‘Pokémon Go’ 0.47.1 Update Leak Reveals Ditto, New Tracker & Shiny Monsters Coming Very Soon

Soon after Pokémon Go Android update 0.47.1 went live, data miners leaked a bunch of interesting details buried in its code. Of most importance, Ditto, a brand new tracking system and references to “shiny” and “rare” Pokémon have been added. The experts at the Silph Road recently documented the changes.

With regard to Ditto, it’s possible that the changeling monster may be active in Pokémon Go at the time of writing. Since the previous update, strings have been added to show that Ditto can be found in the wild and used in battle. Aesthetic assets such as a purple background color, references to sound files and a spotlight graphic exist too. The spotlight indicates that Ditto might be discovered in some other way in addition to wild encounters.

Just as mysterious as Ditto is Niantic’s wavering opinion about Pokémon Go’s tracking feature. Also per the latest update, it looks like sightings will eventually be removed in monster-packed areas and replaced by a system more closely tied to PokéStops. In the new tracker, icons for Pokémon will show below the PokéStop they’re near. Once there, tapping on the desired monster will display a revised version of the classic three-step interface that illustrates precisely how close a trainer is to the encounter. In a sense, what players might get in the future is a mix of the old and new mechanics.

Most puzzling of all the leaked discoveries, however, are some new words buried in the text. For the first time since the game’s release, allusions are made to “rare” and “shiny” monsters. A new sound file even donates what a rare capture sounds like. Right now, it seems like rare or shiny monster variations may feature a different visual tint. These slight differences could be a way to encourage those with near-complete Pokédexes to keep hunting for new designs of the existing cast. However, the data is so tentative in this particular case that it’s worth taking with a grain of salt.

Pokémon Go is available now with a new update for Android and iOS. Its front-facing features include fixes for eggs and text, but its files clearly harbor some deeper secrets to be revealed later.

What do you think of the leaks from this update? Will Ditto and the new tracker contribute positively to Pokémon Go? Tell us in the comments section!