Pokémon Go has just release its biggest update since it’s launch back in 2016, unleashing a huge swath of new Pokémon into the wild to add to your Pokédex. If that isn’t enough to get you heading back out on the hunt now that the weather is starting to get a little milder, there’s also been an update to the items you can get from Pokéstop spins with two new berries unveiled.
For anyone that played Pokémon Gold or Pokémon Silver, you should recognise the new additions to the Pokémon roster as they featured heavily in the classic 2001 Game Boy Colour game. They come from the Johto region that was the main location in the games, and there some pretty wacky creatures to catch, power up and evolve, adding some much-needed variety to the app.
New Johto Pokémon
More than 80 new Johto Pokémon have been introduced into Pokémon GO, changing the landscape overnight into a wild frenzy of new creatures to find. If you were starting to get fed up with the ongoing Pidgey and Rattata plod, you should get set for a whole new street view of possibilities, with the new Johto Pokémon seemingly everywhere right now.
There’s everything from the corn row hedghog-like Swinup to the staring owl Hoothoot and everything in between, including Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Murkrow, Aipee and Phanpy. A fair few of these evolve up into bigger and more powerful Pokémon too, so there plenty to do with the new batch of critters.
It’s not just the evolution of the Johto Pokémon that you’ll have to work on, as there’s also been a slight tweak to the evolution for existing characters. Some of them have new evolutions to look out for, so it’s all change for Pokémon Go gamers. There will also be some new evolution items to look out for, as well as a small number of gender-specific variants of Pokémon, giving you plenty to get to grips with.
The downside of Johto Pokémon
While the arrival of the Johto Pokémon is a very welcome change to the game, it’s not all good news, especially if you’ve been busily working away at finding and evolving some of the more illusive Pokémon from the first wave. The new arrivals have disrupted nest locations and diluted spawn rates for the old guard, so you might find it difficult to finish off some of your previous plans.
That Charmander nest you were banking on to either evolve your Charmeleon or power up your Charmander might not be there anymore. However, on a positive note, we’ve noticed a slight uplift on spawn rate for some of the rarer Pokémon, like Lapras, which has started to pop up a little more often.
New Pokémon catch moves
In addition to the new Johto Pokémon, there’s also been an overnight transformation to the way Pokémon act when you’re trying to catch them. Now they shimmy, shake, backflip and skuttle out of the way your Pokéball throws, giving them new ways to dodge your catch attempts. If we’re being honest, it hasn’t really made it any more difficult to catch the little boogers, but it does at least feel a bit more like a credible attempt to get out of the way, instead of just repeatedly jumping in the air.
Berry blast
The other cool new feature is the introduction of two new berries to help you out with the new setup. The first is called the Nanak Berry and it slows Pokémon down to make them a little easier to catch if they’re being particularly lively. The second is the Pinap Berry and it should go on to be one of the most important items in the game. Essentially, it doubles the amount of Candy you get for a successful catch, so you’ll need to be strategic about how and when you use them.
It’s going to be good practice to save the Pinap Berries up for when you find the Pokémon that you’re most interested in. Make sure you keep at least one in reserve for the random appearance of the most rare Pokémon, so you get as much Candy as possible to either evolve or power up to greatness. However, you might want to bear in mind the fact that an unsuccessful catch will waste the Pinap Berry, which is why having a few in reserve is going to be so important.
New avatar threads
If you’re into dress up, there’s also some new clothing and accessories to kit out your avatar. It’s not really our bag, so it’s the least exciting new development in the Johto Pokémon Go update, but if you had been getting a bored of how your avatar looks then you’ve got a wider range to play with now. However, with so many other bigger features above, this is undoubtedly the most important update since the game launched last year.
