'Pokémon Go' Gen 4 Update: Changes to Weather and CP Incoming

Niantic announced the Sinnoh Region is coming soon to Pokémon Go, along with various changes to weather, combat power(CP) and more.

According to the official Pokémon Go blog, changes to game balance will be made in two key areas. Here's everything that Pokémon Go players will need to know when Gen 4 finally drops.

CHANGES TO WEATHER

Pokémon Go is making significant changes to the weather mechanic. Here are the three areas most affected.

• We are making adjustments to weather and, moving forward, it will have a reduced effect on the rate at which Pokémon appear.
• As you explore a given area, you will notice that a greater variety of Pokémon species will appear over time and at different rates.
• Certain areas, such as parks and nature reserves, will now contain more varied Pokémon species.

CHANGES TO EFFECTIVENESS IN BATTLE

Another change coming to Pokémon Go is a re-balancing of Pokémon stats. Here are the changes:

• CP values will be adjusted going forward to improve game balance.
• HP values will be adjusted to close the gap between high HP Pokémon and low HP Pokémon.
• Pokémon Defense and Stamina values will be retroactively rebalanced, allowing highly defensive Pokémon to be valuable in battle by outlasting opponents rather than simply running out the clock.
• Defense values have also been slightly retroactively reduced for most Pokémon. Changes like these will help narrow the gap between Pokémon with the highest defensive stats and other Pokémon.

Changes to battling with Gen 4 have more of an impact on bulkier Pokémon. So if you're looking to stay in a Gym longer, trainers will want to place Pokémon with high HP and Defense stats.

Many of the intricacies and specifics of these changes won't be fully known until Sinnoh is released, but we'll update as soon as we learn more.

In the meantime, let us know what you think of these changes in the comments section.