Pokémon Go gives Pikachu a batik shirt for Indonesia’s Patterns of the Wild
Same Pikachu, now representing Indonesian history
- Batik Pikachu makes its Pokémon Go debut
- Shiny odds get a boost across wild spawns
- Timed Research runs before and after the event
Batik is a wax-resist dyeing method that's been practised in Indonesia for centuries, which UNESCO added it to its intangible cultural heritage list back in 2009. Niantic has now put a batik shirt on Pikachu in Pokémon Go. I've seen that mouse in a great many outfits over the years and this one's near the top.
Patterns of the Wild runs in Indonesia only, on October 2nd, from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm local time. If you're reading this anywhere else, that's the bad news out of the way early. These regional events come round a few times a year and they almost never travel.
Batik Pikachu is the centrepiece, and it's a first for the game. It arrives with a Special Background and it can be shiny. You'll find it in the wild, through Timed Research, or by taking a snapshot of one of your own Pokémon during the event. Remember that snapshots of wild Pokémon won't work.
The wild spawns will be green and buggy. Caterpie, Oddish, Gloom, Bellsprout, Ledyba, Ledian, Hoppip, Skiploom, Sunkern and Wurmple are all up, with boosted shiny odds across the board. Sunkern has been a running joke for a decade at this point and it just keeps turning up to these things.
The Timed Research opens earlier than the event itself, on September 28th, and runs through to October 7th. Finishing it gets you the batik Pikachu encounter, some Oddish, Ledyba and Hoppip, and 1,000 XP and Stardust each. Incense lasts two hours during the event and brings in more of the themed spawns while it's running.
There's a Collection Challenge too, paying out XP, Stardust and batik Pikachu stickers.
Our Pokémon Go promo codes page is kept current if you want something to redeem while the rest of us watch Indonesia have all the fun.
