Interest
Pikachu Joins the Straw Hat Crew in Pokemon GO Campaign
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
The government of Kumamoto Prefecture are hoping to entice Pokémon GO players to visit the bronze One Piece statues in the area. Players that make the journey will find PokéStops with art by One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda.
Pikachu himself will join the Straw Hat crew for a limited time. Starting on July 22 and until July 29, Strawhat Pikachu will appear in the game. The hat can also be found in the game as a custom avatar item.
The collaboration celebrates the 22nd anniversary of the One Piece manga and the third anniversary of Pokémon GO. Organizers are looking to draw tourists to Kumamoto as part of the Kumamoto Reconstruction Project. The area suffered substantial damage after the 2016 earthquake. Oda is a Kumamoto native and donated 800 million yen (US$8 million) to help with the reconstruction efforts.
Pokémon GO has previously helped bring in tourism to quake-affected areas, including a Snorlax event in Kumamoto, a Lapras event in Miyagi, and more.
Source: Comic Natalie
