Pokémon Go sends Astronaut Pikachu into raids for World Space Week

Pokémon Go is preparing for a genuinely out-of-this-world event as Niantic, The Pokémon Company and the European Space Agency celebrate World Space Week. From October 4 through October 10, Astronaut Pikachu will make its Pokémon Go debut in one-star raids and through free Timed Research, with a Shiny version also possible. The research can be completed beyond the main event window, but its tasks and rewards expire at 11:59pm local time on October 12.

The wider ESA collaboration goes much further than another costumed Pikachu. Special Pokémon Go activities will run at selected European science and space venues through April 30, 2027, including locations in London, Toulouse, Nuremberg, Valencia, Noordwijk and Transinne. Participating locations will offer special gameplay elements and location backgrounds, connecting the mobile game with physical science exhibits.

The collaboration follows an actual Pikachu plush's trip to the International Space Station earlier this year, where it accompanied ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot. Pokémon Go has always been most interesting when it uses the real world as more than a backdrop, and a partnership built around museums, space exploration and location-based play fits that philosophy rather neatly.

Astronaut Pikachu is undeniably cute, but accidentally teaching somebody about orbital science while they hunt one is arguably the better trick.