This week was a rather productive one in the realm of Pokémon Go, and it was a bit hard to keep track of all these new announcements and game changes! Look no further, this News Roundup has compiled all these various announcements and other various news items into one spot, check it out!
Stat Buffing Moves
Players who do not play the main series, this one is for you. Certain moves in the Pokémon universe have additional, helpful, mechanisms that provide a chance to raise your Pokémon’s stats and make it even more powerful. There is plenty of info on that in our Stat Boosting Move Effects article announcement, and in the Pokémon Go Live official announcement.
In short, starting soon, the moves Ancient Power, Ominous Wind, and Silver Wind will have a slight chance to activate an Attack and Defense boost during Trainer Battles. There is no word on whether this will ever travel to gym or raid battles.
Deoxys Raid Buff
Remember that raid buff that was mentioned a few weeks back that buffed the health of most raid bosses by 1.2? Deoxys had not yet received the buff as of last week’s passes, but as seen with this week’s set of passes Deoxys appeared to be much more difficult!
It seems Attack Deoxys has finally gotten the buff that raised its health to 15000, making the solo much more difficult- but still possible. Do not expect your win times to be over 100 anymore! You can read all about the raid boss buff in our Boss Stat Overview.
Beta Pokéstop Submissions in Vietnam
Vietnam has been added to the slowly growing list of countries that have access to Pokéstop submissions. So far it seems the countries with beta access are Brazil, South Korea, Thailand, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and now Vietnam! (source: searching twitter)
Beta submissions are still locked to non-child, level 40 accounts in these areas, as they continue to test the feature! Niantic has their very own Pokéstop submitting guide for players with the feature, so good luck!
More Pokémon in Eggs
Other than the addition of Happiny, shiny Cleffa and shiny Smoochum to 7km eggs at the beginning of the Valentine’s Day event, we now see yet another change to the egg pool! Newcomers to 10km eggs include Shieldon, Cranidos, Mawile, and Miltank. There may be more changes down the road, so be sure to report anything odd that you see popping out of a new egg!
Go Snapshot Coming Soon
Go Snapshot Coming SoonThis News Roundup would not be complete without mentioning Go Snapshot. It has to be on the horizon, but we are not sure how soon! Players rejoiced at the announcement at the beginning of the week that will allow players to take photos of Pokémon that they have already captured. This is a lifesaver for those of us who especially enjoy the art of AR on our Discord server or in each month’s showcase! This feature should allow us to take out legendaries we have not seen in a while, and perhaps even mythical and other special research Pokémon such as Spiritomb! This will also give us the possibility to photograph babies and maybe even the elusive Ditto! There is so much to be discovered in the world of AR, you can read about the official announcement or our take on it in the Go Hub announcement! We are sure excited about this one, and we cannot wait to see what it brings to the table for AR.
New Spinda, Still No Sign of Smeargle
There is a new Spinda out there, with the same ‘make 5 great curveballs in a row’ quest as before. This Spinda features a heart above its right eye and is perfect for the Valentine’s Day event. Be sure to get this Spinda before it stumbles away on the 21st of February.
In related news of weird, standalone Pokémon, the green paint splashes of possible Smeargle teasers have been seemingly pushed to the back burner. We had the official Niantic accounts and several prominent YouTubers place teases in their profiles, and nothing has come of it yet. We did not forget you Smeargle! We wonder if Niantic is planning on adding any more little teasers on their social media before they release the artist to the world. How they will release it, we are not sure, but we lean towards special research. What do you think?
New Sale Boxes- And Box Analysis!
Ah, the usual scent of boxes in the air… Saying goodbye to the Lunar New Year boxes, which were a good deal, we say hello to the Valentine’s 2019 boxes, which leave a little less to be desired. Our Box Analysis delves into all the pros and cons of the current box as well as a detailed analysis of their content in terms of coin saving! If you need lures and star pieces for the upcoming Community Day, these boxes might just have you covered.
Final Thoughts
That is it for this week’s News Roundup! A lot happened this week, blink and you will miss it! What was your favorite announcement?
