An impressive Pokemon GO datamine led by the self-proclaimed "PokeMiners" has been posted online. Their in-depth breakdown of update 0.185.0 includes new in-game characters, badges, and a plethora of assets related to Mega Evolution.

The main highlight of this new update is, of course, the presence of Mega Evolutions. PokeMiners unearthed so many Mega Evolution-related additions, that it would be unbelievable if Mega Evolutions didn't arrive to Pokemon GO in the very near future. These additions include (but are not limited to): Mega Raids, new Raid Battle music, Mega Candy, Mega Quests, Mega Evolution animations, and new stat boosts for Mega-Evolved Pokemon. Players should make sure to catch new Pokemon like Emolga before Unova Week ends and this next set of updates takes the spotlight.

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Mega Evolution has been long-awaited in Pokemon GO, but, especially after the mysteriously underwhelming Magikarp Community Day, and rumors of a Pidgey-themed Event: players highly suspect the arrival of Mega Evolution. Although this relatively new form of Evolution was introduced in Pokemon X and Y, it continues to make appearances in the Pokemon games as new Mega Evolutions have been subsequently added. That said, recent games have shifted their focus towards Dynamax/Gigantamax Evolution, so the state of Mega Evolutions has been rather ambiguous for some time now.

pokemon go update new mega evolution graphics

As per this datamine, players are currently theorizing that Mega Evolutions will involve various components: Mega Raid Battles and Mega Candy indicate that players will probably receive some of these valuable candy from the aforementioned Raid Battles. Whether or not these Mega Raids function like standard Raid Battles, or like the Raid Battles found during in-game events (i.e. the ongoing Unova Week), is currently unknown.

It would seem obvious that players should be able to use these deep red candies to Mega Evolve their Pokemon, but the inclusion of Mega Quests is leading to further speculation. Perhaps there will be some sort of quest involved in Mega Evolving a Pokemon, but how Mega Quests will ultimately relate to Mega Candy and Mega Raids is yet to be determined. There is also evidence that Mega Evolutions will be time-based; that is, players should expect their Pokemon to revert to their normal forms after some time.

Update 0.185.0 will also usher in some delightful quality of life improvements. Niantic already announced a makeup Dragon Week Timed Research in light of recent bugs, but this update offers solutions to some other hitches. Namely, the addition of a "refresh game data" button to the Settings menu, and the ability to manage Pokemon storage when entering a GO Rocket battle with no inventory space. Players will also soon be able to swipe between profiles on their Friend List without backing out of each individual profile. Needless to say, these small cosmetic changes pale in comparison to the approaching Mega Pokemon, but they're appreciated nonetheless. The option to refresh game data should be particularly pleasant, as it's intended as "a first troubleshooting step if Trainers experience inconsistent gameplay or strange app behavior."

Pokemon GO is available now on the App Store and Google Play.

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Source: The Silph Road PokeMiners | Niantic