Pokemon GO’s latest update is rolling out, and dataminers are already hard at work discovering what the update contains. While some of the update’s hidden functionality may not be implemented right away, the update’s code contains references to Jirachi, the Mythical Generation 3 Pokemon, as well as two new Pokemon moves.
Pokemon GOupdate 0.145 contains a variety of bug fixes, but the real meat of the update is hidden within the code. Dataminer Chrales has discovered that the update references a special encounter with Jirachi, the Mythical Steel/Psychic type Pokemon. According to the encounter’s coding, it looks as though Jirachi may appear as a sleeping Pokemon, similar to the recentSleeping SnorlaxPokemon GOevent. It’s currently unknown if players will have to utilize an item or Pokemon skill in order to wake it up, but sleeping does play into the Pokemon’s lore.
In addition to Jirachi, the update has added two new moves to the game’s code. The Fairy-type move Charm and Normal-type move Giga Impact are now programmed into the game. However, neither move includes any animation assets at this time, so it’s likely that it’s still at least one update away from them being added to potentialPokemon movesets.
Gamers have speculated that Jirachi might be on its way for some time, especially since its existence was originally discovered inPokemon GOnearly a year ago. Niantic wrapped up adding all the Gen 2 Pokemon back in March with theSmeargle Photobomb event, and Jirachi’s fellow Generation 3 Mythical, Deoxys, has also already made its way to the game. It was only a matter of time before Jirachi joined the rest of these Pokemon, but it’s still not entirely clear when it’ll be officially available for capture.
Given the timing of Jirachi’s new code being added to the game, it’s possible that it may play a role in the upcomingPokemon GOFest. Last year’sPokemon GOFest added Special Research missions for players in attendance, which wouldunlock Celebi inPokemon GOonce completed. However, this is speculation at this point, as individual Pokemon coding is sometimes added to the title weeks or months in advance of a Pokemon’s official release.
