Is Niantic ready to release a horde of new pocket monsters for the wildly popular Pokémon GO app? Some trainers seem to think so, thanks to a Starbucks leak.
The leak, an image of a Starbucks USA internal promo announcement marked “Confidential. Do not share with customers before Thursday, December 8.” is hinting hard at Niantic preparing to release new Pokémon for Pokémon GO.
Now the next question is, is it legit? Apparently, although neither Niantic nor Starbucks have confirmed the leak, some Starbucks employees have verified the internal promo announcement. As seen in the image above, it says, “The world of Pokémon GO is about to expand with new Pokémon and a new Starbucks beverage!”
The full document goes on to say that the promotion will introduce a new drink at Starbucks with a no-brainer name – the “Pokémon GO Frappuccino” – which contains Razz Berry raspberry and blackberry. The frappucino is not permanent, though, as it does state that it’s “while supplies lst”. It also notes that the event will turn a majority of all Starbucks USA stores into a PokéStop or a Gym.
But because the leak does start off with “The world of Pokémon GO is about to expand with new Pokémon..”, trainers are on the edge of their seats wondering if this cross promotional activity is supposed to be part of a bigger picture i.e. a launch of something or some things in the game. Say, the Gen 2 Pokémon, which is oh, only about 100 new Pokémon from the franchise’s 2nd generation?
So here’s the thing, word on the street is that the Gen 2 Pokémon is already in the app’s code.
According to WWG, a datamine of Pokémon GO’s newest update has revealed coding related to the 100 new Pokemon first seen in Pokémon Gold and Silver, including Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, as well as Legendary Pokemon Ho-oh and Lugia. Evolutionary families for all the new Pokémon are also included in the update.
Due to whatever reason (read: coding new movesets for the Gen 2 Pokémon), Niantic hasn’t made any official announcements regarding the release as of yet, but one Forbes contributor has heard from The Pokémon Company International themselves! Apparently, on 12th December (Monday), both The Pokémon Company International and Niantic will be revealing details “about the addition of more Pokémon to Pokémon GO, one of the most popular mobile games of the year”.
Does that make the Starbucks leak more legit now? Will we really finally be seeing the long-awaited Gen 2 Pokémon in the game? Or is it a seasonal event (just in time for Christmas) where Niantic will release the final 4 Pokémon (the Legendary Birds and Mewtwo)?
Just a couple more sleeps until we find out. Stay tuned!
Sources: Lowyat.NET, reddit, Forbes, The Silph Road, WWG.
