Pokemon Go reveals new Team Rocket members, Cliff, Arlo, and Sierra

Pokemon Go
(Image credit: Niantic)

Update: Niantic have officially revealed the new Team Rocket characters who were recently teased using glitchy images found in a "corrupted folder." Professor Willow uncovered the files hidden on his computer, and has now managed to fully recover the pictures to reveal new Team Rocket members, Cliff, Arlo, and Sierra. The characters were unveiled in a series of tweets posted on Pokemon Go's official Twitter account after a recent poster-like image - showing the menacing trio with Shadow Pokemon facing a trainer - was shown. In the last tweet it states that "we don't know how these characters will affect the world of Pokemon Go." Oooh. Something is on the horizon, but as Niantic says, we'll have to "stay tuned as Willow continues to investigate." 

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Original story: Niantic has tweeted out some glitchy images of three mysterious characters that may be coming to Pokemon Go very soon. The tweets reveal that the images have been uncovered by Professor Willow, who found the files in a corrupted folder. In another tweet, Nitantic hint that the files may have be related to the recent Team Rocket take over in Pokemon Go's world.  

The images seem to hint that the characters are somehow related to Team Rocket since you can make out the signature R logo beside their glitchy silhouettes. Despite their apparent ties to Team Rocket, a lot of speculation regarding who these characters might be has been doing the rounds, with some wondering if they could even be new team leaders coming to the world of Pokemon Go. 

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The fact that there's three figures is in line with the current number of leaders you can choose between when you first start up the game. There have been a series of fun theories about the idea of being able to switch up your allegiance to a new team member, but since you currently have to spend in-game currency to change leaders, it seems pretty unlikely. But regardless of if they're on Team Rocket's side or not, they seem to have caught Team Rocket's attention, so they're sure to be up to something. 

Team Rocket's takeover saw the evil team invade Pokestops and challenge players to battles in order to prevent them from looting the Stop's items. The Team's presence also introduced Shadow Pokemon, who are little pocket monsters that have been corrupted by the team. After you defeat a Team Rocket member in battle, you're presented with the opportunity to catch and cleanse a Shadow Pokemon and add it to your own team. 

(Image credit: Niantic)

The world of Pokemon has seen a lot of strange glitchy images in recent weeks, with The Official Pokemon Company releasing a teaser for a glitched out Pokemon who turned out to be the majestic Sirfetch'd coming to Pokemon Sword and Shield. Pokemon Go has continued this trend with these mysterious images left behind by Team Rocket, and while we don't yet know who these figures might be, we're sure to find out very soon when the images have been fully recovered. We'll be keeping a close eye on this mysterious images, so be sure to check back with us for more.

Setting off to catch some Pokemon? Here are all the Pokemon Go tips you need or check out the video below. 

Heather Wald
Senior staff writer

I started out writing for the games section of a student-run website as an undergrad, and continued to write about games in my free time during retail and temp jobs for a number of years. Eventually, I earned an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University, and soon after got my first official role in the industry as a content editor for Stuff magazine. After writing about all things tech and games-related, I then did a brief stint as a freelancer before I landed my role as a staff writer here at GamesRadar+. Now I get to write features, previews, and reviews, and when I'm not doing that, you can usually find me lost in any one of the Dragon Age or Mass Effect games, tucking into another delightful indie, or drinking far too much tea for my own good.