Pokemon Go Announces New Pokemon, Big Balance Changes

Pokemon Go is adding several new Pokemon and making some big changes to raids and battling.

Earlier today, Pokemon Go announced via Twitter that it was adding several new Pokemon to the game, including several new “Gen 4” evolutions. According to the announcement, Pokemon like Lickitung and Tangela can be evolved into new forms starting today. As with previous Pokemon that had evolutions added to the game recently, players will need a Sinnoh Stone to evolve Pokemon like Lickitung and Tangela into their “Gen 4” forms.

The announcement also noted that the Pokemon Cranidos and Shieldon will also begin to appear in the wild. We’ve also confirmed that Combee, Glameow, and Purugly can all now be found in the wild.

While a notification sent out to Japanese players hinted that the evolutionary Pokemon would be added soon, no one expected Pokemon Go to announce that it would make some changes to raids and move strength. According to the announcement, Pokemon that appear in Raid Battles will be “more powerful and sturdy,” a sign that Raid Battles are about to get a lot tougher.

The announcement also teased that certain moves will get buffed or nerfed, and that some Pokemon will be given new moves to make them more useful in battle. For instance, Machamp will learn the Rock-type move Rock Slide, which can help it fight against certain Flying-type Pokemon.

While the new Pokemon are available to catch or evolve beginning now, it seems the new moves haven’t gone into effect. We’ll have more updates about these changes to Pokemon Go as they’re discovered.