It takes a big Poké Ball to catch a giant Pokémon.
The Pikachu Outbreak, which is happening right now in the city of Yokohama, is a big event, and in multiple meanings of the word. It’s big in terms of Pokémon population, with hundreds of Pikachus frolicking around the Minato Mirai district, and it’s big in absolute size, too, as these videos show.
One of Yokohama’s major landmarks is the 108-meter (354-foot) Cosmo Clock Ferris wheel. At the time of its completion, the Cosmo Clock was the biggest Ferris wheel in the world, and while it may not hold that distinction anymore, it can claim to be the world’s biggest Poké Ball, thanks to a special look it’s been seen sporting during the Pikachu Outbreak.
https://twitter.com/parapara40/status/895227594563477504With 60 gondolas, the Cosmo Clock has a large number of spokes, which allows for some cool light shows. The most basic is lighting the spoke edges one at a time each second, but it can do fancier things too, and on the first night of the Pikachu Outbreak the wheel was illuminated in the instantly recognizable colors and pattern of a Poké Ball.
Of course, no proper Pikachu Outbreak celebration is complete without Pikachu himself, so at other times this week the Cosmo Clock will look like this.
横浜観覧車
— Chris༄ (@Chris_Lap100) August 9, 2017
ピカチュバージョン pic.twitter.com/Pn7oKI6enI
Pikachu’s official height is listed as 40 centimeters (15.7 inches), making the Cosmo Clock version well over 100 times his in-anime size. But while such gargantuanism would be terrifying in the case of other creatures, with Pikachu it just means there’s more of him to love.
コスモクロックに今年もピカチュウがやってきました!#ピカチュウ大発生チュウ #みなとみらい #コスモクロック pic.twitter.com/Zg7O1xDg2d
— 横浜ウォーカー (@_YokohamaWalker) August 9, 2017
The Pikachu Outbreak continues until August 15. Oh, and if you happen to be visiting during the daytime, when the Cosmo Clock’s lights are off, look up anyway, so that you don’t miss the Pikachu blimp.
Related: Pikachu Outbreak official website, Twitter/@parapara40
Follow Casey on Twitter, where he wishes the Pikachus would stay in Yokohama year-round.

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