This has been a huge week for Pokemon GO players who are big fans of the Alolan variants. To celebrate the launch of the new Friends and Trading features, Niantic is placing special 7km Alolan Eggs in the game's Gifts, so friends can send each other the chance to hatch special Alolan variants. Apparently that's not the only way to catch some Alolan Pokemon this weekend though...

Late last night, Pokemon GO players were surprised to see the Alolan Rattata show up on the radar. Multiple players have confirmed the sightings on Reddit, so it seems like it's the real deal. At first, some players theorized that the spawn may be associated with the nighttime, but morning has arrived and the Alolan Rat is still out in full force, so that doesn't seem to be the case.

Here's a look at one Redditor's radar featuring the Pokemon nearby...

Niantic did clearly state that the 7km eggs wouldn't be the only way to obtain Alolan variants, but it's still surprising to see a new one in the wild so soon. Rattata may not be the most exciting Alolan option, but he's essential for anyone out there trying to catch 'em all.

From constant Legendary Raids to rotating events to the addition of major new features, Pokemon GO is definitely having a big year. The game's features are much closer to what fans had been hoping for at launch and the community still seems to be thriving. It will be very exciting to see what else Niantic has in store for the game in the second half of 2018.

Until then, good luck out there, trainers!

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

Source: Reddit