Pokémon Go Buddy Easter Egg is adorable

The Pokémon Go Buddy system has the cutest Easter Egg in a nod to the series.

The Pokémon Go Buddy system is getting rolled out this week and there are a ton of Ash and Pikachu pictures floating around to perfectly illustrate how fun it is to snuggle up to an electric rat or other critter of you choice in a show of friendship.

But the newly discovered Easter Egg means we're doubling down on Pikachu on Ash's shoulder screens, so have a horrific face-swapped version to cut through all that syrupy sweetness.

The discovery is courtesy of TheSilphRoad and is only applicable to Pikachu.

He starts off as a regular Buddy Pokémon but after you've trudged 10km together, his stubby little legs give out and he decides to take it easy and ride around on your shoulder.

Apparently there are other Pokémon that start out hitching a ride on you, but Pikachu is the only one to start off on the ground before migrating upwards.

Has the update rolled out for you yet? Let us know your first choice for buddy in the comments below.