2017 ‘Pokemon Go’ Expected Updates Official Poll, Plus The Pros And The Cons

What is the best of the Pokemon Go features expected to be added this year? You can view the pros and cons of each expected update, as well as vote on which you are most excited for, right here.

It’s 2017, and that means a clean slate for Pokemon Go to make a positive impression on the public. Yahoo! News reports that Pokemon Go lost many of the fans it accumulated in 2016 due to the infrequency with which Niantic (the development studio behind the game) released updates, so it is a safe bet they will be adding new features to Pokemon Go a lot more frequently in the coming year.

The same Yahoo! article mentioned above put forward a list of five huge Pokemon Go updates fans definitely expect this year, whether because they have been confirmed to be on Niantic’s to-do list or because their addition is only logical. We’ll outline a few of the best or worst parts of each Pokemon Go update, and then you’ll be given the opportunity to vote on your favorite below.

1. Region Unlocking

Nintendo, the company behind the Pokemon brand, have seemingly given up the idea of region locking. The Japanese company announced several days ago, according to The Verge, that the Nintendo Switch, their forthcoming new console, would do away completely with region locking features. Not only that, but Pokemon Go fans have been asking for removal of the apps region locking features so that one can catch em’ all without paying to travel the world. For both of these reasons, the unlocking of region-exclusive Pokemon in Pokemon Go seems like a certainty.

This could be seen as a good thing, as it will give all Pokemon Go players a chance to explore and conquer every corner of the game if they are willing to put in the time.

On the other hand, however, it means that Niantic will be squandering the opportunity to take full advantage of the app’s geolocation feature. When Pokemon Go was announced, many reporters mused about how cool it would be if players could only find certain rare Pokemon in very hard-to-find places, like Mew in its canonical homeland of Guyana or Articuno on the summits of freezing mountains. Unfortunately, this will not happen if Pokemon Go is region unlocked.

2. The Legendaries

Speaking of hard-to-find Pokemon, the generation 1 legendaries have not yet been added to Pokemon Go. They are obviously being withheld until the time is right, and that will almost certainly be sometime soon.

The upside of this is that players will finally be able to catch the original 151 Pokemon in their entirety, a fact that will surely entice lots of nostalgia-driven Pokemon Go fans. Also, if the events for catching the legendary Pokemon are anywhere near as cool as the communal Mewtwo event from the initial Pokemon Go reveal trailer, the social aspect that made Pokemon Go so popular will be taken to a new level.

The downside is that, unless the rollout of the legendary Pokemon is done right, their mystique could be ruined. In other words, the legendaries will not seem very special if they are just given to players or if everyone is able to catch them, and it’s fun for them to retain a sense of exclusivity.

3. Generation 2 Pokemon

Generation 1 may not be complete, but players are already clamoring for generation 2 Pokemon to be added to Pokemon Go. Not including the legendary/mythical Pokemon of the generation or the baby Pokemon that have already been released via eggs, the gen 2 addition would come out to over 85 new Pokemon that could be found in the wild.

Obviously, being able to catch all those Pokemon would be great. It would add much-needed variety to the game, and it would give the Pokemon Go fans who have already completed the Pokedex a reason to boot up the app again.

4. Shiny Pokemon

For those unfamiliar with the Pokemon handheld games, shiny Pokemon are versions of the normally found Pokemon that have a different color palette but are much rarer. In fact, only 1 out of every 4,096 Pokemon encounters is shiny.

The good thing about adding shiny Pokemon to Pokemon Go is that it would give players who have completed the Pokedex a reason to keep playing. Countless hours could be dedicated to finding shiny versions of all the Pokemon, and Pokemon Go really needs something to get masters to continue playing.

Shinies are also an element found in the main series Pokemon games, and would therefore appeal to more hardcore fans of the brand.

5. Player-to-Player Battling/Trading

This is the only item on this list not included in the Yahoo! News article, but, according to Gamerant, Pokemon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara has actually confirmed it is on the docket. Battling and trading is one of the cornerstones of the Pokemon franchise, and it only makes sense that it would be a big part of a social game like Pokemon Go.

With all this in mind, vote for your favorite below! A news story profiling the results will be published in a week, so your voice does matter!

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[Featured Image by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images]