Pokémon Go Birthday Pikachu event - Start time and everything else you need to know about summer hat Pikachu

The Pokémon Go Birthday event marks two years since Niantic's augmented-reality adventure made its debut, and offers a new Birthday Pikachu to celebrate.

As well as a new Pikachu Form to find, there are some additional cosmetic items to purchase for your Trainer.

Much like the surfing Pikachu and Santa Hat Pikachu previously, this is a time-limited appearance that won't be around forever. Here's details on the Anniversary event start date and other things you can expect.

Birthday event in Pokémon Go - when is the start time?

The Pokémon Go birthday event - which sees a new summer form of Pikachu - is timed to celebrate the game's two year anniversary on July 6.

However, like any good celebration, it goes on a lot longer than the day itself.

The Pokémon Go Birthday event lasts between Friday, July 6th at 9pm UK time (4pm EST / 1pm PST) until Tuesday, July 31st at 9pm UK time (4pm EST / 1pm PST) - practically the entire month.

What features in the Pokémon Go Birthday event?

The Birthday event sees the following happening for the duration of the event:

• There are increased Pikachu and Pichu spawns
• Each will be a new 'Birthday' form for the summer, wearing a straw hat and sunglasses, including a rare Shiny version
• New Pikachu Fan Avatar items on sale, including a T-Shirt and Pikachu ears, some of which will require a gold Pikachu Fan medal to purchase

It's currently unconfirmed whether:

• Each Birthday Pikachu catch gives three times Stardust (300 Stardust compared to 100), as per previous events
• Whether Birthday Pikachu has a new move, such as Present

How to get a golden Pikachu during the birthday event

Pikachu is one of the few creatures available as a shiny Pokémon, changing its yellow colour to a gold, and this includes its various Hat forms, too.

Our shiny Pokémon article explains some of the nuance of these very elusive creature types, and though early signs suggest it's just as rare as other shiny creatures in the game.

Though with the increased Pikachu spawns for the event, it should be a little easier to find than a wild Pikachu shiny.

Even more elusive is a shiny summer hat Pichu form. This will require plenty of Egg hatches, assuming that's the only way to find it. But with most of July to find it, you'll have more chances than previous Pikachu events.

The Max Out Season is here. The new global event, Wild Area, is nearly here and In the Wild is our lead-up event, which includes the global release of Toxel. You can now catch Dynamax Pokémon through Max Battles. First, however, you need to visit Power Spots to collect Max Particles and complete the To the Max! quest. Don't forget to try out Routes, Gift Exchange and Party Play while you're hunting down rare Pokémon, fighting in the Go Battle League or competing in PokéStop Showcases.

What else you need to know about Birthday event Pikachu in Pokémon Go

• Pikachu will keep the hat and sunglasses when it evolves into Raichu, so for completionists, we recommend having two Party Hat Pikachus - one to keep, and one to evolve. Same applies for the shiny versions.
• In previous events, Pikachu nests will spawn hat Pikachu, as previously confirmed by users on Reddit, if you need to farm Candy for that Raichu or increase your chances of a Shiny.
• Ditto will not transform into a Hat Pikachu. Confirmed by a diligent Reddit user, this means that if you use a Ditto to attack a Gym held by a Hat Pikachu, it will only transform into a standard Pikachu.
• The change to Pikachu will be cosmetic. All stats will remain the same, and it will require the same amount of Candy to evolve and Power Up. It's purely cosmetic!

Even if you fail to catch a shiny Hat Pikachu, there is a strong chance future Pikachu events will have shiny versions too, so there's a chance you'll get a hatted shiny eventually!