Pokémon GO World Space Week Events Launch at European Museums

The Pokémon Company and the European Space Agency launched the Field Research and Wild Encounters Pokémon GO gameplay as part of their World Space Week collaboration, according to animecorner.me. The events run from October 4 to October 10 at participating European museums.

Players who spin PokéStops at collaboration museums will trigger World Space Week event-themed Field Research tasks. Completing these tasks rewards players with event-themed Pokémon, some of which come with special backgrounds.

The Wild Encounter event increases the chance of encountering select Pokémon in the skies around partner museums. The featured Pokémon include Pikachu, Blipbug, Clefairy, Elgyem, Lunatone, Magnemite, Solrock, and Starmie.

Participating museums include ESA HQ in Paris, ESA ECSAT in Harwell, ESA ESAC in Madrid, ESA ESEC in Redu, ESA ESRIN in Frascati, ESA ESOC in Darmstadt, and ESA ESTEC in Noordwijk. Other venues include Cité de l'espace in Toulouse, Deutsches Museum in Nuremberg, Euro Space Center in Transinne, Museu de les Ciències in València, Science Museum in London, and Space Expo in Noordwijk.

Background

The Pokémon Company had previously announced the collaboration. It also includes a longer-running Raids gameplay at collaborating museums from October 4, 2026, to April 30, 2027, where players who complete the Raids will have the chance to catch Astronaut Pikachu. Earlier this year, a Pikachu plush spent 67 days onboard the International Space Station, taken to space by French astronaut Sophie Adenot, completing over 1000 orbits.