‘Pokemon GO’ December Update: Gen 2, Trading System, Alola Variations Referenced In Recent Leak?


Considering its decreasing user base, Pokemon GO is in dire need of a noteworthy update. With avid Pokemon fans finding references to various upcoming features in the game, it appears that the highly-anticipated December update would be the mobile title’s most important patch yet. Now, a new leak has emerged, seemingly confirming that a massive new update would be rolling out to Pokemon GO on December 7.

The leak was first posted on Reddit by an alleged Starbucks employee. Posting on the official Pokemon GO subreddit, the employee shared an image of an alleged internal memo that referenced a new marketing campaign that supposedly coincides with the release of “Pokeman(sic) Version 2.” While the original image had already been taken down, the Redditor who posted the image did explain a number of things about the alleged leak.

“I work at Starbucks and this is one of the most recent updates we received from corporate. Now, it’s hard to say whether or not this specifically refers to Generation 2 (although what else could it mean?), whether or not Starbucks and Niantic are partnered up, or if this will even be pushed out on the date specified (things don’t always go to plan). However, it all makes sense to me, but this would be a huge update.

“Based on the description of the event, it would require Niantic to put a Pokestop at every Starbucks. Lastly, I realize this may seem strange, especially with the “Pokeman”, but it’s a real email and I can send proof to the mods if required. Regardless, this isn’t anything concrete and pretty vague, and no other information was given to us. As a huge fan of Pokemon and Pokemon Go, I couldn’t NOT share the news with everyone. Fingers crossed that it’s gonna happen!”

[Image by Drew Angerer/Getty Images]

Unsurprisingly, the alleged leak was met with a certain degree of skepticism from avid fans of the Pokemon GO franchise, with many Redditors commenting that the memo notably misspelled “Pokemon” multiple times. Then again, numerous other Redditors also commented that internal memos in Starbucks and other coffee and food chains are really prone to the occasional misspelled word and ungrammatical sentence. Thus, while the validity of the alleged leak could not really be confirmed, there is a good chance that it might really contain legitimate information.

Considering that the alleged leak pertained to a December 7 release date for a new version of Pokemon GO, news has exploded across the internet declaring that the Starbucks memo was referring to a Generation 2 rollout. While this would definitely be a pretty awesome update to the game, there are other notable, significant Pokemon GO upgrades that might be released first. Each of these possible updates would actually be huge enough to warrant a partnership with an establishment such as Starbucks.

Simply put, it still seems far too early to initiate a rollout of Generation 2 monsters in Pokemon GO. As of date, the full lineup of Generation 1 monsters has not even been released on the game yet, with Ditto, as well as the Legendary Pokemon Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Mew and Mewtwo still scheduled for a future release. Thus, it would make perfect sense if Niantic would at least finish the release of Generation 1 monsters before even attempting to tackle the next 100 creatures that are featured in Generation 2.

Speculations about an impending Generation 2 release in Pokemon GO have largely stemmed from the efforts of avid Pokemon fans, some of whom were able to find references to Generation 2 monsters in the code of the game’s most recent update. However, it should also be noted that the presence of Gen 2 monsters on the game’s code does not ensure that the next batch of Pokemon would be rolled out in the upcoming December update.

[Image by Olivia Harris/Getty Images]

The Pokemon Trading system would be the perfect example of this, since the feature has already been referenced in the game’s code for months. Despite this, the feature is still waiting for an official release. Thus, while Gen 2 monsters are definitely coming to the game, the chances of the creatures making an appearance on December 7 are pretty slim. There’s a better chance of the Trading System being rolled out then, especially since the feature has already been in the game’s code for some time.

One thing that might happen instead, however, would be the rollout of some Alola versions of Generation 1 Pokemon. The most recent entry into the franchise’s long-running gaming franchise, Pokemon Sun and Moon, has already been released in North America and Japan, with a European rollout to follow soon. Considering that both Sun and Moon and Pokemon GO fall under the umbrella of The Pokemon Company, a tie-in between the two games might be very likely. Considering the millions of players who are active users of the popular augmented reality title, there is a pretty fair chance that The Pokemon Company might use Pokemon GO as a means to advertise Sun and Moon.

This could be done by featuring a number of notable creatures on the current iteration of the game. The Alola region, where Sun and Moon are set, is home to a number of unique variations of Generation 1 Pokemon, including unique creatures such as an Ice-type Vulpix and a Dark-type Meowth. Adding these creatures in Pokemon GO would most likely be pretty easy, considering that the creatures’ templates are already in the game.

With this in mind, the December 7 release date, if the alleged internal Starbucks memo proves true, would most likely see the release of either the Trading System, Alola Pokemon variations, or, though unlikely, Generation 2 monsters. Regardless of the contents of the highly-anticipated patch, however, it is almost certain that the Pokemon GO December update would see the the most significant changes to the game since the mobile title debuted.

[Featured Image by Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images]

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