The second generation of Pokemon have finally arrived in Pokemon Go. While many people dropped off long ago, there’s still millions of loyal players. The fact that the servers struggled to keep up on Thursday night, just like when the game was first released last summer, show that the interest is still there, even if the “cool factor” has vanished. Along with 80 new creatures to catch or evolve, the game has added a bunch of other tweaks, features, and changes. So whether you’re still playing every day, or the arrival of new Pokemon will get you to dust off the app after ignoring it for a while, here’s everything you need to know about the biggest Pokemon Go update so far.
Avatar Customization
There are now more options for customizing your trainer avatar. However, they all cost Pokecoins to buy, which is a bummer. We know it’s possible to earn the coins for free rather than buy them using real money, but those Pokecoins would be much better spent on incubators, lures, or lucky eggs. We’re sure some players who are “completionists” will shell out the coins (or real dough) to buy every available new piece of clothing, but frankly, we’d advise against it. It’s just a cosmetic change, with no real benefit. This is a fairly useless addition, but we suppose some people will care.
Candy Changes
The game had been adjusted to better balance out candies. For starters, you now earn more candies for catching evolved stage Pokemon. For example, a Charmader will still net you three candies and 100 Stardust, but a Charmeleon will bring in five candies and 300 dust, while catching a rare Charizard in the wild will earn you 10 candies and 500 Stardust.
Also, some Gen 1 Pokemon have had the amount of candies needed to evolve them reduced, like Horsea and Zubat. You can now evolve them with 25 candies instead of the previous 50.
Egg Hatching
Yes, you can also find Gen 2 Pokemon in eggs now. It should be pointed out that any eggs you have from before the Gen 2 launch will NOT contain Gen 2 monsters. So you’ll have to clear out some of your egg inventory before you can start hatching Gen 2 creatures. Some Pokemon have changed eggs, as well. Togepi, a baby Pokemon, was originally available in a 5km egg, but can now be found in a 2km egg.
Rarer Gen 2 Pokemon Pineco or Sudowoodo (plus others — check out this chart) can now be found in 10km eggs. If they are anything like the Gen 1 10km egg Pokemon, like Aerodactyl or Lapras, don’t expect to see them in the wild very often.
CP Changes
Speaking of Lapras, it would appear that the monstrous ice Pokemon is no longer quite as tough. Every Lapras was nerfed, leading to much lower CP, making them a worse gym defender than before. In addition, some Pokemon have had their moves rebalanced, most notably any Pokemon with Hydro Pump. This should make battling a bit more balanced, especially since the gym fighting mechanic was also changed slightly. A lot of Pokemon now execute their moves a lot slower, meaning that players can’t spam attacks as quickly. Niantic has changed it back, although quick moves now do slightly less damage.
New Eeveeloutions!
With the arrival of Gen 2, Umbreon and Espeon are now potential evolution of your Eevee. And like when the game was first released, there is a naming trick that will work once to ensure you get these new Pokemon. If you name your Eevee “Tamao” it will evolve into a Umbreon, while naming it “Sakura” will get you an Espeon. This trick only works once, so choose wisely.
Once you’ve done this, you’ll be at the mercy of blind luck for your Eevee evolutions. However, some players are reporting that if you walk your Eevee 10km as your buddy, and then evolve it, you’ll get one of the two new evolutions — Espeon if you evolve during the day and Umbreon if you evolve at night.
New Evolutions for other Gen 1 Pokemon
Some old Pokemon now have new evolutions too. A few you can do without any special items (just candy), like the two Eevee evolutions and evolving Golbat into Crobat or Chansey in Blissey. However, the rest require special items that can randomly be found at Pokestops (plus the required amount of candies). It should be noted that picking up these evolution items can be extremely tedious, as they only have roughly a 0.3% of coming from Pokestops and are NOT guaranteed on your 7-day streak. Here’s a list:
Porygon(needs Up-Grade) -> Porygon2
Scyther(needs Metal Coat) -> Scizor
Onix(needs Metal Coat) -> Steelix
Poliwhirl(needs King’s Rock) -> Politoed
Seadra(needs Dragon Scale) -> Kingdra
Slowpoke(needs King’s Rock) -> Slowking
Gloom(needs Sun Stone) -> Bellossom
New Berries
In addition to the new special items, Pokestops will now yield three different kinds of berries. The traditional Razz berries still exist, and make a Pokemon statistically easier to catch. Pinap berries (which look like a pineapple) will make your next Pokemon catch drop double candy, great for using on rare spawns like Dratini. A Nanab berry (which looks like a bunch of purple bananas) will cause a Pokemon to move or jump around less, making him easier to hit with your Pokeball. This is especially useful, because some Pokemon can now also move left or right, in addition to jumping up and down.
Unown Exists
One of the most mysterious Pokemon from Gen 2 is available right off the bat, as users around the globe have been reporting to Reddit that Unown has appeared and been caught. Unown is shaped like different ancient letters, and it appears that different versions of the psychic Pokemon are available to catch. There is speculation that certain shaped Unowns may be regional exclusive, but it hasn’t been confirmed yet. Rest assured though, he’s out there.
New Medals
The update brings three new trainer medals to earn, although the medals are mostly for show, since they don’t bring any additional XP (the type medals do increase the chance of catching that type of Pokemon thought). There is a new Johto medal, which is earned simply by catching Gen 2 Pokemon. And there is a specific Unown medal, which is earned by (you guessed it) catching Unowns in the wild. There’s also a new medal for catching Dark Type Pokemon, so grab as many Murkrows as you can.
Some Random Things
The six-hour lures from the Valentine’s Day event have been extended, and will last until Saturday (February 18) afternoon. Niantic also put additional Pokemon storage on sale, cutting the price from 200 Pokecoins to 100 Pokecoins, which will last until the end of the month. Now is a good time to expand your Pokemon storage, if you’ve been meaning to get around to it. Every Pokemon has been assigned a gender now, meaning that breeding may be one of the features Niantic is planning to implement in the near future.
There is also a new catch bonus, which earns you 50 XP if you catch a Pokemon on your first throw. Critical catches have been added as well.
