Pikachu cosplayer delights Pokémon Go gamers in Japan

Get out your Poké Balls! It’s time to catch a cute Pikachu!

With everyone out looking for Pokémon Go creatures on the weekend, gamers at the 2016 Summer Wonder Festival event in Chiba Prefecture were thrilled to find one of the star characters from the game in their midst, and this one was there in the flesh.

This gorgeous cosplayer lit up the faces of passers-by with her take on Pikachu, the bright yellow electric Pokémon from the series. Dressed in a pair of yellow overalls, along with a black bra to show off Pikachu’s never-before-seen curves, the look was topped off with a spiky hairdo and a pair of character ears.

The beautiful girl bringing Pikachu to life is Sakura Nanase, who goes by the Twitter handle @739ra. She’s currently making a name for herself as one of Japan’s most popular cosplayers, and these images, taken by photographer @t_minatsuki, show off all of Sakura’s best angles.

To add to the fun of the costume and increase her likeness to the in-game character, Sakura also made a sign to sit above her head, which reads: “Pikachu/CP???”. With each Pokémon in the game assigned a number of “CP” or “Combat Points” to signify their power or strength, part of the fun of coming across a Pokémon is discovering their CP level. This pretty Pikachu’s CP strength, however, remains undetermined. How much damage do you think this rare Pikachu would deal in battle?

To see more of Sakura’s impressive cosplay outfits and photos, you can check out her blog here or follow her on Twitter. And for hundreds more colourful cosplay images, be sure to stop by the photographer’s Twitter account and Flickr page.