New 'Pokemon Go' Update Has More Than Just Halloween Treats

Cancelled EX Raid Notifications

The lack of EX Raids during the last two weeks led some people to believe that Pokemon Go was quietly scrapping that much derided new feature. However, Pokemon Go is moving forward with the raids and addressed an unusual incident that sprung up last month in the new update.

We reported that Pokemon Go unceremoniously cancelled an EX Raid when the gym it was to take place at was dropped from the game. Players were pretty upset that Pokemon Go pulled the rug out from under them and robbed them of a chance to battle and catch Mewtwo.

The new update includes a new notification to inform players if their EX Raid gets cancelled. It's not a major fix, but it at least extends a courtesy to trainers that were making plans to battle Mewtwo.

Blacklisting Spoofing Apps

Another important addition is the presence of a new "blacklist tool" designed to catch players that are using GPS spoofing apps. Spoofing apps allow Pokemon Go players to trick the game into thinking they're in a different location, which gives players access to a world filled with Pokemon without ever leaving their house. When coupled with bot programs that automate actions, spoofers can take a stranglehold on gyms and ruin competitive play for others.

Pokemon Go developers have spent a ton of resources fighting back against spoofers, and now it looks like they've found a new way of detecting spoofing. It's unclear exactly how the new blacklist tool works, but it appears to target anyone who uses unauthorized apps while playing the game.

Wider Gen III Implimentation

The widespread speculation is that Pokemon Go is going to do a "soft" rollout of its Gen III Pokemon, starting with a handful of new Ghost-type and Dark-type Pokemon. However, code in the new update indicates that Pokemon Go can do a full rollout of the new wave if developers wanted.

While players are generally excited about the new Pokemon, there are some who are hoping that Pokemon Go holds off on a full release. The Gen III games Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire were the first games to introduce Pokemon abilities, passive and innate abilities that gave certain Pokemon advantages in battle. Without these abilities, a lot of the new Pokemon would be useless in Pokemon Go, so some players are hoping that these abilities could play into a planned addition to the battle mechanic coming out in 2018.

We'll have to see what Pokemon Go's plans are when the game officially announces its Halloween update sometime later this month.

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