Pokemon Go's One Piece Pikachu Event Is Now Live

The latest crossover event in Pokemon Go is now live! The Staw Hat Pikachu event is now available in the popular mobile game, and dedicated trainers can find the critter spawning across the world. As with other behatted Pikachu event spawns, the straw hat should also feature on Raichu evolved from the event Pokemon.

The event, which was announced last week, is actually a crossover with the popular anime and manga franchise One Piece. If the combination isn't immediately clear, the main character in One Piece, Monkey D. Luffy, wears a straw hat and leads the Straw Hat Pirates. One of the easiest ways to reference One Piece, then, is the classic straw hat -- and what better pocket monster to feature it than Pikachu?

As we previously noted, hte new event is part of an ongoing campaign supporting the reconstruction of the Kumamoto Prefecture, which was hit by a devastating earthquake in 2016. One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda is participating in the reconstruction effort by donating statues of the Straw Hat Pirates, which will also serve as PokeStops featuring special comics. The timing of the event is also meant to celebrate the third anniversary of Pokemon Go's release in Japan and the 22nd anniversary of One Piece.

The event is scheduled to run from today, July 22nd, at 1PM local time to July 29th at 1PM local time. There's also a matching avatar outfit available in the game's Style Shop for those folks that want their in-game avatars to match their Straw Hat Pikachu or Raichu.

What do you think of the new Pokemon Go event? Are you ready to go out and capture some Straw Hat Pikachu? Let us know in the comments, or hit me up directly on Twitter @rollinbishop to talk all things gaming!