Niantic has announced that Pokémon from the Unova region will begin appearing in Pokémon GO starting today.

The world of Pokémon GO expands with Pokémon originally discovered in the Unova region!

Trainers, Over three years ago, your Pokémon GO journey started with Pokémon originally discovered in the Kanto region, and you’ve gone on to encounter hundreds of Pokémon first encountered in the Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh regions as you’ve battled, raided, and completed research. It’s almost time to continue your journey and encounter Pokémon originally discovered in the Unova region! Get ready to meet new friends and encounter Pokémon featured in Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version, appearing in Pokémon GO later today!

Features

• Snivy, Tepig, Oshawott, Patrat, Lillipup, Purrloin, Pidove, Blitzle, and more Pokémon originally discovered in the Unova region will be appearing in the wild.
• Spark has been hard at work walking and incubating Eggs for his research and has found that the following Pokémon have started hatching from Eggs!
  • 2 km Eggs: Patrat, Lillipup, Purrloin, Pidove
  • 5 km Eggs: Snivy, Tepig, Oshawott, Blitzle, Drilbur, Foongus
  • 10 km Eggs: Ferroseed, Klink, Litwick, Golett, Deino
• After tackling dozens of raids head on, Candela has discovered that Lillipup, Patrat, and Klink will be available to challenge in raids! Please note, Trainers, that Klink hasn’t been reported appearing in the wild outside raids.
• Following some travel and meticulous research, Blanche reports that there are some Pokémon that only seem to be appearing in the wild in certain parts of the world! Join us in welcoming them!
  • Asia-Pacific: Pansage, the Grass Monkey Pokémon
  • Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India: Pansear, the High Temp Pokémon
  • The Americas and Greenland: Panpour, the Spray Pokémon
  • Western hemisphere: Heatmor, the Anteater Pokémon
  • Eastern hemisphere: Durant, the Iron Ant Pokémon
• If you’re lucky, you may encounter Shiny Patrat and Shiny Lillipup!
• Introducing the Unova Stone! This black-and-white Evolutionary item will allow certain Pokémon to evolve. Try using it on a Pokémon like Lampent, and see what happens! This item can be obtained from Research Breakthroughs.

More Pokémon originally discovered in the Unova region will be making their way to Pokémon GO as Professor Willow shares more updates from his findings, so look forward to meeting them soon. C’mon, Trainer—let’s GO on this Unova voyage together!

Source: https://pokemongolive.com/en/post/unova-pokemon/

YouTube Clip - The world of Pokémon GO expands with Pokémon originally discovered in the Unova region!

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHndMuF39xY

Niantic has announced that during September of 2019, for one hour every Wednesday evening, Raid Battles with the currently featured Legendary Pokémon will happen more frequently.

Get ready for Legendary Raid Hours in September!

Trainers, We’re excited to announce that there will be more Legendary Raid Hours taking place in September! For one hour every Wednesday evening, Raid Battles with the currently featured Legendary Pokémon will happen more frequently.

Date + Time
From 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in your local time zone on the following dates:

• September 4, 2019: Raikou, Entei, and Suicune
• September 11, 2019: Deoxys
• September 18, 2019: Mewtwo
• September 25, 2019: To Be Announced

Features

• There will be an increased number of five-star raids during the event hour.

As always, Trainers, be mindful of your surroundings and of others around you while playing Pokémon GO. Stay tuned for more updates.

Happy raiding!

Source: https://pokemongolive.com/en/post/legendaryraidhoursseptember2019/

Niantic and the official Pokémon website have announced that from September 1st, 2019 until November 1, 2019, Flower-crowned Eevee are coming to Research Breakthroughs. Players might even have the chance to discover and catch a Shiny version of this fashionable Pokémon!

Flower-crowned Eevee are coming to Research Breakthroughs!

Trainers, We’re excited to share a few changes to Research Breakthrough rewards in the coming weeks!

Research Breakthrough Updates

• From September 1, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT (GMT −7) to November 1, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT (GMT −7), Eevee wearing flower crowns will be available as Research Breakthrough encounters.
• If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny Eevee with a flower crown!

