How to Get Astronaut Pikachu With a Location Background still requires the participating European museum route even though Astronaut Pikachu itself is available globally during World Space Week. From October 4 to October 10, Trainers worldwide can get the costume from one-star raids or free Timed Research, but those global encounters are not announced with the museum Location Background.
The distinction is simple: use World Space Week if you only want Astronaut Pikachu, and use one of the six participating museums if the Location Background is the target. The museum collaboration continues through April 30, 2027, giving background collectors a much longer window than the one-week global event.
How to Get Astronaut Pikachu With a Location Background has one key requirement: play at one of the six participating European science and space museums. The special background is attached to the museum side of the Pokémon GO and European Space Agency collaboration, not the separate ESA-site gameplay window.
Astronaut Pikachu appears in one-star raids at the museums from October 4, 2026 until April 30, 2027. Pokémon GO says Trainers who complete those in-person raids will have the opportunity to catch Astronaut Pikachu with a Location Background commemorating the visit.
How to Get Astronaut Pikachu With a Location Background
How to Get Astronaut Pikachu With a Location Background Image Scopely
The safest route for How to Get Astronaut Pikachu With a Location Background is to visit a participating museum and complete the Astronaut Pikachu one-star raid while you are there. The official event announcement ties the background opportunity directly to successful in-person museum raids.
The six eligible museums are the Science Museum in London, Cité de l’espace in Toulouse, Deutsches Museum in Nuremberg, Museu de les Ciències in València, Space Expo in Noordwijk and Euro Space Center in Transinne. The long event window makes the background collectible much less rushed than a normal weekend event.
Do ESA sites give the Astronaut Pikachu Location Background?
No. This is the most important trap in How to Get Astronaut Pikachu With a Location Background. Seven ESA facilities receive the collaboration gameplay from October 4 to October 10, but Pokémon GO explicitly states that Location Backgrounds are excluded at ESA locations.
That means UK players should not confuse ESA ECSAT at Harwell with the Science Museum in London. Harwell can host the announced event gameplay during the opening week, but the London museum is the UK location to use when the special background itself is the collection goal.
Is the Location Background guaranteed?
The official wording for How to Get Astronaut Pikachu With a Location Background says successful museum raiders will have the opportunity to catch Astronaut Pikachu with the special background. It does not explicitly promise that every Astronaut Pikachu caught from an eligible raid will receive one.
If you are travelling mainly for the background, leave enough time for more than one raid rather than planning around a single attempt. The exact frequency can only be judged once the event is live and Trainers can see how often the background appears on eligible catches.
Can Research Pokémon have a Location Background?
Research adds another layer to How to Get Astronaut Pikachu With a Location Background, but it should not be confused with the confirmed raid route. Museum Timed Research runs throughout the event, and Field Research appears from October 4 to October 10. Pokémon GO says some Pokémon encountered through those research systems may have a special Location Background.
The announcement does not say that those research encounters are specifically Astronaut Pikachu. If you want the costume and the background together, the in-person Astronaut Pikachu raid is the clearly announced method rather than assuming an unrevealed research reward will provide it.
Can the background Astronaut Pikachu be Shiny?
Astronaut Pikachu itself is confirmed as Shiny-eligible, while eligible museum raid catches separately have the opportunity to receive the special background. For How to Get Astronaut Pikachu With a Location Background, the official announcement does not explicitly confirm the Shiny form and Location Background on the same catch, so treat that combined result as unconfirmed until the event is live.
Because neither outcome should be treated as guaranteed, collectors chasing the combined version may need several eligible raids. The long museum schedule helps here because it runs until April 30, 2027 rather than ending with the first week of the collaboration.
Location Background checklist
- Choose one of the six participating museums.
- Visit between October 4, 2026 and April 30, 2027.
- Complete the Astronaut Pikachu one-star raid in person.
- Do not use an ESA site if the background is your goal.
- Allow for multiple raids because the announcement does not call the background guaranteed.
- Check every catch carefully if you are also hunting the Shiny.
For most players, How to Get Astronaut Pikachu With a Location Background is therefore simpler than it first sounds: museum, in-person raid, eligible catch. The complexity comes from choosing the right type of location and not mistaking the shorter ESA-site event for the museum background programme.
The official Pokémon GO ESA collaboration page confirms the museum background rule. If the special souvenir background is the priority, How to Get Astronaut Pikachu With a Location Background means visiting a participating museum rather than an ESA facility.
