Another new Niantic update has gone live, and this time it includes some pretty exciting stuff.
While recent weeks have seen new patches come and go, there hasn’t been much in way of notable Pokemon Go news.
However, this latest release from the development team has provided some solid details on what’s coming next.
A new Pokemon looks set to join the game very soon, with new details datamined on Spinda.
Eight different kinds will be added to Pokemon Go, each with its own pattern variant.
There’s no news on when it might be launched, however, it seems reasonable to suggest it could be soon.
It’s hard to tell whether this will be part of a new mini event, or will be paired with another new release in-game.
New code has also been found in the game that suggests Quests might be nearing launch.
While it appears to be an accidental inclusion, a line including a new activity catch quest for Pokemon Go certainly sounds intriguing.
Again, no release date has been provided, but fans are hopeful more will be revealed on the full Quest system very soon.
It follows news that fans have been catching their first Legendary Shiny Lugia Pokemon.
Rayquaza is no longer available in Raid battles and has been replaced by Johto Legendary Lugia, which will be available in Raid battles until April 2.
Niantic also announced that the returning Lugia comes with a brand new special move called Sky Attack.
“A powerful Psychic- and Flying-type Pokemon originally discovered in the Johto region, Lugia will appear in Gyms across the globe as the Legendary Pokemon Rayquaza returns to the ozone layer,” Niantic explains.
“You can challenge Lugia, which will know the newly improved Flying-type move Sky Attack, until April 2.
“So gather your strongest party to take on this Legendary Pokemon before it returns to the sea!”
Fans are reporting that they are catching Lugias which are shiny, meaning they appear with a different colour variant.
Instead of the usual blue skin, there Lugias boast magenta markings.
As noted above, Lugia will be available to battle at Gyms until April 2, with no clear indication what will be replacing it next month.
Other changes made to the game recently include Pokemon Go fans being able to link accounts with Facebook.
The aim is to simplify the sign-in process, and give players more accessibility options.
“Good news, Trainers! We’ll soon begin rolling out support for account linking with Facebook,” Niantic explains.
“Along with a simpler sign-in process, linking Pokemon Go to your Facebook account gives you more options to log in and helps preserve your progress across devices.”
“With this change, you will also be able to link your Trainer profile to your Facebook and Google accounts, and use any of those credentials to access Pokemon Go.”
This means you can link your Trainer Club account to your Google and Facebook accounts, and sign in using whichever one you choose.