Niantic reveal Morpeko and form changes are coming to Pokémon GO

Niantic have revealed that the next season of Pokémon GO will debut Morpeko, teasing that "something hungry is coming..."

Morpeko, which has a full belly form and a hangry form will also arrive into the game alongside a new form change mechanic. This will see Pokémon use a certain move to be able to change forms in battle. There are several Pokémon with unreleased forms, and this mechanic will mean they could all be arriving in the game soon.

Morpeko was first discovered in Pokémon GO. The fact that it will be debuting next season further points to a focus on the Galar region over the next few months. Niantic also teased Dynamax and Gigantamax coming to the game yesterday.

It seems that Galar was potentially skipped over to allow Niantic to add all the various mechanics they needed to make the most of the region.

Morpeko has two forms. It's standard form is called "Full Belly Mode", which sees Morpeko as an Electric-type Pokémon. However, it also has a "Hangry Mode" which besides being incredibly relatable, turns Morpeko into a Dark-type.

Niantic using Morpeko to tease form changes in Pokémon GO is incredibly exciting. Besides Morpeko, that has two iconic forms, other Pokémon have forms in the game we don't yet have access too. Trainers have long speculated how we might see these Pokémon come to the game.

For a while, it was assumed they would just be released as different versions of the same Pokémon. But, with the addition of a form change mechanic it seems this is not the case.

One Redditor said:

While Niantic have not shared any details besides Morpeko, they would not develop a mechanic for just a single Pokémon. That makes it safe to assume we have a high chance of seeing Pokémon like Mimikyu (Halloween anyone?) and Zen form Darmanitan enter into the game over the next season.

Stay tuned for more details on the next Pokémon GO season.