Pokemon Go‘s fourth anniversary event is underway until July 8. To commemorate the occasion, Niantic has released a new piece of anniversary art for the game, and as usual, it teases a few new Pokemon that will be making their debut soon.
Hidden among the various monsters in the picture are Chespin, Fennekin, and Froakie–the three starters from Pokemon X and Y, the series’ first sixth-generation installments. This suggests that Gen 6 Pokemon are on the way to the game in the near future, although Niantic has not confirmed when they’ll begin appearing.
This certainly isn’t the first time Niantic has teased the arrival of new Pokemon this way. Each year, the studio releases a new piece of anniversary art that features upcoming Pokemon; last September, we got a glimpse of a few Gen 5 monsters before they officially debuted that fall.
Notably, the picture also prominently features the Mega Evolved forms of Lucario and Charizard, while Mega Mewtwo Y can be seen flying with Reshiram and Zekrom in the background. Mega Evolution is a game mechanic introduced in X and Y, and while we already know that Mega Evolved Pokemon are coming to Go, this is further proof that their debut could be imminent.
Although Mega Evolved Pokemon have previously been confirmed, it’s not yet clear how they’ll work. In the mainline games, a Pokemon can only Mega Evolve during a battle if it is equipped with its corresponding Mega Stone, and the transformation isn’t permanent; it will revert back to its original form when the battle ends (or if it gets knocked out). However, The Pokemon Company has teased that players will see “a new take on Mega Evolution that takes advantage of Pokemon Go’s unique gameplay,” suggesting the mechanic will work a little differently.
July is yet another busy month for Pokemon Go. Niantic has a number of events lined up over the next few weeks, including a Gastly Community Day and Pokemon Go Fest 2020. To promote the latter, Niantic teamed up with Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson to film a new Pokemon Go commercial.
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