Pokémon GO Celebrates International Cat Day

August 8th is International Cat Day, and Pokémon GO has decided to celebrate in style. From now until September 5th, the enormous Cross Shinjuku Vision digital billboard outside Shinjuku Station East Exit will display a variety of cat-themed Pokémon in its dazzling 150 square metre 3D display. Additionally, these characters will appear more frequently in Field Research and Raid Battles in-game for the duration of the celebration.

According to a Tweet from the official Pokémon GO Japan account, the billboard will celebrate Pokémon whose names contain either “nya” or “neko” in keeping with the feline theme, and all of these will appear more frequently in the wild during this period. The full list of Pokémon this applies to is as follows: Meowth, Alolan Meowth, Garal Meowth, Eneko, Nyarma, Choroneko, Nyasper, and Nyabi. It’s not a huge list, but if any of these adorable cats are not part of your collection, now is the perfect time to change that.

This isn’t the first time the Cross Shinjuku Vision billboard has been adorned with feline displays, as a giant calico cat was introduced to the region in 2021 that greeted locals and had different animations depending on the time of day. Pokémon GO’s International Cat Day celebration in Shinjuku is therefore not at all out of place — but players enthusiastic to add to their cat collection are advised to pay attention to their surroundings and follow local laws when pursuing these purr-fect companions.

The video of the new cat-themed Cross Shinjuku Vision display can be watched below to see the stunning effect of its 3D imagery. For more Pokémon franchise news on Goomba Stomp, make sure to check out our coverage of the Pokémon Squishmallows announced at San Diego Comic-Con, the Pokémon Fossil Museum exhibit which can be viewed online, and of course the delightfully delicious puppy Fidough that was announced for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet last week.