‘Pokémon Go’ Anniversary Pikachu: How to get the special event hat to show up in your Pokédex

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Special Pikachus are a staple of Pokémon Go events. In the past, we’ve had a Santa hat Pikachu and a party hat Pikachu to celebrate the winter holidays and Pokémon Day. For the game’s first birthday, Niantic celebrated with an anniversary event. This event comes with a new anniversary Pikachu wearing Ash Ketchum’s hat.

If you’re looking for bragging rights (outside of simply catching one), there is a way to get the anniversary Pikachu to show up in your Pokédex.

Pokémon Go Anniversary Event: How to register the special Pikachu in your Pokédex

According to CupanTay on the Silph Road, the anniversary Pikachu will show up on your Pokédex screen only if it’s the first Pikachu you’ve ever caught. That’s a pretty tall order, especially in Pokémon Go, but if you want to see that Ash Ketchum hat in all its glory, that’s how you do it.

CupanTay/The Silph Road

Another poster named alanmoo16 confirmed this happened with Santachu as well. Unfortunately, it won’t show up wearing the hat on the normal Pokédex screen. Even if the first Pikachu you catch is the anniversary one, you’ll still get a plain old regular Pikachu. But still, it’s a fun little surprise if you’ve managed to go a year without catching the game series’ mascot.

More Pokémon Go news, updates, tips and tricks

Raids are here! See why they may be the key to legendary Pokémon. Find out how to determine how long it will take you to reach level 40, and see what we think of the Gen 2 Pokémon added to the game. Here are the kinds of Pokémon you get from 10-kilometer eggs, and here’s where you can check out what you missed during the Water Festival and Solstice events. Find out more about the upcoming Chicago event and why you’ll probably be able to catch Unown while you’re there — if you’re not busy searching for rare evolutionary items, that is.