The new Pokemon Go Gen 3 update has been launched, meaning 50 new Pocket Monsters are now available to be caught.
There hasn’t been a full list made of which Pokemon have been added to the game this week, although it’s expected that more will be added in the near future.
Today’s new drop has been confirmed to contain the likes of Torchic, Mudkip and Treecko, and it might take awhile to find out what else is lurking out there.
Niantic is also tackling a long-running issue with Pokemon Go storage space by giving it a boost for the Gen 3 launch.
The dev team is increasing the minimum storage capacity by 50 additional Pokemon, and the maximum storage by 500.
“With the addition of Pokemon originally discovered in the Hoenn region, the need for more Pokemon Storage is greater than ever,” reads a Niantic post.
“You’ll now be able to store up to 1,500 Pokemon. We’ve also increased the minimum Pokemon Storage size by 50, so all Trainers will soon be able to carry 50 additional Pokemon.”
Other big updates have also been made to the game today, including the new Pokemon Weather Effects bonus system.
As Trainers go exploring the world in search of Pokemon, the current weather in their vicinity will be visible on the in-game map. And much more exciting then that, the real-world weather around Trainers will impact the gameplay of Pokemon Go.
This will include changing Pokemon habitats and where they can be found, increasing Combat Power, and earning more Stardust after catching a Pokemon.
For example, Water Pokemon will come out when it’s raining and this will affect all Pokemon, not just Gen 3.
The Water Pokemon you encounter in the rain will be stronger, and offer a higher amount of stardust, meaning the CP value will be higher than usual.
Catching Water Pokemon in the rain will provide a stardust bonus and will also encourage the stronger types from that species to appear.
The current known weather effects include: Sunny, Rainy, Snowy, Foggy, Cloudy, Partly Cloudy and Windy.
POKEMON BATTLES:
Pokemon Go battles will also be affected, with movesets that sync with the current weather conditions getting a boost.
Here’s more from Niantic engineer, Matt Slemon: “If you go into a battle at a Gym or a Raid with your Charizard partner, you should expect that in the sun, their fire-type moves will do additional damage.
“That means that defenders who can correctly predict what the weather patterns are going to be, will be in a much better position to defend those Gyms against players who don’t.”
As you can imagine, this will also make big changes to Pokemon Go Raid battles, providing more strategy to the decision of joining one.
“If that Raid boss has more affinity to the weather in the area, it’s going to be a more difficult opponent,” Slemon adds.
The trade off is that if you can then capture the Charizard, you’re going to get a good one.
“If you capture the Charizard, you still get the bonus Stardust, in addition to find that the Charizard has higher CP.”
“Pokemon care about the dominate weather condition outside, so we send that to the user.
Every weather condition has a couple of Pokemon types attached to it, so it mean EVERY Pokemon has at least one kind they care about.
The Pokemon Go UI will also see some changes, with a new Weather Widget being added.
This will tell players at all times what the current effects are, tapping the widget will display a reminder of what that is doing to the gameplay.
“It will tell you what types are affected and what those effects are, Slemon adds.
It should also be noted that this will be part of everyday gameplay, with Niantic not considering any kind of combo with existing events, such as the summer solstice celebration.
Battle Parties are another new feature being added by Niantic, albeit in the test phase.
The new Battle Parties feature gives players the chance to create and name teams of up to six Pokemon. This will give Trainers quicker access to Gym and Raid battles.
“We’re thrilled to announce that we’re also rolling out the first iteration of battle parties.
“Battle parties are preset teams of up to six Pokemon that you are able to create and customise to fit your needs.
“Whether you want to create different parties for frequent Raid Battles, or have battle parties that take advantage of certain weather bonuses, this feature will make it easier than ever to quickly choose which Pokemon you bring to battle.
“During this beta phase, battle parties will be saved to your device, so you’ll need to reset your battle parties if you get a new device or use multiple devices to play Pokemon GO. Once the feature is fully launched, your battle parties will carry over to each device you log in with.”