New Pokemon GO update hints at Niantic preparing to debut more generation two pocket monsters, a group of data miners over at The Silph Road reports. The update version 0.53.1 appeared on the Google Play Store on Wednesday and was quickly mined by the Pokemon GO online community. The main finding suggesting new additions to the creature pool is the inclusion of 38 new moves and their animations. Attacks like Volt Switch, Dragon Tail, Aurora Beam, Silver Wind, and Grass Knot all seemingly indicate that new Pokemon will be coming to Pokemon GO sooner rather than later.
Additionally, the game code now also includes some more generic moves like Counter, Snarl, and Air Slash, most of which will presumably be usable by both existing and upcoming pocket monsters. While none of these moves are yet available in-game, The Silph Road reports all of the assets are already present in Pokemon GO and can be activated with a server-side update. Furthermore, the new APK version of the game also includes references to five evolution items, suggesting a new evolution system may be on the horizon. However, as none of the item references are accompanied with assets, it will likely be a while before players actually get to use them. Other recently uncovered additions include new Pokemon forms referencing a second generation Pokemon called Unown, a News in-game section, and more avatar customization options which will seemingly allow players to equip their digital avatars with belts, necklaces, and glasses.
The Silph Road also uncovered some additional code referencing Shiny Pokemon variants and several minor tweaks that alter the way Gym radiuses work. Finally, data miners also stumbled upon references to new Pokemon GO sponsors which Niantic will likely announce in the near future. As for the update itself, its official changelog says it modifies the game’s distance tracking to better compensate for GPS drift and comes packed with traditional minor text fixes. The Pokemon GO update 0.53.1 was the first patch for the game that rolled out in 2017 and while it didn’t introduce any major changes, it seems that Niantic has a lot of things in the works behind the scenes.