A new Pokémon Go update points to Scarlet and Violet Pokémon potentially coming to the game soon

The latest Pokémon Go update made quite a few small changes to the game, but it also might be a clear sign Niantic is preparing to introduce at least a few Pokémon from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet into the game for the first time.

The most prominent change in update 0.216.0, which is currently available to download, is the way Pokémon Go notes Pokédex numbers. Instead of the previous three-digit system, the Pokémon Go Pokédex now lists four digits in the 0000 format. 

There are two likely reasons for this change. Either Niantic made this change since The Pokémon Company recently revealed the official National Pokédex numbers for every Pokémon introduced in Scarlet and Violet, which officially took the number of unique Pokémon given their own number over 1,000. Or, there is a crossover event coming that will bring a Gen VII Pokémon into Pokémon Go soon. 

Both reasons could play into each other since we know some form of crossover content is in the works since Gimmighoul’s Roaming Form is listed as only being obtainable through Pokémon Go. This means players should expect those Golden PokéStops and Mysterious Coins to finally come into play soon—maybe as a Pokémon Day surprise on Feb. 27. 

There could be more content on the way too, though Gimmighoul’s exclusive forms and Gholdengo being Pokémon 1,000 with a gimmick too is the most likely reason for this change being made so soon. This could also hint at Pokémon HOME compatibility with Scarlet and Violet coming very soon too. 

The other core changes made in this update are less consequential but still nice. This includes Pokémon appearing from outside factors such as Lures, Incense, and Mystery Boxes getting a small indicator over their CP number once you encounter them. Additionally, players can now collect Field Research from PokéStops, even with a full bag.

If you do update your game to this new version, be careful. There is a known issue floating around where a number of visual bugs can occur and the game has been shown to become unresponsive during raids.

It might be worth waiting to update until these issues are resolved.