Pokémon Go is still set to receive trading and battling

Fundamental features when people think of Pokémon are battles and trading, both of which have been missing from Pokémon Go since it launched July last year. After radio silence on the features for what seems like forever, Pokémon boss Tsunekazu Ishihara assures fans that the features are in the pipeline.

Developer Niantic has spent the past year balancing the game and readjusting features with longevity in mind. As for extra content, Pokémon Go has since made way for Gen 2 and the long awaited legendaries, pushing the existing feature of catching them all to new limits.

The lack of battling and trading has been a noticeable omission, with many voicing their want for the features since the launch of the game. The last time that there was any official mention of either was before the game received a plethora of stability updates back in 2016, opting for a wider range of Pokémon this year instead of alternative features.

The addition of Gen 3 won’t save Pokémon Go on its own, and The Pokémon Company realises this with head boss Tsunekazu Ishihara talking to Bloomberg about what it and Niantic has in store.

“We've only accomplished 10 per cent of what Pokémon and Niantic are trying to do. Going forward we will have to include fundamental Pokémon experiences such as Pokémon trading and peer-to-peer battles, and other possibilities.”

There are two sizeable updates remaining this year for Pokémon Go, with many speculating it to be Gen 3 and one of the two long-awaited features. I personally would prefer to see player-versus-player battling first as it gives more of a reason to evolve your Pokémon and focus on its overall stats rather than just Gyms.

KitGuru Says: While this was an experience I enjoyed for a short while, the lack of variety quickly got to me, especially when you have the core iterations to compare it to. It’s good to see the game catching up to the standards we’ve come to expect from the series and hopefully I can pick it back up soon to experience all the new features. Would you prefer battling or trading?

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