Summary
Updates over the years have worked towards turningPokemon GOinto a bastion of every fans' favorite gameplay mechanics and creatures from across the series. After Generation 8 brought with it some rather radical changes in the eyes of loyal players, namely theremoval of the National Dex, many fans were wondering when they’d get to see their favorite pocket monsters again and frequently asked for Mega Evolution to be brought back to the casual and competitivePokemonexperience. However,Pokemon GOhas yet to add everything, and some of its bigger omissions are rather ironic.
It’s been five years since the release ofPokemon SwordandShieldand yetPokemon GOhas a sizable gapin terms of what it offers in terms of Galar Pokemon and content. However, recent patches to the mobile AR game, as well as some work from dataminers, have seemed to find icons and other content that implies that Dynamax and Gigantamax are coming toPokemon GO- but it certainly shouldn’t stop there.
Dynamax and Gigantamax Should Bring Everything They Can From Galar
Adding Gigantamax and Dynamax toPokemon GOpresents a fantastic opportunity for the next few seasons of updates to bring everything the game is currently missing from Generation 8. While there are plenty of creatures to catch already in Niantic’s popular mobile game, along with plenty of frequent events to play, the game has opted toskip over Galar’s Pokedexto focus on Alola’s and Paldea’s for the last while. It’s left fans ofPokemon Sword and Shieldin the dark for quite a while now as there are multiple “must have” additions that are available for each region except Generation 8 - namely the very obvious omission of Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble when other starters already have their place in the game.
Overall, only a handful ofGalar Pokemon are currently inPokemon GO, with the vast majority being from whenPokemon SwordandShieldwas being teased back when it was first released. This was done through the release of regional variants such as Galarian Weezing and Galarian Meowth, with only the exclusive Pokemon attached to those evolutionary lines being added alongside them by default. The last time a Galar Pokemon was added to the game was, once again, with regional variants through the Galarian legendary birds. With this in mind, content focusing on the critters fromSwordandShieldis most certainly overdue.
Why Pokemon GO Focusing on Galar For a While Makes Sense
WhilePokemon GOstarted as a drip feed of regions and catchable creatures for some time, there’s an important driving factor behind the long-term decisions about the game - marketing. A fair number of the Pokemon that have been added toPokemon GOover the years have tied into marketing trends dealing with the mainline games withthe inclusion of Galarian Meowthand Weezing being prime examples.
Pokemon Legends Z-Ais the next bigPokemontitlethat fans are excited about due to how it revisits the Kalos region and is even promising to bring back Mega Evolution, and with Kalos' inspirational roots in France giving it a connection to Galar’s United Kingdom homage, the two could go hand-in-hand inPokemon GOwith surprising effect. It kills two birds with one stone so that hardcore fans of Galar would get the creatures they’ve been waiting to see in the mobile AR game for five years, andPokemon Legends Z-Acould perhaps surprise even the most keen-eyed series fanatics with a few surprises from an unexpected region. Sadly, though, this is just speculation and Dynamax and Gigantamax might not bring seasons of Galar’s own Pokemon with them when they reach players, and only time will tell when it comes to howPokemon GOdecides to tackle the region’s Pokedex wholeheartedly.
WHERE TO PLAY
Now you can battle other Pokémon GO trainers online! Try the GO Battle League today. Join Trainers across the globe who are discovering Pokémon as they explore the world around them. Pokémon GO is the global gaming sensation that has been downloaded over 1 billion times and named “Best Mobile Game” by the Game Developers Choice Awards and “Best App of the Year” by TechCrunch
UNCOVER THE WORLD OF POKÉMON: Explore and discover Pokémon wherever you are! CATCH more Pokémon to complete your Pokédex! JOURNEY alongside your Buddy Pokémon to help make your Pokémon stronger and earn rewards! COMPETE in epic Gym battles and… TEAM UP and UNITE with other Trainers to catch powerful Pokémon during Raid Battles!It’s time to get moving—your real-life adventures await! Let’s GO