Eevee wearing flower crowns will be the exclusive Pokémon appearing in Research Breakthroughs during this time. Don’t miss your chance to evolve them into all the available Eevee Evolutions in Pokémon GO!

Source: https://pokemongolive.com/en/post/septemberoctoberupdate2019/

An Elegant Eevee Blossoms in Pokémon GO

Flower-crowned Eevee returns in Pokémon GO Field Research Breakthroughs in September and October.

Get ready to take on more Field Research tasks in Pokémon GO in September and October. These new tasks will start appearing on September 1 at 1:00 p.m. PDT. If you complete enough research tasks for a Research Breakthrough, you'll encounter Eevee wearing a pretty arrangement of flowers on its head. Flower-crowned Eevee was originally available for a very brief time shortly after Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee! launched. And like you could the last time it appeared, you might even have the chance to discover and catch a Shiny version of this fashionable Pokémon!

Look for Eevee with a flower crown to appear as a Research Breakthrough encounter until November 1, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. PDT.

Source: https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-news/an-elegant-eevee-blossoms-in-pokemon-go/

Niantic has announced that a Safari Zone will be held at New Taipei Metropolitan Park in New Taipei City, Taiwan on October 3rd, 2019 to October 6th, 2019.

Join us in New Taipei City for a Safari Zone event!

Trainers, Ready to catch the bug for our newest Safari Zone event? We’re buzzing with excitement over Pokémon GO Safari Zone New Taipei City. In conjunction with the New Taipei City government, we’ll be live in New Taipei Metropolitan Park from October 3 to 6.

Despite being one of the world’s most densely populated metropolises, New Taipei City has always strived to maintain the city’s biodiversity and natural scenery by transforming forgotten areas into beautiful new parks. The New Taipei Metropolitan Park is the largest city park in the Greater Taipei area and is famous for its waterside walkway and wildlife. Trainers will be able to find Scyther, Combee, and many Water-, Bug- and Grass-type Pokémon from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the park, as well as more than 60 tourist attractions across New Taipei City. From the historical old streets to scenic mountain areas, it’s your chance to make the most of this exciting city while catching Pokémon to your heart’s content!

No tickets are necessary for this event, and Trainers from near and far are all welcome to join in the fun.

The event is hosted in conjunction with the city government of New Taipei City.

We are excited to see you soon!

Source: https://pokemongolive.com/post/safarizone-ntc-2019

Niantic has announced that since all 3 parts of the Global Challenge were successfully completed, Jirachi has been unlocked as an Ultra Bonus from September 2nd, 2019 until September 9th, 2019.

Not just wishful thinking—the Ultra Bonus has been unlocked, and Jirachi has awoken!

Trainers, Congratulations! With all your hard work in successfully completing all three parts of the Global Challenge, you’ve unlocked the Ultra Bonus! We’re excited to finally reveal the details of what’s in store for you during the three weeks of this event.

Week 1: Johto Journey
Trainers can enjoy a chance to work on their Johto Pokédex while exploring and raiding. Put on your walking shoes, as Pokémon never before seen in Eggs in Pokémon GO will be hatching during this time.

Date + Time
September 2, 2019, at 1 p.m. to September 9, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT

Features

• If you’re extraordinarily lucky, you might hatch Unown forms U, L, T, R, and A from 10 km Eggs.
• Raikou, Entei, and Suicune will return to raids, along with other Johto Pokémon.
• If you’re lucky, you might encounter Shiny Sentret and Shiny Gligar!

Bonuses

• 2× Incubator effectiveness

Week 2: Global Challenge, Global Hatches
Pokémon from across the globe will join in the celebration this week, along with a special appearance by a Mythical Pokémon that will be available to challenge in raids.

Date + Time
September 9, 2019, at 1 p.m. to September 16, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT

Features

• Regional Pokémon Farfetch’d, Kangaskhan, Mr. Mime, and Tauros will hatch from 7 km Eggs. If you’re lucky, you might hatch Shiny ones! These Pokémon will remain available from Eggs until the end of week 3—September 23, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT.
• All Deoxys forms will make their first appearances outside EX Raids.
• Need a good team to take on Deoxys? Other Pokémon appearing in raids will help you build a good team to challenge the DNA Pokémon.

