At this point, the mobile blockbuster Pokemon GO has incorporated most of the franchise's 898 total Pokemon as of writing. However, it appears that Pokemon GO is now planning to implement a number of Pokemon variants that haven't even been officially released yet. With the launch of Pokemon Legends: Arceus only a few days away, one Pokemon GO dataminer has dug up evidence of Hisuian forms coming to Pokemon GO shortly.It took Niantic five years to introduce the form change mechanic into Pokemon GO, but other variant forms like shiny Pokemon have been there from the very start. The game has already begun adding the Alolan and Galarian variants of existing Pokemon, so it makes sense that Hisuian forms would follow. This isn't the first time Pokemon GO dataminers have uncovered evidence of form changes in advance, but it may be one of the most telling.A group of Pokemon GO dataminers calling themselves PokeMiners recently announced that they uncovered evidence of upcoming Hisuian forms in Pokemon GO update 0.227.1. The list begins with the news that a file labeled "VOLTORB_HISUIAN" has been discovered within the game, suggesting that the Hisuian Voltorb may already be partially implemented. However, this is only the beginning of the mountain of evidence that implies Hisuian forms are on the way.
A number of other files with names like "HisuianFormForHisuianPokemon," "AlolanGalarianHisuianPokedexDisplayButtonPanel," and "hisuianHeader" have also been uncovered. The implication seems to be that Hisuian forms will join Alolan forms and Galarian forms in getting their own section in the PokeDex. Players will then be able to toggle between different forms to see the differences between them. PokeMiners also theorized that there would be a button to view each combo of forms as well as the different regions those forms can be found in.
PokeMiners also shared a number of other discoveries they made while combing through the 0.227.1 data, including new Johto Tour moves, sleep upgrades, and three new Team Rocket characters to battle. The moves in question appear to be Aeroblast and Sacred Fire, while the new members of Team Rocket appear to be Pokemon GO's iconic team leaders. It seems that players will be able to do battle with Candela, Blanche, and Spark at PokeStops in the near future. However, although the data for these new additions has been added to the game, there's no guarantee that players will be able to engage with them in this update.
Pokemon GO is available now on iOS and Android devices.