Pokemon Go Battle Changes, New Attacks Coming

Niantic will soon be making another round of gameplay tweaks to Pokemon Go. In a new post on its official website, the developer details some of the adjustments that are coming soon to trainer battles, as well as some new attacks that will be added to the game.

First, Niantic says it's refining the train battle system to make encounters "more intuitive and responsive." In particular, the developer is improving the timing of damage dealt and energy charged. Additionally, a Pokemon's health bar will now pulse when hit by an attack, making it easier to tell when a monster sustains damage.

A handful of moves are also receiving various tweaks. Bubble Beam will now reliably lower the opponent's attack stat, while Psychic will dish out more damage and be usable quicker. On top of that, Psychic will have a chance of lowering an opponent's defense stat. According to Niantic, these changes are "intended to make Psychic a more viable Psychic-type attack in both raids and Trainer Battles."

Finally, Niantic is introducing two new attacks to the game: Thunder Fang and Ice Fang. A handful of Pokemon will also be able to learn attacks they initially couldn't in Pokemon Go. You can see some of those below:

• Alolan Raichu - Thundershock
• Alolan Sandshrew - Ice Punch
• Alolan Ninetales - Charm
• Golduck - Bubble Beam, Synchronoise, Cross Chop
• Alolan Marowak - Fire Spin, Flame Wheel
• Mantine - Bubble Beam
• Mawile - Fire Fang, Ice Fang, Power-Up Punch
• Weavile - Snarl

These changes will be implemented "over the next few weeks." In the meantime, Pokemon Go players have a lot to do. The Legendary Giratina recently returned to five-star Raid Battles. The long-awaited Mime Jr. was also added to the game earlier this week as part of a new special event. October's Community Day is also set for October 12, and it'll feature the Gen 3 Pokemon Trapinch.