Bonuses

• 2× Incubator effectiveness

Week 3: A Unova Unveiling
All your research has paid off! Professor Willow has informed us that some Pokémon originally discovered in the Unova region are now appearing in the world of Pokémon GO!

Date + Time
September 16, 2019, at 1 p.m. to September 23, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT Features

• Mewtwo with the special move Psystrike will be available to challenge in five-star raids. If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny Mewtwo!
• Need a good team to take on Mewtwo? Other Pokémon appearing in raids will help you build a good team to challenge the Genetic Pokémon.
• The Gear Pokémon Klink, originally discovered in Unova, will also appear in raids. You might even encounter a Shiny Klink!
• You may also find Shiny Patrat and Shiny Lillipup!

Bonuses

• 2× Incubator effectiveness

Jirachi Has Awoken!
We’re excited to announce that Jirachi is now available for all Trainers via Special Research! For those who have already completed the exclusive Pokémon GO Fest Special Research and have caught the Wish Pokémon, completing this new Special Research will earn you Candy to power up your Jirachi.

On behalf of Professor Willow and the team leaders, thank you for tackling the Global Challenge with such electrifying, cool-headed, and fiery passion. Even if we have our team allegiances, we’ll always be bonded by our shared love of Pokémon. When we work together, anything is possible!

Now...who’s ready to experience a taste of Unova for the very first time in Pokémon GO?

Source: https://pokemongolive.com/en/post/globalchallenge-ultrabonus-jirachi/

Niantic has announced that from Friday, August 23rd, 2019 until Friday, August 30th, 2019, the Water Festival 2019 will be held in Pokémon GO and Water-type Pokémon will appear more frequently in the wild.

Dive into Water Festival 2019!

Trainers, Time to make a big splash! Even if you don’t live near the water, you can look forward to Water-type Pokémon coming to you soon in Eggs, raids, Field Research, and the wild. That’s right—the long-awaited Water Festival is back!

Date + Time

• Friday, August 23, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT until Friday, August 30, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT

Features

• Water-type Pokémon like Magikarp, Wooper, Wailmer, and more will appear more frequently in the wild.
• The following Pokémon will be appearing more frequently in the wild around water: Wartortle, Poliwhirl, Seaking, Lapras, Qwilfish, Mantine, Lotad, Feebas, Piplup, Buizel, and Finneon.
• Water-type Pokémon will hatch more often from Eggs.
• Kingler and Crawdaunt will be able to learn Crabhammer, a Water-type Charged Attack that is newly available in Pokémon GO.
• If you manage to surf the waves of luck, you might encounter Shiny Carvanha or Shiny Barboach!

Raids

• Water-type Pokémon like Blastoise, Vaporeon, Lapras, and more will appear in raids.
• On Wednesday, August 28, 2019, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. local time, you’ll be able to encounter Uxie, Mesprit, or Azelf in five-star raids in their respective regions!

Bonuses

• 2× Hatch Candy
• If you have a Water-type Pokémon as your Buddy, the distance to earn Buddy Candy will be halved.

There’s no need to swim or use a fishing rod to encounter these Pokémon, Trainer. All you have to do is get up and GO!

Source: https://pokemongolive.com/en/post/waterfestival2019/

Niantic have announced the details for the 20th Pokémon GO Community Day which takes place on September 15th, 2019 at 11:00 AM until 2:00 PM EST. The featured Pokémon for this day is Turtwig. Turtwig will appear in the wild more frequently for three hours that day. If you evolve Grotle into Torterra, your Torterra will know the move Frenzy Plant. The 3x Catch Stardust and 3-hour Lures bonuses will also be available that day.

Source: https://pokemongolive.com/events/community-day/

Niantic has announced that a Safari Zone will take place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on September 20th, 2019 until September 22nd, 2019. Pokémon that evolve into fast Pokémon will appear more frequently in the wild, and unique Field Research will be available for Trainers to complete throughout the day. The event will take place at Parc Jean-Drapeau.

