Niantic Introduce Dynamic Weather & Hoenn Region Pokémon To Pokémon GO In Latest Update

It’s been a busy few weeks in terms of announcements for Pokémon GO developer Niantic Labs. November was positively bulging with news, including the confirmation (after much rumour) that the company would be releasing another augmented reality (AR) video game only this time in the wizarding world of Harry Potter with Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. Pokémon GO captured a BAFTA award – though not in a pokéball to our knowledge – and late November also saw the start of the Global Catch Challenge. Even Niantic’s very first AR title Ingress Prime received some love from the studio, with an announcement of a reboot for next year. If that wasn’t enough to do all these things Niantic raised close to a staggering $200 Million (USD) in revenue with a recent funding round.

The announcements have not stopped though and Niantic have dropped another update relating to their most popular title.

It must actually be pretty difficult to be a full-time Pokémon Trainer. Come rain or shine you’ve got to keep training, keep hunting, keep travelling all over the place from dusk until dawn. Always striving to be the best, like no-one… well you know the rest. I mean, that tall grass isn’t going to search itself now is it? From today Ninatic are brining more ways to discover Pokémon into the game, with the addition of not only fifty pocket monsters previously found in the Hoenn Region (from Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald/Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire) but are also introducing a brand new dynamic weather system to gameplay based on actual weather patterns in the real world. Meaning how Trainers engage with the Pokémon in the world around them will now uniquely be affected by what’s going on outside.  The change is set to affect the way Trainers consider hunting for new Pokémon, but will also, Niantic hope, increase the longevity of the title.

“Ace Trainers can take advantage of their climates to level up their Pokémon GO experience.” Explains Niantic, “Trainers can look forward to finding Mudkip splashing when it rains, Cacnea basking in the sun, and Snorunt huddling together in the snow. Certain Pokémon will be more likely to appear in the weather that suits them the most, so Pokémon GO Trainers will be excited to learn more about their local weather patterns and ecology to find these rare Pokémon and make progress on their Pokédexes. As the seasons change, they’ll encounter different Pokémon, thereby keeping their gameplay experience fresh.

The addition of this real world real-time weather system is, according to Niantic, a first for an AR title. It will see the addition of the current weather on the game map and depending upon what that is not only will it affect where Pokémon can be found it will also have an affect on their combat power and in-game bonuses. This promises to make things such as the decisions you make regarding capturing and holding gyms even more tactical. But whatever the case, and as Niantic puts it “Rainy days just got more interesting.”

This post was originally written by the author for VRFocus.