Niantic Announces Pokémon GO Gen 5 With No Regionals - ‘Players Matter More Than Microtransactions’

TheGamer

By Sergio Solorzano

Published Apr 1, 2019

Niantic announced the Pokémon GO generation 5 release, and also the unprecedented news that there are no regionals.

Pokémon GO players are in for a treat, because the game's developer just announced the next generation of creatures is coming to the game. That's right – everyone's favorite Pokémon group, gen 5, is on the way. Even better is the news that Niantic is finally addressing a complaint that has plagued the game since the beginning; gen 5 will not have a single regional Pokémon.

"With the generation five release, we really wanted to put the fans first," said a Niantic representative. "That's why we're excited to announce that the entire Unova Pokédex will be available to all players on day one. No regional exclusives. No Pokémon locked to 5% hatching odds in eggs. Nothing like the silly Meltan release where you basically had to buy a Switch game to have enough candies to evolve. Everyone will have a fair shot at catching every Pokémon, the way it should be."

Fans were quick to rejoice after hearing the announcement. Finally, many social media posts said, Pokémon GO is living up to the franchise mantra of "Gotta Catch 'Em All."

"It's almost like it's a real Pokémon game now," said Richard Jackson, a one-time fan who stopped playing years ago. "I gave up on it because everyone on Facebook said it was a dead game, and random Facebook commenters know what's up. But now that they're finally adding my boy Trubbish? I am in."

One surprising side effect of the announcement is that many, like Jackson, are returning to the game after years of absence. It's hard to tell exactly what is bringing them back. It could be the Pokémon fandom's universal love of gen 5. Some industry experts, however, theorize that making games more fair actually encourages people to play them. It's a bold claim, but one that Niantic apparently agrees with.

"It turns out that forcing fans to travel or trade for certain Pokémon and using egg exclusives to push people into buying incubators is not a good way to keep them happy. It keeps them playing, sure. It also brings in lots of microtransaction sales. But this is Pokémon, not Clash Royale. Players matter more than microtransactions."

After the announcement, Niantic adjusted its quarterly earnings projections to show around five million dollars in losses – but at least Pokémon fans are happy.

(Note: If you are reading this after April 1, please be aware that the above article is an April Fools' Day joke.)