Spotted by @mattyoukhana_ on Twitter, digging into mobile title Pokemon GO’s files has unearthed evidence of an upcoming Pokemon Presents celebrations, with references of “Pokémon Presents 2025 x GO Tour: Unova Timed Research” spotted in the strings. That’s likely pointing to an upcoming event in Pokemon GO that will be detailed as part of the presentation.

Given the fact that the last several years have brought a February Pokemon Presents, 2025 following that same trend doesn’t come as a huge surprise. As for what the presentation will bring, that’s anyone’s guess. Presumably, Pokemon Legends: Z-A, which is due out sometime this year, will be the main focus, while The Pokemon Company could also unveil new content for the wildly successful Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket.

Thanks for confirming Pokémon Presents 2025, Niantic: pic.twitter.com/0wjT069t8C

— Matt (@mattyoukhana_) January 8, 2025

Niantic and The Pokemon Company have announced that Alola variants of Kanto Pokemon, which were added to Pokemon Sun/Moon as ways to refresh some of the oldest Pokemon in the series, will now be coming to Pokemon GO.

Alolan variants, for those of you who may not be familiar, are redesigns of existing Pokemon- so not only do they give the Pokemon a new look, they also change its typing, stats, and also give it a new move pool. For all purposes, it’s a new Pokemon at that point.

Until now, Alolan variants have been reserved only for Kanto Pokemon (though who knows if that will change with a new game?). Now, we know they will be coming to Pokemon GO as well- though the timing is a bit curious, since Pokemon GO currently only has Pokemon from the first three generations, and has over 400 more Pokemon to add before resorting to the Alolan Kanto variants- maybe this is to tie into the impending announcement of Pokemon Let’s GO Pikachu and Let’s GO Eevee, which are rumored to have Pokemon GO integration?

Pokemon GO is available now on iOS and Android smart devices.

Undoubtedly the most hyped upcoming games on the Nintendo Switch are the mysterious new Pokemon RPGs announced for the console by The Pokemon Company at E3 last year. The games are going to be the first time Pokemon games have hit a home console, and they will also be the first HD titles in the series. Anticipation for them is understandably high.

Now, at long last, we know more of what to expect from these games. Thanks to a cascading series of leaks from a variety of sources (including known Nintendo insider Emily Rogers), all consolidated in this thread on ResetEra, we know what to expect from these Pokemon games.

Apparently, as has been speculated for a while, the new games go back to Kanto, the original Pokemon region. There will be two versions, Pokemon Let’s GO Pikachu and Let’s GO Eevee; and as the names suggest, they lock you into the eponymous Pokemon as your stater choice.

Pokemon follow you on the field again, and it appears as though wild Pokemon show up on field, too- meaning random encounters may be out. Some form of integration with Pokemon GO is on the cards, and a minigame for when you throw a Pokeball, in the vein of Pokemon GO, may be in the game, too.

Additionally, there will be an integrated hub for online, and Red and Blue, the heroes of the original Pokemon games, may be returning as well. The HM system is still gone, and Pokemon Rides from Sun/Moon will be returning. Finally, this is unconfirmed, but it sounds like Johto, the region from the second game, may be included as the post game.

All of this sounds fantastic- a HD console remake of the original Pokemon games that integrates with the ever popular Pokemon GO is a genius move. At this point, these leaks are all but confirmed- but we have to wait till the official reveal. For now, that is planned for May 24- but Rogers suggests that it may be moved up in response to all the leaks, so it could happen earlier than that.

Niantic has announced the newest event for its ever popular mobile AR MMO, Pokemon GO. The new event, which will be happening over the weekend, will see spawn rates for Grass Type Pokemon go up. Si in case you’ve wanted to catch yourself a Bulbasaur or a Chikorita, you can now do so. Or, well, you now have a higher chance of encountering one in the wild, anyway.

In addition to this, Lure Modules will now be working for six hours, rather than their usual 30 minutes, during the weekend, too- once again, attracting more Pokemon spawns. This is good news all around for those of you who are looking to doing some catching.

The event will run through May 8; doubtless, Niantic hopes that with the onset of the warmer months of the year, it will cause more players to play it en masse, a bit like the craze that it became when it first launched last year.