Pokémon GO Gen 2 Release Date, New Buddy System and Updates

Sep 15, 2016 03:05 PM EDT

It is inevitable. When you have a game that has made itself famous across multiple platforms and exploded in popularity, it is best to milk the existing cash cow for all that it is worth. From what we know, the Pokémon is monstrous (pardon the pun), having reaped Nintendo tons of cash ever since it appeared on the Game Boy platform all those decades ago, surviving in its current iteration as an Augmented Reality (AR) game known as Pokémon GO. Without further ado, here we are with information on the next wave of the Pokémon GO craze: Pokémon GO Generation 2, or Gen 2 for short. Pokémon GO Gen 2 is expected to arrive in 2017 if all goes well.

Pokémon GO Gen 2 has been teased by Niantic, the developer of the game, for quite some time already. Unfortunately, very little was revealed about it, but you cannot keep fans who eat, sleep and drink Pokémon away from such developments at bay for too long. In fact, fans of Pokémon GO have more or less figured out for themselves what Pokémon GO Gen 2 will come with: and this includes new evolutions for Eevee, in addition to the different kinds of Pokémon that hatch from a particular egg. Now that is certainly a level of sleuthing that would make Sherlock Holmes proud!

At this point in time, Eevee has three evolutions. However, that is set to change with Pokémon GO Gen 2 looing around the corner, introducing not one -- but two more evolutions. Those evolutions have been touted to be Umbreon and Espeon, although it remains to be seen that Umbreon and Espeon can be controlled within the game itself. TechPlz is so bold as to claim that it is possible to guarantee yourself an Umbreon or Espeon if you decide to evolve Eevee at a particular time during the day. Now that is an assertion that we would hope to see it come true!

How will Eevee transform into an Umbreon? It will require a Moon Shard as well as a high level of friendship if it is performed at night. In order to obtain Espeon, you will obviously need to gain a Sun Shard in your inventory, and perform the evolution process during the day. Daytime meaning 4 a.m. all the way until 5:59 p.m., where afterwards will signal the night.

Are you excited then to hear on which other Pokémon will be on the receiving end of new evolutions? Some names that have been thrown around so far include Slowpoke, Onix, and Porygon, but that is not all. Reddit users have managed to come up with a rather comprehensive list on the kinds of egg that could hatch in Pokémon GO Gen 2 from a 2 kilometer (km), 5km or 10km egg. Of course, bear in mind that all of these are just speculations as at press time, as Niantic has yet to go ahead with a confirmation.

Pichu, Hoothoot, Togepi and other Pokémon could result from a 2km egg, while Chinchou, Delibird and others are derived from a 5km egg, with Elekid and Mantine being possible from 10km eggs. Until Niantic confirms the list, do take it with a pinch of salt.

Pokemon GO Gen 2 will also boast of a new Buddy System, a feature that intends to assist players in earning additional candies based on the amount of walking distance covered. This should make it easier to accumulate candies, and we do wonder whether all the walking will also include Legendaries such as MewTwo and Zapdos.