Trainers, ‘datamining’ and ‘teardown’ are not our specialty and we leave that part to the pros. Like always, Dronpes and the team TSR made a perfect teardown of the new update and posted on the official TSR Reddit, so you might want to check it out below.
Have in mind that the following is copy-paste from the official TSR Reddit.
The original version can be found here.
Niantic shared the following release notes for this build:
- Pokémon originally discovered in the Sinnoh region are arriving in Pokemon GO
- Friend Requests and Gift notifications will now stack
- Pokémon GO AR+ is now available on select Android devices
- You can now select multiple Pokémon at a time when preparing to battle at a Gym or participate in a Raid Battle
- Various bug fixes and performance updates
- They come right out and say it – Gen 4 species are heading our way!
But we’ve found a ton of additional changes and notable additions to cover – so let’s dive in, travelers!
Backend & Platform Updates
Let’s hit the back-end and platform updates first before the hype train takes off:1. Major AR Overhaul – And AR+ Comes to Android!
While the release notes boast AR+ on Android (a major deal!), it’s not just Android getting an overhaul. But let’s cover that first:Android:
It’s true! ARCore has been integrated into Pokemon GO, so now our Android travelers can join their iOS colleagues in zapping their battery while trying not too spook wild Pokemon back into the bushes. This will require Android users to download a standalone ‘AR Core’ app to provide support. The Pokemon GO app will check for your device’s support and inform you what’s up when you try to use the new feature! Not all Android devices can support AR Core, but an increasing number are joining the party.
iOS:
It appears that ARKit has been updated in this version of the app, which will allow it to take advantage of better tracking/stability and additional features, should Niantic elect to implement them. See if you can notice an difference in the feel of AR+ on iOS, travelers!
2. ‘Mergeable’ (Stacking) Notifications
Niantic has continued to improve the new notifications system that rolled out in recent versions. This time, these notifications apparently ‘stack’ if they are compatible, to declutter the experience. A welcome addition!
3. Anti-Cheat Tweaks
Nothing too noteworthy was changed on this front, but several tweaks appeared again to deal with improving the transparency and clarity of suspensions, bans, and their associated messages and users actions.
4. Networking Layer Changes
Remember 6 days ago when v0.119.5 brought a ‘dark’ test of a websocket layer? Well, the websocket networking code has already been removed! Whether this was simply a code branch issue, meaning it may return again, or if it was simply a short-term test project – we may never know!
But there were some significant additions to replace it. A new RPC library has appeared with seemingly simply method/payload and response/status components. Whether this is an evolution of the websocket library (which we wouldn’t assume it to be) or another approach to networking is unclear. Regardless, we see continued effort to work on networking solutions for notoriously laggy mobile cell networks!
5. A New Telemetry (Analytics) Library
Not too much to say on this front, but a new telemetry library has been included which will presumably advance the efforts to monitor app crashes, glitches, and usage patterns. These have been in the app for a long while, and are helpful for understanding hardware and software incompatibilities, crashes, and more.
Bug Fixes & Quality of Life Upgrades
A few tweaks have appeared to look out for on the bugs & QoL front, travelers:6. Interaction Radius (Ring) Changes
Oddities have long been reported about the interaction radius ‘pulse’ that emanates from your player avatar – particularly in latitudes farther from the equator! Two new metadata attributes have appeared that may show an effort to improve this:
PULSE_RING_BASE_SCALE_VALUE
PULSE_RING_MAX_LATITUDE_CUTOFF
We’re very curious to see how the interaction radius ‘pulse’ behaves on v0.123.1 in higher latitudes – report in, travelers!7. Wild Encounter Shiny Icon Fix
A new attribute has appeared that we believe may help resolve the issue with the new ‘shiny’ label on wild Pokemon encounters being unreliable: IsEncounteredPokemonShiny
See if you can spot a wild shiny without the purported shiny label in v0.123.1 – or we might consider this bug squashed!
8. Multi-Select in Battle Parties!
The APK additions that appeared last week were officially announced in the patch notes this time, and a few trailing tweaks have appeared to support this in the APK. See if you can multi-select in your Battle Party screen, travelers!
9. Better Pokemon Form & Gender Support
We see a few tweaks that we believe may be designed to better handle the additional types of forums in Gen IV…
New & Upcoming Features
Ok. You made it through the nuts and bolts – now it’s time to get HYPED!9. ALL 107 GEN IV POKEMON ADDED!
That’s right – all 107 Gen IV Pokemon (from Turtwig to Arceus!) have been added to the APK’s dictionary, travelers! Along with this, has come the sound files for all 107, including 2 ‘cries’ for Pokemon #492, Shaymin (the Gen IV mythical with a Land Forme & Sky Forme)!
