The dataminers at Silph Road are back at it again, this time unveiling code that suggests that Pokemon GO will be getting more Gen 2 monsters in the near future.

Pokemon GO might not have made many people's list for the best games of 2016, but it was ubiquitous in gaming discussions for what seemed like the entire year. Niantic's mobile killer app proved that a little brand recognition can go a long way in the mobile gaming industry, and Pokemon GO quickly became the fastest selling and most profitable game on iOS and Android devices.

The shine on the game may have dulled in recent months after Pokemon GO's developers failed to address a number of core issues fans had with the mechanics behind the title, but it has nevertheless held onto its status as the mobile app to beat in 2017. One of the biggest weapons Pokemon GO has available to it in order to maintain its relevance is the anticipation that the features fans have been clamoring for will inevitably be added, as evidence by Pokemon GO's latest update file. Pokemon GO dataminers have been uncovering potential updates with each patch release, and this one is no different - according to the dataminers from Silph Road, Pokemon GO will be getting more Gen 2 Pokemon in the near future.

Pokemon GO's latest update contains new data for evolutionary items, and although they haven't been implemented yet, their presence within the code indicates that they likely will be soon. The five evolutionary items present in the code are the King's Rock, Metal Coat, Upgrade, Sun Stone, and Dragon Scale items, each of which made their first appearance in Pokemon games in Pokemon Silver and Pokemon Gold.

Those items would make a lot of sense for inclusion in Pokemon GO, as Niantic has demonstrated that, while the developer is willing to slowly introduce new Pokemon to the game, it would much prefer those Pokemon to be related to ones that are already in-game already. The evolutionary items present in the code indicate that gamers should be seeing Bellossom, Porygon2, Kingdra, Steelix, and the mighty Slowking in the coming months, and all of them are related to first-gen counterparts.

That being said, the code does hint at a sixth new Pokemon, and it would mark the first inclusion of a creature that has no relation to Gen 1 Pokemon games. The datamine also discovered the existence of Unown in the code, the alphabet-based Pokemon that comes in 26 different shapes. The code apparently suggests that all 26 variations of Unown should eventually be supported by Pokemon GO.

It might not be the most ground-breaking set of new Pokemon - fans are sure to want Gen 2 starters soon - but the slow progression toward second-generation Pokemon being include in Pokemon GO is an encouraging sign for fans of Niantic's game. Pokemon GO could very easily have been a 2016 fad, but Niantic has shown that it is willing to continously work with the game's playerbase to make a better game, and 2017 might be an even bigger year for the game than the one that saw Pokemon GO's debut.

Pokemon GO is available now on iOS and Android mobile devices.