Pokemon Go is getting a new set of Pokemon, and fans of Kanto are in for a real treat. The game is introducing Alolan forms (first seen in Pokemon Sun and Moon) for some of the existing Pokemon in the game.
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The popular mobile game announced that Alolan forms from Pokemon Sun and Moon would start to appear in the game in the coming weeks. In their announcement, Pokemon Go noted that the Pokemon were being added to celebrate the start of the summer season in the Northern Hemisphere.
The Alolan forms were originally introduced as a sort of divergent microevolution, similar to that seen in the real world. When Pokemon like Rattata or Vulpix were introduced to the tropical Alolan regions, some developed traits to help them survive new climates and predators. While not technically not “new” Pokemon, the Alolan forms have different looks, types, and moves from the Pokemon originally seen in Pokemon Red and Blue.
Pokemon with Alolan forms are listed below, along with the Aloan variant typing:
Rattata – Dark / Normal-Type
Raticate – Dark / Normal-Type
Raichu – Electric / Psychic-Type
Sandshrew – Ice / Steel-Type
SandSlash – Ice / Steel-Type
Vulpix – Ice / Fairy-Type
Ninetails – Ice / Fairy-Type
Diglett – Ground / Steel-Type
Dugtrio – Ground / Steel-Type
Meowth – Dark-Type
Persian – Dark-Type
Geodude – Rock / Electric-Type
Graveler – Rock / Electric-Type
Golem – Rock / Electric-Type
Grimer – Poison / Dark-Type
Muk – Poison / Dark-Type
Exeggutor – Grass / Dragon-Type
Marowak – Fire/Ghost-Type
It should be interesting to see how Pokemon Go adds the new Pokemon variants. Will they totally replace the Kanto forms, or will they only appear in certain types of weather? The new Pokemon could also potentially add some new wrinkles to the metagame, especially with the addition of multiple Dark and Ice-Type Pokemon.
While more new content is always a good thing, it’s surprising to see Pokemon Go skipping content from older Pokemon games. We’re still missing “Gen 2” and “Gen 3” Pokemon, so it’s a bit strange to see the game add content from “Gen 7” games. While Pokemon Go has added a few pieces of “Gen 7” content (most notably a Mimikyu Hat during last year’s Halloween event), this is a big step towards syncing up Pokemon Go with the rest of the Pokemon franchise.
That could be because the Pokemon franchise is getting ready to announce a new game for the Nintendo Switch. Rumors suggest that the game will have some sort of connectivity to Pokemon Go, so it’s possible that Pokemon Go‘s developers want to have some modern content to prepare.
No firm timeline is available for when the Alolan Pokemon will be added, other than they’ll appear in the “coming weeks.” We’ll see if Pokemon Go has any other big surprises later this week.
