Alola Pokémon to hit Pokémon Go much sooner than expected in summer special event
NIANTIC surprised the millions of players still hunting for monsters in Pokémon Go with the news that they will be able to catch creatures first seen on Pokemon Sun and Moon -- the most recent full mobile version of the main series -- very soon indeed.
Pokemon from the Alola region were first seen in 2016 when Pokemon Sun & Moon were released, while Pokemon Go's monsters only currently feature wandering beasties from the series first three generations, which ran up to 2006.
So far, Niantic has drip-fed gamers with new monsters in roughly the order they originally came out. The game first launched with the first set of Pokemon on July 2016, with the second batch following in February 2017 after a limited release in December 2016.
The third batch followed a similar pattern, with the ghosts emerging as part of a seasonal halllowe'en event in 2017 before more followed in December 2017. That release is actually still going on, with at least 12 still to be released.
The Sun and Moon games introduced the SEVENTH generation of creatures -- from the Hawaii-inspired Alola region -- to fans in late 2016. This means that, if the previous pattern had continued, there would still been hundreds of Pokemon released in the intervening decade to go before Go players got the chance to see any Alolan Pokémon at all.
As well as new creatures, the Alola region contained sun-loving variations of first-generation Pokemon, and it's these that will be initially heading to Pokemon Go very soon.
MOST READ IN GAMING
These include a surfing Raichu, a significantly taller and more tropical Exeggutor, and the rather Goth Marowak with a fiery makeover.
The teaser image clearly shows these three, alongside the Alolan forms of Meowth, Diglet, Persian, Raticate, Golem, Vulpix.
The variants will all be released "in the coming weeks". There is as yet no word on whether this limited release prefaces a full release of seventh-generation Pokemon, or if normal service will be resumed afterwards.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.