Pokemon GO code teardown hints at Volcarona
The latest APK of the game Pokemon GO revealed information about the near-future of the game, including the possibility of a launch of Larvesta and Volcarona! A teardown of the game's version 0.209.0 revealed new move effects, a fix for Rocket Radar, a Global Challenge text change, changes to image assets, Shadow Pokemon effect color changes, and changes to notifications for contacts joining the game. This update also added Pokemon Party changes and Quest Branching as a new sort of quest type.
Courtesy of PokeMiners on The Silph Road, we can see how this newest version of Pokemon GO has codes relating to Raid Passes. It would appear that if a user has a missing Remote Raid Pass – somehow – telemetry is now sent from the in-game shop to the user (and/or vice-versa). This will likely fix any issues users had with missing passes in the past.
This update adds Tags Instructions for the average everyday user. This should make the use of Tags for Pokemon a whole lot more evident and simple – especially for those that've never used the system in the first place.
An added code references an "alternative Battery Saver Service." It's possible this is part of a test, only – but it might appear as a new option once the code goes live for all users.
This update added a modified Rocket Radar image asset that should fix the Rocket Radar experience. The white squares... situation... should be fixed when this update goes live.
Party suggestions will change with this update thanks to a few code changes for Gym and Raid Battle Party Size, Max Party Name Lengths, and "Party Page Title."
A slight change to the text shown for the most recent Global Challenge removes the note about how the reward will activate. Another slight update allows the game to change the color of Shadow Pokemon effects.
Code referencing quest types now includes Quest Branching. There's a "GetQuestDescription" and an "invalid branch" as well as "Branching_Quest" in the mix. Also appearing is a simple "contact_signed_up" – which could get annoying.
Larvesta and Volcarona
If you're looking for Larvesta and Volcarona, now's the time to get a little excited. Included in the code for this latest update to Pokemon GO are two moves (FX only). We see the FX for attack Fairy Wind Fast and Fiery Dance. If we follow what's presented in the main series Pokemon games, the move Fiery Dance can ONLY be learned by the Pokemon Volcarona!
Volcarona is the most evolved form of Larvesta, a Pokemon first introduced in Generation V. It's entirely possible – not verified, but possible – that this Bug/Fire-type Pokemon will be revealed with an event for the summer Solstice – this June!