Pokémon GO: Raids and Feeding Captured Pokémon
Bob McFadden
Trainers over in the Pogodev community have noticed the addition of several new notification toasts to the game. There brief messages will notify the Trainer of certain events that happen in-game. There are five different classifications of events that the player may be notified of, and there are three different phrases for each classification, adding variety to these notifications. These will be a fun and useful addition to the game, but in the meantime, they provide some interesting insight into what is to come.
Notification Toasts
- Gym removal 1: “[Pokémon name] has fought hard and returned!”
- Gym removal 2: “[Pokémon name] is back after a hard battle!”
- Gym removal 3: “[Pokémon name] was forced off the Gym!”
- Pokémon lost 1: “[Pokémon name] lost a battle!”
- Pokémon lost 2: “[Pokémon name] was defeated in battle!”
- Pokémon lost 3: “[Pokémon name] fainted at the Gym!”
- Pokémon won 1: “[Pokémon name] defended the Gym!”
- Pokémon won 2: “[Pokémon name] was victorious in battle!”
- Pokémon won 3: “[Pokémon name] has triumphed over your opponents!”
- Pokémon hungry 1: “[Pokémon name] is hungry!”
- Pokémon hungry 2: “[Pokémon name] needs a pick-me-up!”
- Pokémon hungry 3: “[Pokémon name] wants a berry!”
- Nearby raid 1: “Nearby raid starting soon!”
- Nearby raid 2: “There’s a raid about to start near you!”
- Nearby raid 3: “A raid’s going to start nearby!”
Discovered code
"gym_removal_notification_toast" "{0} has fought hard and returned!" "{0} は
"pokemon_hungry_notification_toast" "{0} is hungry!" "{0} はお腹が空いている"
"pokemon_lost_notification_toast" "{0} lost a battle!" "{0} は負けてしまった"
"pokemon_won_notification_toast" "{0} defended the Gym!" "{0} はジムを守った！"
"nearby_raid_notification_toast" "Nearby raid starting soon!" "近くのジムでバ
"gym_removal_notification_toast|1" "{0} is back after a hard battle!" "{0} が
"gym_removal_notification_toast|2" "{0} was forced off the Gym!" "{0} がジムか
"pokemon_hungry_notification_toast|1" "{0} needs a pick-me-up!" "{0} のお腹が
"pokemon_hungry_notification_toast|2" "{0} wants a berry!" "{0} はきのみを欲
"pokemon_lost_notification_toast|1" "{0} was defeated in battle!" "{0} は負けて
"pokemon_lost_notification_toast|2" "{0} fainted at the Gym!" "{0} はひんしになっ
"pokemon_won_notification_toast|1" "{0} was victorious in battle!" "{0} はバトル
"pokemon_won_notification_toast|2" "{0} has triumphed over your opponents!"
"nearby_raid_notification_toast|1" "There's a raid about to start near you!"
"nearby_raid_notification_toast|2" "A raid's going to start nearby!" "近くでバ
Gym Removal Notification: This is the most useful addition for gameplay as far as the portions that we can understand right now. Trainers will now be alerted when their Pokémon has been booted from a Gym, so that they are aware that their Pokémon has returned and can respond accordingly. They may have been waiting for this Pokémon to come back so that they can power it up with newly gained Candy and Stardust, or perhaps it is just useful for them to know that there is an attack taking place on their Gym that is to be taken seriously. Some Trainers may even be close to claiming their daily Pokécoins and Stardust, and it may be vital for them to know that the expected reward may have just dropped.
Individual Gym Wins and Losses: Previously, the only ways to know that a Gym was under attack was for you to either be within range-of-sight and see the battle animation and declining Prestige, or for you to notice that a fainted Pokémon had returned to you. Now, Trainers will be equipped with a sort of early-detection system that alerts them more quickly. This can take place as soon as the conclusion of the very first fight of the assault. In addition, this will help Trainers understand the role that their individual Pokémon plays in defending the Gym. The only existing system for this used to be the sparsely-understood “Battles Won” stat that would rarely appear beneath a Pokémon in a Gym. But now, you can take pride in your Pokémon with every successful defense of the Gym, or feel empathy for them with each and every loss.
Pokémon Hungry Notification: The Trainer will also now be notified when one of their Pokémon is hungry. This will be a new game mechanic, as it is currently impossible to feed anything other than Wild Pokémon. Some trainers on The Silph Road reddit are concerned that you will now have to feed Pokémon in Gyms in order to keep them as defenders. They are already speculating on whether you will have to visit the Gyms in person, and considering the potential implications that this could have for giving spoofers advantage. But I think that we may be getting way ahead of ourselves. Of course, it is easy to fall into the mindset that this must be related to Gyms, as everything we have talked about so far has been. But I have a more optimistic prediction, and I think that this is more likely to be related to Buddy Pokémon. Perhaps every once in a while this toast will pop up and give us the opportunity to get a bonus candy for feeding our Buddy Pokémon, or maybe it will just be for fun. Either way, hopefully this can provide SOME use for Nanab berries, other than always immediately trashing them.
Nearby Raids: The most intriguing aspect of this discovery is the mention of “Raids”. The buzzword for Niantic at conferences and in press releases since the Gen 2 release has been “new cooperative social gameplay experiences”. This phrase was even used again in a Niantic blog post today. This is generally assumed to be related to the gym rework that is expected to be the next big quarterly update, but adding this new “Raid” term to the mix might change that expectation a little bit. Perhaps the next big thing isn’t (just?) an overhaul of the existing Gym system, but a new addition to the game entirely. Will this be similar to the Mewtwo Raid in Times Square in the trailer, or some completely different group activity? Let the speculation begin!
