Pokémon Go for iOS Gains New Pokémon, Including Special Edition Holiday Pikachu

[MacRumors]

Popular augmented reality app Pokémon Go was today updated to add brand new Pokémon, introducing Togepi, Pichu, and other select Pokémon that were originally found in Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver.

The new Pokémon can only be found in eggs, which can be obtained from PokéStops. Eggs are hatched by walking a set distance with the iPhone. Niantic and The Pokémon Company are keeping some of the new Pokémon a secret, and have only announced Togepi and Pichu.

From December 12 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time to December 29 at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Pokémon Go players have a chance to catch a special holiday-themed Pikachu, who is wearing a festive hat for the holiday season. Niantic says the new Pikachu will "appear in large quantities.
"

"Fans around the world fell in love with Pokémon GO for the opportunity to encounter Pokémon--beloved pop-culture and gaming icons for 20 years--in the real world. Matched with the innovative technology and development of the mobile game by Niantic, hundreds of millions of players have filled their Pokédexes with over 100 available Pokémon in Pokémon GO while exploring the world around them," said J.C. Smith, senior director of consumer marketing at The Pokémon Company International. "The opportunity to hatch select Pokémon originally discovered in the Johto region is just the beginning of how more Pokémon will be added to the game for Trainers to continue their Pokémon GO adventures."

Niantic has also established partnerships with companies like Sprint, which will see 10,500 Sprint, Boost Mobile, and Sprint at RadioShack locations turned into PokéStops and Gyms.

Pokémon Go can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Article Link: Pokémon Go for iOS Gains New Pokémon, Including Special Edition Holiday Pikachu

 

[ccrunner_tj]

What about the Apple Watch app? I've been looking forward to that!

 

[ag29]

I haven't played or seen anyone play Pokemon go in a couple months now. Maybe because it's winter or people living in my area got bored of it.

 

[nutmac]

Many are poo pooing Pokemon Go and they are right to criticize it. The game hasn't evolved much since its debut.

For me, the most baffling omissions are (1) inability to trade with your friends and (2) fight your friends.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

When is it decided which pokemon is in an egg? Are the eggs I have now guaranteed not to have Pichu, Togepi, or anyone else new in them, so I should just discard them, or should I go ahead and hatch them?

I suspect it randomly decides which pokemon was in the egg at the time it hatches, but maybe I'm wrong...

Also, this is a poor time of year to update an app like this. I would have held back updates until the spring... I'm not interested in walking around in the snow with my phone out.

 

[Carlanga]

What about the Apple Watch app? I've been looking forward to that!

w pokemon? you will wait forever. You can buy their bracelet thingy though.
[doublepost=1481570154][/doublepost]

When is it decided which pokemon is in an egg? Are the eggs I have now guaranteed not to have Pichu, Togepi, or anyone else new in them, so I should just discard them, or should I go ahead and hatch them?

I suspect it randomly decides which pokemon was in the egg at the time it hatches, but maybe I'm wrong...

Also, this is a poor time of year to update an app like this. I would have held back updates until the spring... I'm not interested in walking around in the snow with my phone out.

kids are on holiday break, that is why its a good time.

 

[asleep]

I keep updating the app,

although I haven't played the game since I captured the little thing on my ottoman.

Guess I'm not a PokeDude.

 

[freepomme]

POKEMON GO IS DEAD!

 

[twocents]

What about the Apple Watch app? I've been looking forward to that!

Same! And I was hoping for a New Year, New Region type event but who knows why Niantic is as slow with new releases as Apple is now with actual Mac upgrades

 

[Jeremy1026]

When is it decided which pokemon is in an egg? Are the eggs I have now guaranteed not to have Pichu, Togepi, or anyone else new in them, so I should just discard them, or should I go ahead and hatch them?

I suspect it randomly decides which pokemon was in the egg at the time it hatches, but maybe I'm wrong...

Also, this is a poor time of year to update an app like this. I would have held back updates until the spring... I'm not interested in walking around in the snow with my phone out.

The Pokemon contained in eggs are determined at the time of getting them, according to The Silph Road. So anything you have right now won't be anything new.

 

[frumpy16]

What about the Apple Watch app? I've been looking forward to that!

Exactly. Niantic have proven to be quite incompetent.

 

[DaPizzaMan]

I still don't get how or why people would be playing this in the freezing cold temperatures? I know in a lot of places it isn't cold, but for the places where it is, how (and why) is anyone still playing this?

 

[wigby]

I still don't get how or why people would be playing this in the freezing cold temperatures? I know in a lot of places it isn't cold, but for the places where it is, how (and why) is anyone still playing this?

That's kind of like asking if people still play ice hockey in the cold. If they enjoy it, they will endure the cold weather. I still play in cold temps but I use my car so it's no hardship for me ;-)

 

[itsmilo]

w pokemon? you will wait forever. You can buy their bracelet thingy though.

They announced it at the iPhone keynote for winter 16

 

[Loge]

When is it decided which pokemon is in an egg? Are the eggs I have now guaranteed not to have Pichu, Togepi, or anyone else new in them, so I should just discard them, or should I go ahead and hatch them?

There's no way to discard them is there? I think you can only hatch them.

 

[Rey Esposito]

I'm liking all the updates from Niantic, this is the right way to roll out new features in the game, but I will say that for anyone (including myself) who lives in a place where it's cold & snowy during the winter it's pretty hard to enjoy the game due to the lack of Pokemon balls from not walking around to all the local stops. I do however like them turning Starbucks' & other places into stops as this helps that issue a little bit.

