It seems Niantic is finally ready to unleash a highly anticipated update to Pokémon Go.
Following what’s often felt like the longest teaser campaign in history, iconic Team Rocket villain Giovanni will soon make his debut in the popular mobile game. Confirmation of that fact comes by way of data miners rather than an official announcement, but the latest efforts of which have not only revealed the series’ long-running villain but how Trainers will go about setting up a meeting with the elusive character.
Some details are still forthcoming, but as of now, it appears you’ll have to jump through a number of hoops before Team Rocket’s nefarious leader will reveal his whereabouts. Continue through the break below for a full rundown of how the event is expected to work.
First and foremost, you will be able to battle Giovanni directly. That much is set in stone by the discovery of a new earnable badge. There are three tiers to this particular achievement, as seen below:
- Defeat Giovanni once
- Defeat Giovanni five times
- Defeat Giovanni twenty times
Waltzing up to the front door of Rocket HQ and demanding a match with its leader is unlikely to work, though. Files for previously teased ‘Rocket Executives’ have been discovered alongside the above, each of which could potentially need to be defeated in order to discern their boss’ location. Their names and the potential Pokémon type they use are as follows:
- Arlo – Fire-type
- Sierra – Flying-type
- Cliff – Water-type
Finally, a new type of Rocket Grunt – Decoys – have been added to Pokémon Go‘s files. Currently, it’s unknown what purpose these new additions will serve, though I’m willing to hazard a guess and suggest they’ll serve as doubles for their leader in an attempt to misdirect players.
And that’s a wrap. How all of the puzzle pieces for Pokémon Go‘s next big update fit together still requires some tinkering but needless to say, Niantic intends for this event to be a doozy. Expect an official announcement soon.
Published: Nov 5, 2019 12:42 pm