Ditto and Shinies' arrival in Pokémon GO are now being prepared for via the 0.47.1 update. Data miners immediately got to work as soon as the latest update went live. Some light digging revealed that the code already has references to the shapeshifting monster and some rare ones, hinting that they are coming soon.
Ditto Is Already In Pokémon GO?
The Pokémon GO update 0.47.1, at the surface, looks just like any other update. The patch notes only mentioned "minor text fixes" and a fix to an issue regarding the Egg-hatching animation. However, data miners have discovered interesting information underneath, which they documented over at The Silph Road.
New codes referencing Ditto have been found. According to the strings of code, it seems players will soon be able to encounter the said Pokémon in the wild. It can also be used in battle, probably after shapeshifting to another creature.
It has been concluded that Ditto is already in Pokémon GO, though Niantic still has to turn the switch on before players can encounter it. There are also codes for the sound effect, a dark purple background graphic and a spotlight graphic, the last of which indicates that it may be found elsewhere other than in the map.
Shiny Pokémon May Arrive Soon
Some phrases like "rare" and "shiny" have appeared within the APK, which could mean that Pokémon GO is now preparing for the arrival of such Pokémon. Fans of the franchise would remember that Shiny Pokémon are those that have a different color scheme than the usual in a species, which makes them favorable.
The encounter of such is extremely rare across all titles, but they are something to look forward to. According to iDigitalTimes, this addition may lure players back into the game. This could be Niantic's way of keeping those who have already caught all or most that are available entertained.
Pokémon GO Update 0.47.1 Other Features
Other things noticed by the data miners are the added sponsors. McDonald's was the first sponsor of Pokémon GO. Now, there are Pokémon Store, Toho Softbank and Globe. However, the three new sponsors are somewhat unusual.
The ones in the code appeared as "Spatula," "Thermometer" and "Knife." This is complete nonsense, but it is speculated that these are simply placeholders. With that said, they are not expected to be introduced soon. It is also possible that Niantic has different purposes for these, but nothing can be confirmed yet.
It was also found that the Nearby Tracker has been tweaked a little bit. Now, the tracker will hide the "Sightings" radar after a certain number of Pokémon have been detected. It is currently unknown what that number is, but it might be one. This tracker is currently only available in Arizona, San Francisco and Seattle, so other players are unaffected by this one.
That is currently all there is to the latest update of Pokémon GO. The next update may be the one to bring Ditto and Shinies over to the mobile game, but fans can only hope so. Meanwhile, watch out for the upcoming December update that might feature the legendary MewTwo.
