"Lucky" Pokemon GO might bring you back to the game

The next update to Pokemon GO was revealed to contain a new feature which favors those players who've played the longest. It probably wasn't meant to help with player retention – or to bring back elder players that've left the game long ago – but that might be just what happens when said update goes live. This update includes LUCKY Pokemon, or Pokemon who cost less to level up and grow powerful – but not every Pokemon is Lucky.

To gain access to a Lucky Pokemon, one must trade Pokemon. There's always a chance that a Pokemon that's been traded will become lucky. The chance that a Pokemon becomes lucky is dependent on how long said Pokemon was held in a player's collection. As such, the oldest players likely have the biggest collections of likely-lucky Pokemon are also those players that've played the longest.

"According to his research, there is a chance that Pokémon, when traded, can become sparkly Lucky Pokémon," said a Niantic representative. "It seems that Lucky Pokémon require less Stardust to power up, which means they can reach a higher CP much faster than other Pokémon. Plus, a Lucky Pokémon can be detected by the Pokédex, so you can keep track of them!"

"The longer a Pokémon spends inside a Trainer's storage prior to the trade, the higher the chance of them becoming Lucky Pokémon once Traded with a Friend." So go get your Pokemon GO accounts and jump back in the game right NOW. That's how it is. You don't have a choice!

Also this update's set to deliver some bonuses for users who send Gifts to friends. Gifts will soon have a chance of containing Stardust, and trainers who send Gifts to friends will earn a batch of XP as they bestow upon their friends said gifts. It's like a friendship celebration, Pokemon style.