Pokemon Go Introduces New Team Rocket Members [Update]

Something is afoot in Pokemon Go, and it appears to be related to Team Go Rocket, the villainous organization who made their debut in the mobile game--alongside Shadow Pokemon--earlier this summer. The official Pokemon Go Twitter account has shared a series of distorted images that seem to tease the arrival of some new characters. [Update: Niantic has revealed the three teased characters, and they are indeed members of Team Rocket. Their names are Cliff, Arlo, and Sierra, and all three can be seen alongside Team Rocket boss Giovanni on Pokemon Go's new loading screen.]

The images, which you can see below, appear to be profiles of three unfamiliar characters who are presumably involved in Team Rocket. Aside from their silhouettes, it's difficult to make anything out in the images, but you can see Team Rocket's iconic R next to each of the characters, suggesting they'll have something to do with the evil group. The tweets read:

"Professor Willow has started to recover files from the corrupted folder, and he's uncovered these images. One of the photos is still being restored... Could these files be left over from Team Go Rocket's recent take-over? Who are these people?!"

Team Rocket first began appearing in Pokemon Go back in July following numerous teases, but up until now, players have only been able to encounter generic Rocket Grunts at Poke Stops. The mainline Pokemon series has featured higher level members of the team called Rocket Admins, so it's possible the three new teased characters will fill a similar role in Go, although nothing has been confirmed.

Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, has also previously been teased for the game. During the Pokemon Go Fest event that took place in Yokohama, Japan earlier this year, the Team Rocket boss would photobomb pictures that players took at the venue. While he hasn't yet appeared in the actual game, these teases suggest that players certainly haven't seen the last of the evil team.

In other Pokemon Go news, the Legendary Giratina recently returned to Raid Battles, and this time you'll be able to encounter a Shiny variant. A handful of Gen 5 Pokemon are also still available in the game, while a Gen 3 monster, Trapinch, will be the star of October's Community Day, which takes place next Saturday, October 12.