Trainers, this is a strange Pokémon GO news roundup, with only two items to report, but both are equally important. First, a new client update is slowly rolling out, version number 0.137.1. Second, the in-game map was updated with a recent version of the OpenStreetMap (OSM) data set, creating new spawn points and removing some. Let’s dive in, shall we?
Pokémon GO 0.137.1 Update
Although we’re no longer data mining, we are more than happy to report on everything we found without diving into the code base:
- You can now filter the Pokémon list with three new keywords: “baby“, “@hatched” and “item“.
- Check out our Pokémon Search Bar Cheat Sheet for a comprehensive reference.
- PvP stat buffs and debuffs now have sound effects! Rejoice!
- A new UI is present when purchasing PokéCoins.
- There were a handful of changes to the Pokédex rendering:
- Spinda forms now display all current and future forms.
- All Deoxys forms are displayed and clickable.
- Giratina forms are also displayed but broken.
Here’s how the new Deoxys form menu looks like:
Overall, the update seems like an incremental, quality of life, update that precedes feature-rich updates. We look forward to seeing what comes after it!
OpenStreetMap Data Updated!
0.137.1 is an exciting update, but something even better happened last night! The OpenStreetMap data which powers (in part) Pokémon GO’s overworld map has been updated and now reflects OSM February status!
This is really a big deal, as this data set influence spawns, nests and the overall appearance of the map. Here’s what’s new:
- Areas that are marked as
landuse:constructionshould now have spawns if they didn’t have them before. - New paths, footpaths, and sidewalks features have been added, potentially generating new spawn points.
- Schools, religious buildings and military zones are still blocking spawns.
- Some nests have changed and some mega-nests have been fixed. According to a Reddit report, the Long Island mega nest no longer spawns only Sudowoodo:
Meganest has been removed: the mistake ‘shrub’ tag was taken out so the entire Long Island (and Berlin) do not have a massive spawn like Sudowoodo.
Common & Event Spawns: the meganest resulted in things like Safari Zone Psyduck, Christmas Pikachu and Fighting Event Mankey being blocked. Common spawns like Pidgey and Rattata were also affected. With the meganest lifted, these spawns can resume like normal.
Small Nests Reverted: some smaller parks may have been impacted by the meganest so check in. My local park (which was a Wailmer nest back during the 2017 Water Festival) finally got it’s nest status back and is hosting Seel.
OSM updates are important, we hope that they will be more frequent now. No updates on EX Gym eligibility tho!