Race your way through the Safari Zone Montreal this September!

Three, two, one—GO, Trainers!

The Pokémon GO team is excited to invite you to our Safari Zone Montreal this September. This ticketed event will take place along the historic Circuit Gilles Villeneuve at beautiful Parc Jean-Drapeau on Saint Helen’s Island and Notre Dame Island in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

From September 20 to September 22, Parc Jean-Drapeau will be transformed into a speedy Pokémon wonderland. Pokémon that evolve into fast Pokémon will appear more frequently in the wild, and unique Field Research will be available for Trainers to complete throughout the day.

Can’t join us in Montreal? Fear not. Trainers across Canada may encounter many of the Pokémon featured at the Safari Zone. In addition, Yanma will appear more frequently globally!

Tickets will be available soon. Stay tuned to our official Pokémon GO channels for updates. We’ll be sharing news on this exciting Safari Zone in the coming weeks!

Meet you...at the finish line!

Source: https://pokemongolive.com/en/post/safarizone-montreal-2019/

Niantic has announced a gift event for Pokémon GO from August 5th, 2019 until August 19th, 2019. Various gift related bonuses will be active during that time period.

More Gifts for you, more Gifts for friends!

Trainers, Pokémon GO is better with friends. What better way to show appreciation for your friends than with Gifts?

Date + Time

• Monday, August 5, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT to Monday, August 19, 2019, at 1 p.m. PDT

Features

• All Eggs received from Gifts during the event will require only 2 km to hatch and look like 2 km Eggs, but don’t worry, Trainers! The Pokémon that hatch from them will be ones that normally appear in 7 km Eggs, regardless of whether you incubate or hatch them during or after the event.
• For the duration of the event, the number of Gifts you can open daily will increase to 30.
• For the duration of the event, the number of Gifts you can carry in your inventory will increase to 20.
• If you’re lucky, you may hatch a Shiny Bonsly!

Remember to spin those PokéStops and stock up on Gifts so you can make your friends’ days bright by sending each of them a Gift!

Source: https://www.pokemongolive.com/post/giftevent2019

Niantic recently posted an article on the development of bringing Team GO Rocket to the Pokémon GO game and they give some insightful information on the ideas and thoughts that go into implementing new features for the game.

Dev Insights: Bringing Team GO Rocket to Life

Trainers, You’ve seen the photobombs in Pokémon GO Fest Chicago, the hot-air balloon at Pokémon GO Fest Dortmund, and the PokéStop takeover near Herald Square in New York City. Team GO Rocket has invaded Pokémon GO, and the arrival of such an iconic part of the Pokémon franchise required fanfare that matched the excitement of the feature itself. Here’s the behind-the-scenes story of what it’s like to adapt one of the most recognizable fictional villainous organizations from the Pokémon world to ours!

Exploration and battle—with a twist!

The Team GO Rocket feature has the same design philosophy at its core as the rest of Pokémon GO: to encourage players to explore the world around them as they catch Pokémon, which is still a key draw for many players. The added element of coming across a Team GO Rocket Grunt at a PokéStop makes exploration more thrilling.

“We wanted to make PvE and PvP have a lower barrier to entry to players,” Tech Lead Manager Jake Jeffery says. We had a keen interest in making Pokémon GO’s battling system more accessible to Trainers who might not be as familiar with it. The type-based minigame for Charged Attacks rolling out at around the same time is no coincidence—the same team worked on both features! Replacing the tapping mechanic for Charged Attacks with a swiping gesture was also deliberately done to ensure players can more easily experience the battle mechanic.

It was important that battling Team GO Rocket was a unique experience compared to battling team leaders or other Trainers, but it was also an opportunity to help Trainers learn more about Pokémon battling. While you technically don’t know what a Grunt’s team is like until you enter the battle, we did include a hint: the Grunt prebattle text tips you off to what type their entire team will be. This teaches players about type effectiveness, which is an essential part of Pokémon battles.

