With ever increasing certainty, we think that the next big feature coming to Pokémon GO will be Dynamax and Gigantamax, including an introduction of additional Galar Pokémon. We have a number of reasons to believe this to be true, from publicly shared data mines, to interviews with Pokémon GO’s director, and now lastly, UI changes that Niantic introduced with the 0.319 Pokémon GO update.
With that being said, we will run you through all the leaks, data mined information, and interview bits that hint at Galar Pokémon and Dynamax/Gigantamax mechanics coming soon. If you are not familiar with these terms, don’t worry, you will understand them by reading this article.
We’ll start from the top, explaining what each term is, and then layout the “evidence” for this. Let’s start with explaining what are Dynamax and Gigantamax effects.
Dynamax is a temporary modification, similar to Mega evolution, that was introduced in Pokémon Sword and Shield. Dynamax allows Pokémon to increase their strength and size tremendously, and allows them to use powerful moves called Max Moves. All Pokémon can Dynamax, but only some Pokémon can Gigantamax.
Gigantamax is a special type of Dynamax that increases the size, potency, and changes the appearance of some Pokémon. In their Gigantamax form, Pokémon can also use a “Gigantamax ability,” allowing them to deal high damage, and has other side effects. Unlike Dynamax, there are only 33 Pokémon which can Gigantamax. Here are all of them:
How does this tie into the Galar region?
In Pokémon Sword and Shield, which are based in the Galar region, a new phenomena has been discovered, which allows Pokémon to increase in strength and size. This phenomena is called Dynamaxing, and it can only occur in certain areas such as Stadiums, Max Raid Battles and online battles.
Dynamax phenomena is specific to the Galar region, and has not been observed anywhere else. Curiously, it is not exclusive to Pokémon from the Galar region, but rather tied to the location. As pictured above, Pokémon from other regions can Dynamax as well – see how big that Dugtrio is! There are only three known Pokémon which cannot Dynamax: Zacian, Zamazenta and Eternatus, the legendary Pokémon from the Galar region.
In any case, we recommend that you watch the official Dynamax trailer from the Pokémon Company, as it vividly shows the effect, and the Stadiums in which Dynamaxing can occur. This will be important later on.
With that being said, let’s see how this ties into Pokémon GO.
Evidence #1: Interview with Niantic’s Michael Steranka hints at Galar
Niantic’s Micheal Steranka said it in no uncertain terms: Niantic Wants to Bring Galar Region to Pokémon GO, they are just waiting for the right moment: “It’s something we’re itching to get out there and get into player’s hands. Stay tuned.”
In the same interview, Steranka shared that they are not only eager to release new Pokémon, but that they are exploring ways to diversify the game’s content to enrich the overall experience.
If only there was a feature that could shake up the existing game play, add a new way to use every Pokémon, and introduce additional depth to your existing Pokémon storage. Wait, there is! It’s called Dynamaxing!
Well, well, it looks like we have our first hint in place, let’s see what the data miners have to say.
Evidence #2: “Bread Raids” and Stations
A note on Datamined content 💡
Datamining and datamined content is not endorsed, encouraged, or specifically allowed by Niantic. Features get cancelled and changed all the time, despite being datamined. Consider datamined content with a grain of salt.
Over the course of the past few updates, data miners have found hints of few new features:
- a new type of Raid Battles, codenamed BreadRaid in the code
- a new type of POI (Point of Interest), named Stations
We want to be very clear about this code – we have no idea if this will pan out or not, but Niantic has made some changes to the Pokémon UI recently that make this sound more plausible.
Here is the code that references “RaidBread”
RaidBreadClientLog JOIN_BREAD_LOBBY LEAVE_BREAD_LOBBY GET_BREAD_LOBBY_DETAILS ENHANCE_BREAD_MOVE RELEASE_STATIONED_POKEMON BREAD_MOVE_ID_UNSET BM_001 BM_002 BM_003 BM_004 BM_005 BM_006 BM_007 ... BM_060
In addition to this, there is a lot of code referencing Stations and the Pokémon stationed there receiving a Power Boost:
BREAD_STATIONED_POKEMON_SPAWN_BOOST_TABLE_SETTINGS SOURDOUGH_STATIONED_POKEMON_SPAWN_BOOST_TABLE_SETTINGS STATIONED_POKEMON_POWER_BOOST_TABLE_SETTINGS
There are many other hints, like camera movements in “Bread Battles”, which indicate that your camera will be zoomed farther out when you Dynamax, to references to sourdough bread, which could be a hint at Gigantamax Pokémon… there’s a lot of breadcrumbs everywhere in the code.
And lastly, there is an infamous Station animation making rounds online, showcasing the model of a Station. These models were plucked from Pokémon GO, and they look eerily similar to Galar region’s Stadiums, which are built over Power Spots in the Pokémon Sword and Shield lore. Power Spots are the “world mechanic” which allows Dynamaxing! We won’t be sharing the animation here to avoid spoilers, but you are free to investigate it on your own.
Evidence #3: The new temporary evolution UI on Pokémon details
This one may seem very minor to an untrained eye, but in 0.319 (the latest Pokémon GO update), Niantic has moved the button used to Mega Evolve a Pokémon into a separate shelf, making the UI ready for an addition of a new icon. Take a look for yourself (left is the old version, and right side is the new version):
This may seems silly at first, but consider that the Dynamax symbol looks like this:
And when you combine the Dynamax icon, with the existing Mega icon, you get something like this:
As reddit was quick to put it, they are “just rearranging the shelves to make room for more bread ;)”, and we kinda agree. After all, Pokémon GO’s Raid Bosses are already “dynamaxed versions” of regular Pokémon, and they do shrink back to their original size when defeated.
Maybe Niantic has been hinting at this for quite some time now.
Parting words
While nothing is confirmed until Niantic makes an official announcement (don’t hold your breath for it), the combination of interviews, data-mined information, and the UI changes presents a compelling case for the introduction of Dynamax and Gigantamax mechanics in Pokémon GO.
The inclusion of Galar Pokémon, coupled with the new features, would undoubtedly refresh the gameplay a bit and offer everyone something new and exciting. The world of Pokémon GO could get a lot bigger — literally!
As we await further confirmation, we recommend staying tuned to official Pokémon GO channels and keeping an eye on the game’s updates. And once again – everything that is data mined should be considered as speculation and rumours until confirmed by Niantic.
Stay safe and hydrated!
