In November 2016, files were found in Pokemon Go's gaming code that suggested 100 new, Generation II Pokemon would be added to the game at some point. Today, Niantic has confirmed that 80 new Johto Pokemon, ones from the Gold and Silver games, a.k.a Generation II, will be available to hunt and catch in Pokemon Go later this week.

Rather than just hope you get lucky with an egg you eventually hatch, all 80 will be discoverable in the regular fashion of hunting and throwing several Pokeballs until you finally catch them.

It's not just new Pokemon being added to the game though, as Niantic will also be introducing several new items, including evolving items required to evolve certain Pokemon. You'll be able to get them from Pokestops, in the same way as you'd collect other items such as lures, eggs and Pokeballs.

New Berries will be thrown into the game too, Nanab berries will slow Pokemon down to make them easier to catch, while Pinap berries will double the amount of candy you receive upon successfully catching a Pokemon. You'll need to enable to the Pinap berries before you go on to catch a new Pokemon, and they'll only work for one Pokemon. You'll need to use more before catching anything else. You'll also be able to equip your avatar with new items including hats, shirts and trousers.

A promotional video for the new Pokemon also shows the game being played in more remote areas such as forests and up mountains, suggesting the tracking mechanics have been improved, as well as populating more areas with Pokemon instead of city centres.

As for the other 20 Pokemon, some are already in the game as first stage Pokemon, before evolving into Generation II, some will need the specific evolution items mentioned earlier, so won't be able to be caught in the wild and the rest are likely to be Legendary Pokemon, which as far as we're aware, aren't in the game.

Either way, it's certainly welcome news that Niantic has finally got round to releasing a big update for the game, that will hopefully reignite interest. Happy hunting.