Pokemon GO Detective Pikachu bug: How to fix and find

Today we're going to go through just the most essential parts of this big Pokemon GO Detective Pikachu event. We're going to have a chat about what it'll take to get this most elusive and super cute Pokemon, and we're going to have a look at some research, too. There's also some SHINY Pokemon action going on, and based on the interest in the most alternate of colors in Pokemon we've seen recently, that's what most players are ALL about.

Detective Pikachu Issue

There's kind of a bug going on in this week's event of which you'll need to be aware. First, you'll open the camera, take a photo, and bang! You'll find Detective Pikachu hidden in your photo. The problem is in that first photo session.

Niantic checks whether you've opened the camera. The first time you open your camera, you trip a wire, so to speak. Once you've tripped the wire, Niantic's servers say "ok, time to put the Pikachu in the photo" and you'll take a photo and there it'll be.

If you DO NOT take a photo in that first session, you're out of luck. You've tripped the wire once, so you'll have to wait 24 hours (or so) before you get another chance. If you've opened your camera since this event started and did not take a photo, no amount of photos will ever find you with Detective Pikachu – so it's not worth trying.

You'll want to wait until 24 hours after you've opened the camera first – then try again. If you wait, then take that photo, you'll see Detective Pikachu out in the wild. If you keep snapping photos, there's a chance you'll never see that precious cutie sleuth, ever!

Also known: Shiny sea change

It is also known, now that the event's started, that a number of awesome Pokemon with SHINY alternates are out in the wild. Shiny Bulbasaur, Cubone, Snubbull, Squirtle, Charmander, and Psyduck are all out in the wild in greater numbers than usual. Shiny Aipom is out there too!