While one would imagine the Straw Hat Pikachu will probably have an especially high encounter rate in Kumamoto, the game’s developers say that the special One Piece Pikachu can be found anywhere in the world between July 22 and July 29, and once you catch him, he keeps his special One Piece hat forever.
Even more exciting, though, is that from July 22 Pokémon mascot Pikachu will be wearing Luffy’s iconic straw hat, as the special Straw Hat Pikachu will be appearing in Pokémon GO!
But it’s not just Kumamoto that Pokémon GO is teaming up with, but also smash-hit anime/manga franchise One Piece!
Kumamoto Prefecture, at the southern tip of Japan’s southwestern island of Kyushu, was hit by a strong earthquake in 2016.