Trainers around the world have a mountain to climb if they wish to stay on top of everything Pokémon related this year.
With summer fast approaching, Nintendo and Game Freak are primed and ready to usher in the season with Detective Pikachu, a shoo-in for many viewers’ film of the year, not least for Pokéfans, but that’s not all. Come November, Pokémon Sword and Shield will mark the first time in series’ history that the franchise moves from handheld to home console, kickstarting a brand new adventure filled to the brim with weird and wonderful ‘Mons to catch.
If recent leaks are to be believed, more on that front could reach our ears within a matter of weeks and they might not be the only games on the cusp of making a big announcement. Niantic’s Pokémon Go continues to grow and evolve at a dizzying rate since its release back in 2016, with bonafide trading and battle systems the biggest recent additions, but what’s on the horizon?
Persistent rumors have been floating around for quite some time that the developer intends to introduce a special version of Mewtwo into the mix and if recently discovered files are any indication, the man-made ‘Mon could be joined by a sizable gameplay update. A huge list of new, unused moves and abilities in Pokémon Go‘s files have been discovered by data-miners, indicating, at the very least, that Niantic is tinkering with new content.
As noted by Pokémon Go Hub, some of the discovered moves have been sitting in a dormant state since before the mobile title’s most recent update, though the list has been added to over time.
- Super Power – Fighting
- Earth Power – Ground
- Leech Life – Bug
- Drain Punch – Fighting
- Skull Bash – Normal
- Crabhammer – Water
- Lunge – Bug
- Crush Claw – Normal
- Octazooka – Water
- Mirror Shot – Steel
- Fell Stinger – Bug
- Shadow Bone – Ghost
- Razor Shell – Water
- Muddy Water – Water
- Blaze Kick – Fire
Again, it’s not immediately clear whether these unused moves are simply remnants of unused content or intended to be used at a later date, but I imagine it won’t be long before the truth reveals itself. Best case scenario? Niantic adds the above to the existing list of critters available in Pokémon Go as a means of encouraging Trainers to add lesser-used ‘Mons to their teams.