Pokemon Go Guide: How to Catch Pikachu as a Starter

Choosing your starter is one of the most important parts of any Pokemon game. Pokemon Go mirrors this experience by having the original three starter Pokemon appear as soon as you start the game. This lets you catch your starter, while learning the mechanics of the game. But Pokemon Go has a surprise for fans of the series. There is a secret fourth starter, the fan-favorite Pikachu. Hopefully you haven’t gotten too far into the game, cause we’re gonna tell you how to catch Pikachu as a starter in Pokemon Go.

The secret is to mirror events from the anime series. Yo want to walk away from the three starters that are offered to you. When you load up Pokemon Go it will have Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle surrounding you. If you want to catch Pikachu instead you need to physically move away from them.

Drive if you have to, but you really just need to move about 30 feet or so. Once you move out of range of them your phone will vibrate and the three starters will appear around you again. It’s at this point that you need to check to see if Pikachu has appeared. It seems a little bit random, but for most players you need to walk away a few times.

Just keep walking away from the starter Pokemon, checking your Pokemon Go screen any time they re-appear around you. After just a few of these Pikachu should appear among them. You then just have to catch him as normal, tossing a Pokeball at him.

Of course, this only helps if you are at the very beginning of the game. If you have already chosen your starter then you’ll want to check out this guide on where to find Pikachu in Pokemon Go, or this one for tips on finding and catching other Pokemon. Hopefully this helped, but let us know in the comments if there is anything else troubling you in Pokemon Go.