PokéNews (June 28, Round 2): Pokémon Masters / Pokémon GO

Today’s Pokémon news: plenty of details + videos + pictures for Pokémon Masters, but also…

• Pokémon GO

Pokémon Masters

Yesterday, The Pokémon Company properly revealed Pokémon Masters, the next Pokémon game on smart devices. It will be released this Summer worldwide, and will allow players to go on an adventure on the island of Pasio. You will get to form teams with famous Trainers from the Pokémon series, and take part in 3-on-3 real time battles. The game will be playable in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and Traditional Chinese.

Here’s the full presentation and a video with just the animated intro:

And here’s plenty of details and some pictures for the game:

Take the treasured bond between Trainer and Pokémon to the next level in an all-new location—the island of Pasio—where Trainers from every Pokémon region gather to compete

 
Pokémon Masters takes place on the island of Pasio, where the rules of battle are different and the treasured bond between Trainer and Pokémon is taken to the next level with sync pairs—the combination of a Trainer and their partner Pokémon. For the very first time in a Pokémon game, Trainers and their partner Pokémon from every Pokémon region will come together to form sync pairs. Players can team up with duos such as Korrina & Lucario, Brendan & Treecko, Clair & Kingdra, and many more. With all sorts of Trainers on Pasio, there are sure to be some exciting and unexpected encounters in this new story. At launch, there will be 65 sync pairs to recruit in Pokémon Masters, with additional sync pairs to come following the game’s release.

 
Form a team of three sync pairs, and battle to become champion of the Pokémon Masters League

 
In Pokémon Masters, players will explore Pasio to meet various Trainers and make new friends while progressing through the story. Once a player has made friends with other sync pairs, they can recruit those friends to form a team of three sync pairs (meaning three Trainers and their three partner Pokémon) and battle AI (artificial intelligence) opponents to become champion of the prestigious Pokémon Masters League tournament.

 
Command a team of Pokémon and Trainers in 3-on-3, real-time battles in this strategy and battling game

                                                                                                           
Pokémon Masters introduces a new way to battle in the Pokémon world. Players will command a squad of three sync pairs in real-time team battles and release a barrage of moves—all while the AI opponent unleashes theirs at the same time. For the very first time in a Pokémon game, players can also direct Trainers in battle to use moves and healing items to increase a Pokémon’s stats. In addition to standard moves, players can occasionally deploy sync moves—powerful attacks performed by specific sync pairs. Players will need to ration their move gauge, which refills over time, to deploy the best moves at the most opportune times to lead their squad to victory.

You will be able to check out all the upcoming Events and Content Updates for the game on this page (coming soon)!

Pokémon Masters (Android, iOS) comes out this Summer worldwide. The Upcoming Games has been updated!

Source: The Pokémon Company PR

Pokémon GO

3rd Anniversary

Pokémon GO is now celebrating its 3rd Anniversary, and Niantic have prepared some new features and events to celebrate.

From June 28th at 1PM PT / 4PM ET / 9PM BST / 10PM CEST – June 29th at 5AM JST

• Shiny Alolan Pokémon — You’ll have a chance of encountering the following Shiny Alolan Pokémon: Rattata, Sandshrew, Vulpix, Diglett, Meowth, Geodude, Grimer, and Exeggutor.
• Team leader avatar items — Avatar items featuring the team leaders’ personal styles will be available in the Style Shop.

From June 28th at 1PM PT / 4PM ET / 9PM BST / 10PM CEST – June 29th at 5AM JST to July 6th at 1PM PT / 4PM ET / 9PM BST / 10PM CEST – July 7th at 5AM JST

• A familiar face returns to the party! — Once per day, you might have the chance to encounter a Pikachu wearing a party hat when you take a GO Snapshot photo! Pichu wearing a party hat will also be available to hatch from 7 km eggs.

From June 28th at 1PM PT / 4PM ET / 9PM BST / 10PM CEST – June 29th at 5AM JST to September 2nd at 1PM PT / 4PM ET / 9PM BST / 10PM CEST – September 3rd at 5AM JST

• Jump-Start Research — Looking to get up to speed with your research? Do you have a friend who wants to play but feels they’ve missed out on too much in Pokémon GO? Don’t worry! Trainers can complete new Special Research for helpful rewards that will jump-start their new or continuing adventures. This Special Research is only available this summer for players at level 10 or higher, so be sure to let your friends know about this opportunity to join in and get special rewards.
• Raid bonuses — Take down Raid Bosses faster and earn extra bonus Premier Balls to catch them with when you raid with friends.
• Decreased Stardust costs for trading — Trading Pokémon will cost ¼ less Stardust.

Source: Niantic

Community Day

Niantic have announced that the next Community Day, which takes place on July 21st from 4PM to 7PM local time, will feature Mudkip. It will have the following bonuses:

• 3× Catch XP
• 3-Hour Lures

Source: Niantic

Software update

The latest Software update for Pokémon GO went live, and it looks like it includes a couple of unexpected surprises:

• Shadow Pokémon (introduced in Pokémon Colosseum) are seemingly on the way. In the original game (and its sequyel), you had to purify a Shadow Pokémon after catching it, in order to add it to your team;
• battles again Team Rocket also seem to be on the way.

As usual, you can find more details about the various Software updates for Pokémon GO on this page!

Source: Serebii