu
If you’ve encountered Rainbow Pikachu and want to catch it, we’ve got some bad news. Rainbow Pikachu is a texture glitch within Pokemon Go. As such, when you catch Rainbow Pikachu, it will appear within your roster as a normal yellow Pikachu
It’s certainly a shame, as fans were undoubtedly desperate to catch their own multicolored Pikachu:
Rainbow Pikachu 🌈#PokémonGOApp #PokémonGo #Pikachu pic.twitter.com/R64DBqoi94
— dasXtra★1B (@dasXtra) September 6, 2021
Oh, huh. Pokémon GO glitched out, but it's a favorable one this time.
To put it simply, a Pikachu suddenly appeared with a bunch of rainbow colors. That's a pretty cool glitch!
— Dave, Still Not Able to Go Home (@OmegaDPlus) September 5, 2021
However, it seems that this was an honest mistake by Niantic. If it was an official variant of Pikachu, they likely would’ve posted about it over on their Twitter. However, that’s blank in terms of Rainbow Pikachu, so we can only assume it’s an accident.
How or why this problem was caused, is currently unclear. It’s also interesting that the only Pokemon affected by this glitch is Pikachu – undoubtedly the face of the franchise. It’s most probably a glitch that has occurred while Niantic added a new outfit for Pikachu. There are several Special Event variations of the Pokemon, from Halloween versions with a Mimikyu costume, to a Pikachu floating with balloons.
Therefore, it means that a Rainbow Pikachu isn’t likely to officially release any time soon. The excitement around the skin is therefore fruitless, which isn’t good news for Niantic. They’re already in a bad spot with Pokemon Go’s player base after removing the distance alterations added during the pandemic. However, the impending arrival of Hoopa following the addition of gold rings in the sky is sure to ease fan complaints for a while.
In other news, our review of Cookie Clicker Steam is out now. We’re also celebrating ten years of Dead Island by taking a look at the game’s original trailer.