Speaking of forms, 8 Pokemon had their forms formally added to the APK as well!
Rotom: NORMAL, FROST, FAN, MOW, WASH, HEAT
Wormadam: PLANT, SANDY, TRASH
Giratina: ALTERED, ORIGIN
Shaymin: SKY, LAND
Cherrim: OVERCAST, SUNNY
Shellos: WEST_SEA, EAST_SEA
Gastradon: WEST_SEA, EAST_SEA
Arceus: All 18 forms!
10. 17 New Moves Added!
The following new moves have been added after Meteor_Mash (which was the latest to be added to the APK officially):
- V0302_MOVE_SKULL_BASH
- V0303_MOVE_ACID_SPRAY
- V0304_MOVE_EARTH_POWER
- V0305_MOVE_CRABHAMMER
- V0306_MOVE_LUNGE
- V0307_MOVE_CRUSH_CLAW
- V0308_MOVE_OCTAZOOKA
- V0309_MOVE_MIRROR_SHOT
- V0310_MOVE_SUPER_POWER
- V0311_MOVE_FELL_STINGER
- V0312_MOVE_LEAF_TORNADO
- V0313_MOVE_LEECH_LIFE
- V0314_MOVE_DRAIN_PUNCH
- V0315_MOVE_SHADOW_BONE
- V0316_MOVE_MUDDY_WATER
- V0317_MOVE_BLAZE_KICK
- V0318_MOVE_RAZOR_SHELL
Let the meta analysis begin!11. Meltan’s Number … and Evolution?!
At the tail end of all these new species appears two additional audio files (but no official APK species dictionary entries):
Pokemon #891 Cry
Pokemon #892 Cry
Now, admittedly I’m getting pretty tired, but if I’m not mistaken I believe we may have just got confirmation of the National Dex # for Meltan – #891! And curiously one additional Pokemon’s cry. It seems highly probable that this is an evolution of Meltan (hinted at in Pokemon’s official video release earlier today) or another form!Either way, we’re loving the Meltan Mystery and how Pokemon GO gets to play a major role in the release of this friendly new solder-blot.
[Editor note: Initially had a copy+paste error here! 890 -> 891]12. A New Box: The ‘Local Box’
We’re not sure what the plan is for this special box, but we’re curious if it may have a Community Day tie in? Here’s a peek at how it looks: https://i.imgur.com/pUbqb36.png
13. Gen IV Badge & Pokedex Tab
To complete the experience, the Gen IV badge is now ready to roll out when Niantic flips the switch, and a new tab has been added for the Sinnoh generation in the Pokedex!
Future Hype Zone
Here’s where things get really speculative!14. Incense Changes?
Something interesting has appeared in the metadata for incense, travelers. Right alongside the other Incense mechanics (e.g. how long Pokemon are ‘attracted’, the standing and moving times between encounters, etc) a new piece of metadata has shown up:
SpawnTable
SpawnTableProbability
Weight
This hints that something new may be powering incense in the future. Keep a sharp eye out and we’ll see what we can observe!15. Fitness Background Mode
In all the Gen IV hype it’s easy to forget, but last week ‘Fitness’ bonuses debuted in the previous APK. This week, additional metadata involving the phone’s background mode have appeared, indicating that this features is getting ready to roll out soon!
16. Hints of the Combat Update?
Two changes appeared in this APK that we feel may reveal hints about the upcoming combat update!
Firstly, a new RPC call appeared that appears to send a message called COMBAT_DATA. Not much to be gleaned there, but it’s new.
More importantly, in our opinion, was a minor tweak to how Pokemon moves are stored. Previously, each Pokemon had attributes like:
ability1TitleText
ability1PowerText
ability1TypeIcon
ability2TitleText
ability2PowerText
ability2TypeIcon
Now, before anyone loses their mind, ability here ought to be named move, as these have been in the APK forever, and do refer to a Pokemon’s 2 moves. The important part is that they are numbered: 1 and 2. There is no ability3+ metadata, only 1 and 2.In this APK update, these attributes were renamed! They are now simply:
abilityTitleText
abilityPowerText
abilityTypeIcon
…see the difference? We no longer see a hard-coded number for limiting movesets to 1 and 2.Admittedly, this is a major speculative leap. But the implication of this change could open the opportunity for more than 2 moves per Pokemon!
Alright, we’ve made it to the end once more, travelers! It’s officially Gen 4 season on the Road!
While we’re reveling in the joy of what’s about to hit us, though – let’s take a brief moment to note a few things not in the APK this time around:
The Crabhammer audio file! ~ This was curiously removed, and will need to be restored with an additional client update before the move can go live.
The proper Kecleon audio file! ~ This is still the Meltan cry, that they slipped in to pull the wool over our eyes.
Big thanks to Dronpes and his team!