Adapting from the core series with a Pokémon GO flair

“When the idea of including Shadow Pokémon came up, we realized that we had to do it!” Philip La, the feature lead product manager, enthusiastically expresses.

The introduction of Shadow Pokémon and Purified Pokémon was game changing for several reasons. These Pokémon not only give Trainers who are collectors at heart an appealing new challenge to overcome, but the feature also introduces a new method of obtaining powerful Pokémon worthy of the highest appraisals. The process of rescuing the Shadow Pokémon gives Trainers a new way to connect with their Pokémon, too. Instead of having Shadow Pokémon return to their base state, we decided to have them change into Purified Pokémon. At the core of the mechanic, the Trainer’s kindness and respect for the Shadow Pokémon they save is what makes the Pokémon stronger. According to Feature Lead Evan Moran, “This helps the Trainer remember their Pokémon’s journey!”

Evan enjoyed the quirkiness that we were able to bring to the Grunts via their dialogue. Team GO Rocket's dialogue—which amounts to hundreds of lines of text—combines with their poses, expressions, and overall art style to showcase them not only as a recognizable subsidiary of the original Team Rocket but also distinctively as part of Pokémon GO.

“My favorite part of the feature is having NPCs on the map,” said Matt Ein, the lead game designer on the project. “It’s very rare that we get to have other characters on the map.” Appearing on the map alongside our avatars, the Team GO Rocket Grunts actually feel like they’re in the world with us.

Game development is kind of like Victory Road

Trainers know that no Pokémon journey comes without challenges. The same goes for game development! Some difficulties with developing the feature included game balance and visual hierarchy.

Lots of thought had to go into tweaking Pokémon stats, deciding which Pokémon would appear as Shadow Pokémon in this release, and testing how the Purification process would impact the current meta. It helped that the lead game designer for Trainer Battles also worked on the Team GO Rocket feature! Our goal was to make sure that a competitive player’s experience with strengthening and finding powerful Pokémon is consistent and fair from beginning to end.

A tease—a test—that told a thousand stories

The Team GO Rocket feature was first rolled out with an incredibly low appearance rate on Tuesday, July 23, and then slowly withdrawn the next day. The purpose of this teased rollout process was threefold.

First, it was consistent with the marketing campaign at that point, which was teasing the feature’s release. Our campaign was built around the Grunts advancing and retreating all over the world, and we wanted to let players see the same thing happening in-game to build anticipation.

Second, the brief release was a test to balance how the feature would run in a production environment from a technical standpoint. Up until this point, focus groups and internal testing consisted mainly of a few dozen or so Trainers testing discolored PokéStops within a small radius of one another. We needed to test the feature globally to make sure that when it was fully released, it would work as planned. After this test, we were able to adjust the battle sequence to enhance the overall Team GO Rocket experience.

Finally, it was an opportunity to see how the Team GO Rocket feature would be used by everyday Trainers in a real-life setting. If there were unintended uses for the feature, this test would help us catch and correct them quickly. For example, with this test, we discovered there was an unexpected result when trading Shadow Pokémon.

If the trade resulted in a Lucky Pokémon and the Lucky Shadow Pokémon was then returned to its normal state, there was an incredibly high chance the Purified Pokémon would be a four-star Pokémon, according to the in-game appraisal tool. Since finding four-star Pokémon is supposed to be an impressive feat, we decided to remove the ability to trade Shadow Pokémon in order to maintain the balance of the game and avoid devaluing the hard work the players have put into finding four-star Pokémon.

Now...how will Team GO Rocket unleash their evil schemes next?

Your reaction to the Team GO Rocket feature has blown all of us away. To see something we’ve all worked so hard on bringing so much excitement to our players is what motivates us to continue making awesome experiences for you to enjoy. Trainers can look forward to more Grunts to defeat, more Shadow Pokémon to rescue, and maybe even some showdowns with new Team Rocket higher-ups...including one face that might be familiar...

In the meantime—get out there and defeat Team GO Rocket! The world of Pokémon GO depends on you!

Source: https://pokemongolive.com/en/post/teamgorocket-devinsights/