In Pokémon GO a mysterious Pokémon has appeared that transforms into Ditto. Players initially thought it was a bug. Our author Patrick joins fan theories and believes: It was possibly planned this way.
What is it about?
- A few days ago, a dataminer discovered the appearance of a new Pokémon in the code
- Shortly thereafter, the monster could be found in the wild, but after being caught it transforms into Ditto
- Trainers speculate whether the appearance of this Pokémon is just a mistake
- Much suggests that the monster was intentionally released
Update: The new Pokémon is called Meltan and is introduced in this video
New Pokémon in Pokémon GO – What is known?
Initially, dataminer Chrales found hints of this new Pokémon in the code of Pokémon GO. At that time, it was unclear what Niantic intended with this change. Without any announcement, the new monster suddenly appeared in the game.
It was assumed that this was not the new Pokémon, but just a placeholder for a new species. One can see a Ditto that carries something like a hex nut as its head.
Suddenly found by everyone: Already the day after the dataminer’s discovery, the monster appeared everywhere in the world. This happened shortly after the Community Day in Asia. For about 30 minutes, the monster could be found at every corner in Pokémon GO, just after the Community Day in Germany with Endivie. Screenshots were diligently posted in our Facebook group for Pokémon GO. Meanwhile, it spawns significantly less, but it is still in the game.
No name, turns into Ditto: As a description of the Pokémon, one finds in the game only the designation “???”. If trainers manage to catch this monster, it transforms into Ditto. During the Community Day even into Endivie.
Could be a mistake, trainers believe: Because these events were so atypical for Pokémon GO, to release a new monster without an update and announcement, trainers initially assumed it was a technical error. The unusual appearance of the monster also raised concerns about whether it was intentional by Niantic to release the monster.
Probably not a glitch or mistake
In the meantime, a large part of the community is almost certain that the new Pokémon is not a technical error.
What speaks against an error? If this really were a mistake, it would be of extremely large scale. Particularly the way the monster entered the game (directly after the Community Day when many trainers were active) leads the community to suspect that the release was intended.
No explanation from the developers: In case this release happened by mistake, one would actually have expected an explanatory message from the developers. So far, this has not happened.
There has already been a statement from Niantic: On Twitter, Kento Suga, Global Marketing Lead of Pokémon GO, made a post. He showed a screenshot with the new monster and the description “???” – that leaves a lot of room for speculation.
Ultimately a Ditto: What trainers find in the wild is so far partially a new Pokémon. But only partially, as after being caught it becomes clear that Ditto is behind it. This could mean that
- the new species looks exactly like the one found in the game
- Or Ditto is having trouble transforming into it, and the species just looks similar
- That’s why one sees Ditto’s lower body and the nut-head
Theories cling to Pokémon Let’s GO
Why Pokémon Let’s GO? It is known that a new Pokémon will appear with the release of Pokémon Let’s GO. These games for the Switch harmonize with Pokémon GO. Thus, you can transfer Pokémon from Pokémon GO to Let’s GO. The new Nintendo Switch games will be released on November 16.
What fans believe: In the comments on Reddit and Facebook, one repeatedly reads that Game Freak probably wants to spark a hype for Pokémon Let’s GO with the new monster. And there are the following theories.
This is how Niantic built up the hype: They chose a time window when many trainers are online to present the new Pokémon. This was directly after the Community Day. The new monster suddenly spawns like crazy, trainers posted screenshots of the Pokémon everywhere and spread the news.
If Niantic planned it this way, their tactic worked perfectly. Everyone talked about the new Pokémon or at least had seen it.
What does this have to do with Kecleon? Initially, it was assumed that Kecleon is directly related to the new Ditto monster. A fan theory on Reddit builds on the idea that Niantic wanted to release the new Pokémon, but would have needed an update for that. Dataminers would have quickly analyzed it and the surprise would have been gone. Instead, they replaced Kecleon’s model, as the data is already in the game. This way, the new Pokémon entered the game without an update, and the surprise was achieved.
Some still saw Kecleon: There are reports from trainers who saw Kecleon in the wild. This was probably due to delays in exchanging the models with the new Pokémon.
Patrick thinks: For me, the theory is becoming more and more likely that this release was intended. Niantic aimed to generate hype and therefore avoided an update. They quickly changed Kecleon’s data to bring the model into the game with little fanfare.
Then they made sure that every trainer would somehow hear about this new monster. The timing, shortly after the Community Day, was perfect; word of mouth and reports on social networks hit the mark.
For me, it is 99% unlikely that this is simply a mistake. I am very curious how the story around “Nutto” (a mix of Ditto and nut) will continue.
What do you think is happening with the new monster “Nutto” in Pokémon GO?
In a few days, the egg event in Pokémon GO, which gives you regional monsters, will end
