Pokemon Go is getting Galarian forms and new Team Rocket event, according to leaked update

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Galarian Weezing seems to be among the first to be added

(Image credit: Niantic)

It looks like Pokemon Go is updating its Pokedex with Pokemon Sword and Shield's new Gen 8 Pokemon and adding a ton of new features, per the results of an APK file teardown by Pokeminers. Among other smaller changes, the file revealed the Galarian forms, a plethora of new Team Rocket content including a potential custom field for Team Rocket battles, a new badge, and new music, and finally, curfews for Team Rocket Pokestops.

If true, and that's a good possibility considering the historically reliable source, this is going to be a massive update for Pokemon Go, which makes sense considering the fast-approaching release of the next mainline entry in the Pokemon series.

There are a few highlights, but the big one is the addition of Sword and Shield's Gen 8 Galar-region Pokemon to the Pokedex. It's not a surprise that Niantic is keeping the mobile Pokemon catcher up-to-date with the latest entry in the series, but it might be a surprise to some how soon they might be added. According to the update breakdown, it seems a Galarian Weezing, Zigzagoon, and Linoone will be the first Galar-region Pokemon to be added to Go.

For more to do in Pokemon Go leading up to the (potentially) big update, read up on November's Pokemon Go Community Day.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.