 

[Juiceboy]

Not everyone lives in freezing cold amerika -_-
But man it was disapointing news overall. No Apple Watch app, and just a very slow drip feed. Would be so nice if they tied something into the Sun/Moon launch.

 

[WRChris]

That's kind of like asking if people still play ice hockey in the cold. If they enjoy it, they will endure the cold weather. I still play in cold temps but I use my car so it's no hardship for me ;-)

Don't brag about playing in the car. Niantic thinks they are traffic cops and can decide when and how I play my own games. Niantic killed this game plain and simple. With every "update", they just took something away. Took them 3 months to show me which Pokémon are at pokestops.
[doublepost=1481580855][/doublepost]Replace NIANTIC with GAMEFREAK and the numbers will slowly return
[doublepost=1481581160][/doublepost]

They announced it at the iPhone keynote for winter 16

Yeah it's coming with the beats x and airpods this winter
[doublepost=1481581536][/doublepost]

When is it decided which pokemon is in an egg? Are the eggs I have now guaranteed not to have Pichu, Togepi, or anyone else new in them, so I should just discard them, or should I go ahead and hatch them?

I suspect it randomly decides which pokemon was in the egg at the time it hatches, but maybe I'm wrong...

Also, this is a poor time of year to update an app like this. I would have held back updates until the spring... I'm not interested in walking around in the snow with my phone out.

It doesn't snow everywhere, the game wasn't designed for you alone anyway.

 

[kingofwale]

Exactly. Niantic have proven to be quite incompetent.

Niantic has proven itself incompetent at least 20 times with Pokemon Go.

after losing 90% of peak user base, now they need to milk as much as possible. Bringing as little feature as possible is what they are doing (and Smart watch update is clearly not bringing them more revenue)
[doublepost=1481595470][/doublepost]

I still don't get how or why people would be playing this in the freezing cold temperatures? I know in a lot of places it isn't cold, but for the places where it is, how (and why) is anyone still playing this?

are they tho? 90% have quit already

 

[Justim]

Today's announcement was disappointing. The Halloween event was exceptional with double candy, so, and abundant wild ghost types.

The largest holiday of the year gets a novelty hat and almost impossible-to-acquire new Pokémon. Seriously, egg hatching is very difficult without buying incubators. Most people have 1 incubator and 9 eggs and only new eggs will give gen 2 Pokémon.

 

[5105973]

I think I have three incubators but I don't remember how I got that many. I would totally freeze my butt off to get a holiday Pikachu and a Pichu egg. But I haven't played since Halloween. They really made it hard to play on road trips now. I get that they don't want drivers distracted with the game but they kind of ruined it for the kids and adults playing as passengers on long car rides. Now we will have to go back to the traditional road games people have been playing since my dad was a kid. Sigh.

 

[caipirina08]

In addition to the Sprint / Star Bucks deal, it appears that in the Asian market Niantec has struck a deal with Japanese company AEON. There is a brand new pokestop in my area (Hanoi / Vietnam) with their logo on it.

Anyone else is upset that since a few updates ago the app lowers the audio volume of iTunes? I now have to bring a separate audio player with me when I go for walks, collecting balls

 

[5105973]

In addition to the Sprint / Star Bucks deal, it appears that in the Asian market Niantec has struck a deal with Japanese company AEON. There is a brand new pokestop in my area (Hanoi / Vietnam) with their logo on it.

Anyone else is upset that since a few updates ago the app lowers the audio volume of iTunes? I now have to bring a separate audio player with me when I go for walks, collecting balls

Hey that looks pretty cool. I didn't know the app lowered the audio volume of iTunes. I almost never listen to my music player when out walking anymore. I have to listen for cars (people will run pedestrians over where I live because they speed through residential streets) and listen for nasty unleashed dogs (lots of dog attacks) and random trouble. And I live in what's considered a good neighborhood now.

 

[G4-power]

I still don't get how or why people would be playing this in the freezing cold temperatures? I know in a lot of places it isn't cold, but for the places where it is, how (and why) is anyone still playing this?

I've been playing when it's around -5 °C, that's not too bad. You keep the phone in the pocket until you feel it vibrate for a Pokemon or when you come to a PokeStop. I've got gloves that work on a touch screen (albeit slightly clumsily). The battery life isn't too good though, considering this game is a battery hog and what the cold does to the battery.
Catching Pokemon involves more action, so that's usually the way to freeze yourself (without gloves). But hatching eggs and walking your Buddy with the phone in your pocket, not too bad.

Anyone else is upset that since a few updates ago the app lowers the audio volume of iTunes? I now have to bring a separate audio player with me when I go for walks, collecting balls

If walking alone and playing, I usually listen to podcasts. Because I need to adjust the volume higher to hear the podcast, the sound when closing a PokeStop will be deafening. So yes, this "feature" drives me nuts.
EDIT: According to Niantic, it's apparently a bug, and they are working on it. I've had this symptom for quite a while, so they're not hurrying the fix or anything. https://support.pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/hc/en-us/articles/222061187

 

[cclloyd]

When is it decided which pokemon is in an egg? Are the eggs I have now guaranteed not to have Pichu, Togepi, or anyone else new in them, so I should just discard them, or should I go ahead and hatch them?

I suspect it randomly decides which pokemon was in the egg at the time it hatches, but maybe I'm wrong...

If it's anything like the real games, then Everything about the pokemon is generated when the egg is added to your inventory. Not when it hatches.