'Pokémon Go' Genders: Female Raichu and female Pikachu appear after recent APK update
Did you know that there are male Pokémon and female Pokémon in the Pokémon universe? Now it looks like genders may have made their way to Pokémon Go in a recent update, as well.
Members of The Silph Road community have reported the discovery of female Pikachu and Raichu in Pokémon Go. This falls in line with the results from Silph Research Group's datamine of the recent APK update that accompanied version 0.53.1 for Android.
Pokémon Go genders update premieres with female Pikachu and Raichu
Reports of female Pikachu and Raichu began appearing on The Silph Road on Wednesday. News about the APK datamine made early reports worth considering, and later, multiple reports of gendered Pikachu and Raichu confirmed the existence of female Pokémon in Pokémon Go.
Niantic seems to be messing with these gender settings, however. Reports of all Pikachu and Raichu turning into the female versions, and reports of all Raichu then returning to male versions suggest that Niantic is putting the new gender system through its paces in preparation for a formal rollout.
Pokémon Go genders update may signal a major new gameplay element
Pokémon gender is old news for longtime Pokémon fans but it may be a new concept for Pokémon Go players, especially if they haven't been paying attention to gender among Gen 1 Pokémon. There are only a few species that are specified among the Gen 1 lineup; Chansey, for instance, is a female Pokémon.
Gendered Pokémon are connected to Pokémon breeding, which was added to the main Pokémon games with Pokémon Gold and Silver in 1999. Unless Niantic is adding gender differences merely by way of giving Pokémon Go players additional Pokédex entries to complete, the smart money bet is on Pokémon breeding being added to Pokémon Go in the near future.
Pokémon Go Genders Update: How to differentiate males from females
In some cases, the difference between male and female Pokémon of the same species is difficult to spot unless you know precisely what to look for. Male and female versions of Venusaur are differentiated by the presence of a yellow seed in the middle of the flower on a Venusaur's back, which may be very easy for players to overlook.
It would be useful to Pokémon Go players if Niantic includes clear gender identification for Pokémon on their stats screen. Otherwise, players will have to depend on fan communities like Bulbapedia to find charts and guides to discern males from females.
More Pokémon Go guides, tips, tricks and updates
Check out Mic's Pokémon Go tips and tricks. Here are guides on how to get stardust, how to determine how long it will take you to reach Level 40, the kind of Pokemon you get from 10km eggs, how to create new PokéStops, how to maximize your chances of catching Pokémon and how PokéStops distribute Pokémon eggs. Also check out how to catch Gen 2 baby Pokémon, our analysis of post-balance update Chansey and Rhydon and everything you need to know about finding the long-awaited Pokémon Ditto.
