September’s Community Day seemed like a simple affair where Pokémon GO players could catch a Chikorita that knows how to use Frenzy Plant. However, at the end of the event, a strange new creature made a surprise appearance.
Hints about this strange Pokémon’s appearance emerged last Friday, when a data miner found image files of a strange Pokémon that looks like a mechanical nut with an eye hovering over a silver blob. The game’s Unity files labeled it as Pokémon number 891 and was tagged as Kecleon, a chameleon Pokémon from Generation 3.
For 30 minutes after the end of September’s Community Day, this strange Pokémon started appearing in massive droves. Those that managed to catch it had it transform into Ditto, a Generation 1 Pokémon known for its shapeshifting abilities, and the new Pokémon was not registered in the player’s Pokédex. After those initial 30 minutes, spawn rates went back to normal, although the new nut Pokémon still spawns very rarely.
Kento Suga, the Global Marketing Lead for Pokémon GO posted this tweet:
What could this new Pokémon be? According to data miner Charles, this new Pokémon is labeled as number 891. The final Pokémon in Generation 7, Zeraora, is 807, putting the nut Pokémon squarely into Generation 8 territory. This also implies the new generation will have at least 84 new Pokémon.
This Pokémon may have been first teased a while back. In May, a trailer for Pokémon Let’s Go was aired. Near the end, it showed someone playing Pokémon GO who receives a shaking present. Some text imposed over the scene says “You’ll meet a special Pokémon.” A later tweet confirmed that this was referencing a never-before-seen Pokémon.
Pokémon Let’s Go Eevee and Pikachu will release November 16, 2018. Meanwhile, Pokémon GO players will soon be getting a new wave of Pokémon when Generation 4 Pokémon are put into the game.
UPDATE (9/25, 11:35 AM EST): A new video and tweet posted by the official Pokémon YouTube channel has revealed the identity of the Pokémon. Learn more about the Steel-type Meltan below!
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