Every year in Yokohama, Japan, The Pokemon Company and Yokohama City come together for a fun celebration commemorating the shared love for Pikachu in an annual parade in the city. Dubbed the "Pikachu outbreak," this event brings Pikachu fans of all ages 🧜together to witness the gathering of thousands of Pikachu mascots. This celebration usually occurs in August and is typically a great success.
Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing regulations, this year's Pikachu outbreak has been canceled. While this decision likely didn't 𒀰come as a surprise to anyone, it's still disappointing to hear that a beloved celebration won't be happening this year.
However, Pikachu fans are still finding a way to celebrate their love for the popular electric-type Pokémon mascot, even without a large gathering of people. Over the weekend, the hashtag "#みんなのピカチュウ大量発生チュウ" (translated as "Everyone’s Pikachu Outbreak") began ꦗpopping up on Twitter as fans posted their favorite photos and videos from past Pikachu Outbreaks.
There's this series of ph𝕴otos from Twitter user , who posted some images fro🅷m a nighttime concert of the Pikachu Outbreak.
There's also this tweet from Twitter user @pikachu_pcn,𝄹 who decided to post some images of the different Pikachu-themed posters celebrating the event. From @pikachu_pcn's tweet, fans can see posters depicting a single P🍬ikachu, as well as some with many Pikachus all together.
Twitter user decided to post a video, showing seven Pikach🐠u mascots on a boat waving to fans. At one point, one of the mascots jumps up in the air excitedly while wavi❀ng.
Finally, here's another set of images from Twitter user . These photos have been taken in the Forests of Minato Mirai, where the Pikachu mascots hold a special performance as part of the festival. According to the website's description, the forest is home to "Pikachu emerge[s] endlessly fro🗹m the shadows of the trees of Rinko Park, their bounding figures giving Minato Mirai new𒅌 impact."
W🌠hile there's no word on when the Pikachu outbreak will be back, let's hope things are safe enough for the mascots to return in 2021!
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