‘Pokémon GO’ Starbucks Event, Update Will Add 100 Gen 2 Pokémon From ‘Pokémon Gold And Silver’ To Android, iOS Niantic Labs App

Niantic Labs wants to lure all of the inactive “Pokémon GO” Trainers back into playing the game religiously, so it is reportedly launching a special event this week. Alongside the event is the appearance of the Gen 2 Pokémon in the game after they were seeded into the app through a previous update.

According to Eurogamer, Niantic Labs and The Pokémon Company have partnered with Starbucks for a special event later this week. An update is going to roll out this Thursday, Dec. 8, and players should install this right away if they want to see Starbucks coffee shops become PokéStops in the gaming app.

While the update will mainly focus on the addition of Starbucks PokéStops, Niantic Labs is also reportedly making this Starbucks event extra special by launching it alongside the in-game introduction of the new 100 Pokémon from “Pokémon Gold and Silver.” A teardown of a previous update already confirmed the addition of the new Pokémon into the game, so it’s just about time for them to finally be part of the action.

What’s kind of surprising is the fact that the Starbucks promotion has only been released in the U.S. Thus, it is still not clear if other regions are also getting the update and meeting the new batch of Pokémon.

The promotional material and memo were leaked on Reddit this Tuesday. However, both Niantic Labs and Starbucks declined to confirm this leak when asked by Business Insider. It won’t be surprising if this turned out to be true all along. After all, Niantic also partnered with McDonalds and turned its branches in Japan into PokéStops early this year.

The addition of the Gen 2 Pokémon into the Android and iOS gaming app is deemed crucial for the future of Niantic’s popular app. Months after its launch, reports have revealed that the game struggled to keep its players. However, Forbes says generating $3 million a day and being part of the top grossing charts on app stores still mean that “Pokémon GO” continues to be successful.

Unfortunately, Forbes also thinks that adding new Pokémon to the mix will still cause the app to fail in terms of expanding its traction long-term. What the game needs at this point is the addition of social mechanics, PvP battles or something that would prevent the decline of users once the novelty of the new creatures wear off.