UPDATE: Niantic has confirmed that the start of the new Pokemon Go Team Rocket event has begun and involves an invasion of balloons on the map.
Mysterious balloons have popped up in the sky, and the culprit is Team GO Rocket! With these Team GO Rocket balloon invasions, you can now battle Team GO Rocket anywhere on the map. We ask that you keep an eye out for balloons in the sky and battle the Team GO Rocket Grunts and Leaders piloting them. Who knows—you may even find Giovanni! Reports show that they appear once every few hours, but could appear more often during takeovers.
- 1. Tap a balloon to battle Team GO Rocket: Be ready for a challenge! Tap a Team GO Rocket balloon, pick your battle party, and defeat Team GO Rocket to rescue their Shadow Pokémon. Team GO Rocket balloons will hover near you for a limited time, so be sure to check the map for balloons and tap them before they fly away!
- 2. Equip your Rocket Radar to encounter balloons with Team GO Rocket Leaders: When you have a Rocket Radar equipped, you can find Sierra, Cliff, or Arlo piloting a Team GO Rocket balloon.
- 3. Equip your Super Rocket Radar to encounter Giovanni: It appears that even the boss of Team GO Rocket himself can be found riding in a Team GO Rocket balloon! If you activate and equip a Super Rocket Radar, Giovanni’s balloon is certain to appear.
ORIGINAL: It’s been a while since the last big Pokemon Go Team Rocket update but it looks like Leaders and Grunts could be coming back to the game in full force.
Niantic has been hinting at a new invasion and today has seen the latest piece of news shared about the upcoming event.
This has been mostly an online teaser event so far, with Niantic sharing news that Team Rocket has new Balloon technology. And this would certainly suggest that new objects could be appearing in Pokemon Go very soon.
A new “email” accidentally sent to everyone by Team Rocket suggests that something big is happening today.
There’s been no word on when this new invasion could start, but Pokemon Go gamers should be ready for some interesting new content heading to the game in the near future.
The latest updates from Niantic reads: “The answers are starting to become clear to me! Due to an email that Team GO Rocket has accidentally sent out, I have reason to believe that they have made advancements in their balloon technology and have been scouting invasion locations for some time now.
“From last year’s initial balloon test to their global take-over of our communication channels and the world, what we thought were simply silly theatrics were in fact a highly organized series of tests.
“Have they truly been planning to roll out this new technology all along? Perhaps they have a new plan in the works!
“Or maybe I’m giving them too much credit and they’ve just been incredibly lucky this entire time? What a peculiar organization. I don’t know whether I should be impressed or bewildered by their unconventional methods.
“The email stated that something big is happening tomorrow, July 7, 2020. We must brace ourselves for whatever is coming.”
So expect a big announcement or update today from Niantic in Pokemon Go, across all platforms.
Another report on Team Rocket adds: “Candela stormed into my lab today and threw crumpled scraps of paper on my desk.
“As I opened them up, she shouted, “I was training my Ponyta out in the field and found these scraps of paper.
“At first, I thought they were trash. And after seeing who they belonged to, turned out I was right!” She then stomped off.
“I glanced down at the pieces of paper and saw a figure that looked very much like a Team GO Rocket Grunt. On the back, there were detailed notes from a previous battle that, coupled with Candela’s reaction, led me to believe that this belongs to the Team GO Rocket Leader Arlo.
“I know it was a shock for Candela to discover that her old friend was working for Team GO Rocket. It seems she’s still feeling the pain of that betrayal. I’ll have to check in on her later.
“In the meantime, I’m starting to piece the mystery together. Looking at the scraps of paper from the team leaders all together, it looks like they’re from…a balloon manual?
“Why would Team GO Rocket need a manual for just one balloon? I’ll need more evidence before I can make a definitive statement on the matter.”
Pokemon Go is available to download and play for free on compatible Android and iOS devices from leading app stores, like Google Play.