Pokemon Go: How to Catch Shiny Pikachu
Today is your best chance to catch a Shiny Pikachu!As part of Pokemon Go's Community Day event, [...]
Pikachu, Pikachu Everywhere
As part of today's Community Day Event, Pikachu will spawn in greater frequency all across North and South America between 11 AM PT and 2 PM PT. As long as you're by a normal spawn point, chances are you'll find plenty of Pikachu that could be Shiny.
There's anecdotal evidence that even more Pikachu appear in parks, but it's hard to tell if that's just because more Pokemon tend to spawn in parks or if Pokemon Go actually increased spawn rates for this event. Players can also use a lure if they want to increase the amount of Pikachu they see - after all, some players have complained that setting a lure during the event only caused a Pikachu to appear.
Shiny Pikachu don't look any differently than normal Pikachu on the overworld map, but they do appear Shiny on the catch screen. Here's a look at how a Shiny Pikachu differs from a normal Pikachu:

As you can see, that's a pretty subtle difference, so you'll need to be eagle-eyed to ensure that you don't pass up on catching one of these great Pikachu.
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Once you find a Shiny Pikachu, you'll want to do everything you can to make sure it doesn't get away. Pikachu has a base capture rate of just 20%, which is a lot lower than a lot of other Pokemon. It also has a flee rate of 10% - which means there's a decent chance Pikachu will run away if you catch it on the first couple of throws.
Luckily, Golden Razz Berries, Ultra Balls, curved throws, and well-aimed throws will all increase your odds of catching Pikachu on the first throw. For example, hitting a Pikachu with a curved Ultra Ball throw while using a Golden Razz Berry will jump your odds up from 20% all the way up to 71%, even if you don't hit him with the most accurate throw.
Players who have caught lots of Electric-Type Pokemon in the past will also have an advantage. Under the same circumstances as above, players can increase their catch rate all the way up to 80% if they have a Gold medal for catching Electric-Type Pokemon.
Hopefully, you can find plenty of Shiny Pikachu during the event. We've seen reports of players coming away with dozens of Shiny Pikachu just for playing during the full 3 hour event. Good luck and get catching!
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