‘Pokémon GO’ Advances With Third Generation Pokémon, Weather Conditions

Pokémon Trainers, have you caught a Ho-oh yet in Pokémon GO? Yes or no, you’ll have a whole new world to see starting this week when Pokémon hailing from the franchise’s third generation arise in the augmented reality title alongside advanced weather conditions.

POKÉMON GO CATCHES 3RD GENERATION POKÉMON, WEATHER CONDITIONS

Several critters arriving from the tropical Hoenn region will begin to appear in GO this week, from its trio of starter Pokémon — Treecko, Torchic and Mudkip — to other fondly remembered species. Additional Pokémon will be dolled out in the following weeks, too. Fans will recall that these Pokémon originally debuted in the Game Boy Advance’s Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, which launched in 2002.

In addition to increasing the number of Pokémon, the pair of titles also expanded upon another feature that is still used in the series: weather. Back in Hoenn, the weather conditions you were in, such as heavy sunlight, rainstorms or sandstorms, affected the gameplay. This will similarly affect Pokémon GO, with developer Niantic explaining how the weather outside will influence your experience in GO.

Niantic suggests, for example, how you might be more likely to stumble upon the Water-type Mudkip when it’s pouring outside. Likewise, as with the mainline titles, the weather will affect the effectiveness of your moves, meaning Fire-type attacks will become stronger during bright sun.

As always, Niantic is excited for this update, and they implore GO‘s fans to continue to share their experiences online with the hashtag #PokemonGO. This update comes after fans’ concerns how the studio’s resources might be stretched too thin, given how Niantic is concurrently working on Ingress and the upcoming Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. Niantic asserted, however, that they remain dedicated to evolving Pokémon GO.