Posted in: Games, Mobile Games, Niantic, Pokémon GO | Tagged: Niantic, Niantic Labs, pokemon, pokemon go, the pokemon company

Are Abilities, Natures, & New Characters Coming To Pokémon GO?

Is Misty's Staryu from the animated series coming to Pokémon GO? How about Giovanni's Nidoking? A recent survey from Niantic to Pokémon GO players has leaked and has some trainers looking to the questions to glean hints of what may come to the game in the future. Will new characters be added, along with Abilities, Natures, and more?

In this survey, Niantic asked if players would be interested in seeing some unique new content added to Pokémon GO.  There were generic ideas that are easy to understand, such as Pokémon with unique poses, which may evoke memories of that time Snorlax could be encountered while it slept. Here's our breakdown of their suggestions and what these may mean for the more unique ideas.

• "Pokémon with unique Abilities (have passive positive effects in the game)":  These came into the main series games along with the Hoenn region during Generation Three. Abilities are separate than Attacks, but can be helpful in battle. Some examples of Abilities are "Air Lock" which eliminates weather effects on moves, "Anger Point" which sees a Pokémon's attack max out after it is hit, "Ball Fetch" which sees a Pokémon recover a Pokéball that missed its target, "Fur Coat" which diminishes the damage a Pokémon takes from certain moves, and more. These Abilities could integrate into Pokémon GO in the future and some, such as "Ball Fetch," will seem familiar to trainers who utilize the Buddy System already in-game.
• "Pokémon with unique Natures (influence how a Pokémon's stats grow)": Also introduced in Generation Three, Natures are personality quirks of a Pokémon such as Lonely, Brave, Serious, Jolly, Bashful, Rash, Quiet, Modest, and more. These impact speed, defense, attack, and more. Niantic's wording, though, as they wrote "stats grow" makes this seem as if it may be a way to somehow change IVs in the future. Could this be?
• "Pokémon belonging to franchise characters (e.g. Misty's Staryu, Giovanni's Nidoking)": With Jessie and James from the anime already showing up, it would make sense to see Pokémon belonging to certain characters. It remains unclear how players would be able to tell these Pokémon apart visually. Maybe Nidoking will wear Giovanni's designer suit.
• "Decorations for a Secret Base (i.e. a special area in the game) that you own": Could this be an implementation of the personal Pokéstop that players wondered about during the pandemic?

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