Pokemon Go Leak Reveals Explorer Pikachu for Secrets of the Jungle Event

Starting on December 14th, Pokemon Go players will get the chance to participate in a special event tie-in with Pokemon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle. The event will allow players the opportunity to snag a Shiny Celebi that matches the one from the movie, but it appears that the game will also feature a special take on Pikachu, wearing an adorable explorer outfit! Like Celebi, the look pays homage to the character's appearance in Secrets of the Jungle. An image of Pikachu in the explorer outfit was shared on Reddit by dataminer Martycochrane, alongside some additional assets from the upcoming event.

The Reddit post from Martycochrane can be found embedded below.

New Info - Secrets of the Jungle Asset and Game Master Updates from r/TheSilphRoad

In addition to the presence of Explorer Pikachu, players will notice a number of additional changes throughout the Pokemon Go event. Notably, an icon of Jessie and James will replace Professor Willow's icon during the Special Research that allows players to snag Shiny Celebi. Some conflicts with members of Team Rocket will give players the chance to catch a Shadow Wooper and a Shadow Quagsire, as well. Last but not least, the game will receive a Jungle-inspired background.

As the series mascot, there have been a number of event versions of Pikachu released in Pokemon Go over the last four years. Like those earlier offerings, Explorer Pikachu will appear in the wild throughout the event, so players shouldn't have much difficulty adding the Electric-type to their collections. Some lucky players will be able to snag a Shiny version of Explorer Pikachu, but that one will be a little bit rarer! Event Pokemon cannot be transferred to Pokemon Home, so players that want to snag this version of Pikachu should know that it will have to stay in Pokemon Go, for now!

The Secrets of the Jungle event will start at 8 a.m. local time on December 14th and last through December 21st at 10 p.m. local time. The movie is scheduled to release on December 25th in Japan, but a localization of the film does not have a set release date, as of this writing.

Are you looking forward to the Secrets of the Jungle event in Pokemon Go? What do you think of Explorer Pikachu? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!