Over the past week or so, Pokemon GO fans have caught on to several teases and hints that Gen 3 Pokemon would be added to the game. Proving that nothing can get past eagle-eyed fans, today, Niantic has finally announced exactly when those Pokemon will be available.
In a press release sent out today, Niantic confirmed that the Pokemon GO Gen 3 release date is October 20. The developer explained that several Ghost-type Pokemon from the Hoenn region – including Sableye and Banette – can be seen and caught in the wild from October 20 at 12PM PDT until November 2 at 1PM PDT. Niantic also teased that more Gen 3 Pokemon will be added to the game "starting gradually" in December, although it's unclear exactly which characters will follower these Ghost-type introductions.
These Gen 3 Pokemon will appear alongside an "increased" number of existing Pokemon, such as Gastly, Cubone, Misdreavus, Houndour, and others. Additionally, the Pokemon GO Halloween event will double the candy rewards that players get for catching, hatching, and transferring Pokemon and "special boxes" including Raid passes and Super Incubators will be sold in the in-game store. Mimikyu's Disguise Hat is another new addition to the store's stocklist.
Players will be able to catch a "special" version of Pikachu that dons an adorable witch hat. While the arrival of witch hat Pikachu had already leaked days before this announcement, fans eager to add to their limited time/themed Pikachu collection will be delighted with the official confirmation.
This latest Pokemon GO event gives players plenty of things to do during the spookiest time of the year. However, it is just one major update that Niantic is planning to release for its hugely popular mobile game. For example, the developer continues to test its EX raid system which is an exclusive, invite-only raid system for committed Pokemon GO players.
Moreover, Niantic CEO John Hanke recently teased that a brand new Pokemon GO battle mode along with new social features will be added to the game in 2018. And of course, Niantic will likely host smaller, double reward and themed events (such as the Equinox event) in the run-up to that update.
It's almost hard to believe that the game was once criticized for not offering enough for players to do. It seems that Niantic has taken those criticisms on board as Pokemon GO should offer players plenty of entertainment from now right through until the new year.
Pokemon GO is out now on Android and iOS.