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Shiny Pokemon, costumes may be coming to Pokemon GO

By Christine Wang Dickson

PARIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 08: Kids show the screen of their smartphone with Nintendo Co.'s Pokemon Go augmented-reality game at the Trocadero in front of the Eiffel tower on September 8, 2016 in Paris, France. The Pokemon GO game allows to hunt on their smartphone or tablet virtual creatures scattered in public spaces. Launched in July for the first time, Pokemon GO has surpassed the 500 million downloads bar. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 08: Kids show the screen of their smartphone with Nintendo Co.'s Pokemon Go augmented-reality game at the Trocadero in front of the Eiffel tower on September 8, 2016 in Paris, France. The Pokemon GO game allows to hunt on their smartphone or tablet virtual creatures scattered in public spaces. Launched in July for the first time, Pokemon GO has surpassed the 500 million downloads bar. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images) /
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Niantic has announced that new Pokemon will be coming soon to Pokemon GO. Data miners have discovered that even more could be on the horizon.

The Silph Road, a popular website for everything Pokemon GO, makes a point to dig into game files after every update. Previously, they have discovered new features and content before they were announced officially. As such, whatever the Silph Road says is coming will probably be coming.

With that being said, the Silph Road has posted the findings of its most recent data mine and there is a lot to be excited about.

First, sound files for the next 100 Pokemon were discovered. This all but proves the fact that Niantic’s announcement on Dec. 12 will be about Generation 2 Pokemon being added to the game.

In addition to new Pokemon, code was discovered that would add shiny Pokemon to Pokemon GO. Shiny Pokemon are highly rare and coveted in the regular Pokemon games, and many players have sunken hours into attempting to collect them. A Pokemon that’s “shiny” is a recolored version of its original. Otherwise, it is exactly the same.

“It is abundantly clear that ‘shinies’ are an intended mechanic for Pokemon GO,” the Silph Road stated.

Code for Pokemon genders have also been found, meaning Pokemon could be differentiated into male and female in the future, as they are in traditional Pokemon games. The Silph Road states that the code appears to be “in the works,” so it is unlikely that Pokemon genders will be included in this round of additions.

As far as Pokemon go, perhaps the most exciting discovery revolves around Pokemon costumes. According to the Silph Road, the code was written “in a way that would enable different ‘types’ of costumes” The first type they found? Holiday.

Courtesy of the Pokemon Company
Courtesy of the Pokemon Company /

I am having an extremely hard time not giggling with glee at this particular news. You try imagining Pikachu with an elf costume on and not smiling.

Outside of things directly related to Pokemon, the Silph Road has found code that indicates we will be able to have more avatar customization in the future. They also have found code for unlockable avatar customizations in addition to customizations purchased in-app.

Also found was a new buddy Pokemon position labeled “baby.” Currently, buddy Pokemon can rest at the trainers feet, fly next to the trainer, or perch on the trainer’s shoulder. “Baby” could mean that some buddy Pokemon will be able to be cradled in a trainer’s arms.

Next: Major Pokemon GO announcement scheduled for Dec. 12

It’s important to remember that many of these discoveries may not be announced on Dec. 12. In fact, none of these features are even guaranteed to make it to the game.

However, the Silph Road is convinced that at least some of these changes will be coming to Pokemon GO soon. And we at least know with full confidence that Niantic has many plans in the works to make Pokemon GO an even more engaging and fun experience.