Pokemon GO Prepares For Sinnoh With Important Changes

Pokemon GO is still going strong but, like any game, it has its periods of ups and downs. The game might soon be experiencing another spurt of popularity now that developer Niantic Labs has confirmed what many players have been expecting since April. The game will soon be "moving" towards the Sinnoh region, though at a yet unannounced date. But more than just new Pokemon, the preparation for that next stage of the game will also be bringing in some subtle but big changes as well.

The Sinnoh region is home to what is dubbed the fourth generation Pokemon. That's mostly composed of the starter trio of Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup, and not three but nine legendary Pokemon, including Arceus, Dialga, and Giratina, just to name a few. Naturally, Niantic is mum on which fourth gen Pokemon will appear where and when.

What it's not keeping quiet about are the changes it will bring before we arrive at Sinnoh. The first set of changes increase your chances at capturing Pokemon in the wild. While it's a bit fancy that real-world weather can affect how many Pokemon appear in the game, it shouldn't be that drastic so Niantic is decreasing the effect a bit. Parks and nature reserves will also be home to more varied species and your chances of meeting more kinds of Pokemon over time and at different rates when you explore certain areas.

Niantic will also be changing some of the game's rules in battle. CP and HP values, for example, will be adjusted going forward to improve game balance. On the other hand, Pokemon Defense, Defense values, and Stamina will be retroactively rebalanced for the same purpose. Given these are supposedly based on user feedback, Pokemon GO players probably shouldn't be surprised if their chances of winning in battles have suddenly changed in the coming weeks.