New Pokémon Go Update Adds Files For Galarian Forms, Team Rocket Event And More

Pokémon Go developer Niantic has just rolled out a new update for the popular mobile title.

At face value, at least, the patch adds little in the way of features or gameplay, but data miners have wasted no time in unpacking the files hidden within and have subsequently made some massive discoveries. There’s a wealth of leaks to go over here and, as expected, much of what’s been unearthed has to do with what seems to be a new Team Rocket event. Teasers for such an occasion have been appearing on Pokémon Go‘s various social media pages and, thanks to an in-depth breakdown provided by Lewymd on Reddit, Trainers could soon be able to infiltrate the villainous team’s secret base.

In order to do so, however, a map revealing its location will first need to be assembled. Various items labelled INVASION_MAP_FRAGMENT suggest that players will be required to obtain several and combine them into a complete version that signals the whereabouts of Team Rocket leader Giovanni and his underlings. How you’ll go about obtaining each piece remains to be seen, though the leading theory suggests that datapads left behind by Rocket Grunts defeated at PokéStops will be key to entry.

Exciting times ahead for fans eager to secure themselves some more powerful Shadow Pokémon, then, but that’s not all. Following on from previous leaks hinting at their imminent arrival, it appears Sword and Shield‘s Galarian forms will soon make their debut in Pokémon Go.

“Support to show Galarian forms in the Pokedex has been added and is functionally identical to how Alolan forms show,” notes Lewymd, implying that these new arrivals will be obtained in much the same way as Sun & Moon‘s Alolan forms. Rather than encountered in the wild, these rare variants are most commonly found by hatching eggs obtained from gifts sent by other players or as rewards from raid battles.

There’s every chance that Niantic will switch it up for Pokémon Go‘s first Gen 8 critters, of course, so we’ll ultimately have to wait and see what its plans are. Watch this space for more.