Pokemon GO players got a big surprise this morning, when Niantic announced that the Alola forms from Pokemon Sun and Moon are coming to the mobile AR game. After the conclusion of Community Day, many players have been expecting the next bit of news to surround the upcoming Adventure Week, so this was quite a twist.

For Pokemon GO players who haven't played the most recent 3DS Pokemon games, this may all be a little confusing. Alola forms look like familiar versions of Gen 1 pokemon who happened to evolve differently due to a change in climate. That leaves a lot of questions about how they will function in Pokemon GO.

Luckily, The Silph Road Reddit community is on the case. Pokemon GO pros are already starting to explain the implications that this introduction will likely have in the mobile game. None of this is official yet, but these explanations make the most sense, considering what we already know about how different forms work in the game...

What is an Alolan form?

Alolan forms are just an alternate version of the same Pokémon which are supposed to represent Pokémon of the same species that evolved differently for geographical reasons (such as a normal red fox vs. a snowy winter fox).

Why are they called Alolan forms?

They are called Alolan forms because they come from the Alolan region in the main series games (just like the current newest release set in Pokémon GO comes from the Hoenn region).

How are they different from regular forms?

They resemble the original form of the Pokémon, but they have a different typing and stats, and as a result they have a different appearance that resembles their new typing better.

Are they like a shiny?

They are NOT a different Pokémon nor are they like a shiny -- in the Alolan region, this is just what all Pokémon of that species look like.

Will stats and CP be different from regular forms?

We can expect these Alolan versions to learn different moves, be a different type, and have different stats, and therefore have a different max CP than their non-Alolan comrades.

Do they have their own Pokedex entries?

They will almost definitely have the same entry in the Pokédex but with a button for their Alolan form, just like Castform. It would be strange for Niantic to not do it this way.

At this point, we still don't know if these forms will spawn in the wild or if trainers will have to do something special to earn the encounters. It wouldn't be surprising at all to see special research play a factor here.

We'll post an update once Niantic reveals exactly how these spawns will work and when they will arrive. Until then, good luck out there, trainers!

Pokemon GO is available now in select regions on Android and iOS devices.

Source: Reddit