Niantic has been pretty munificent on pushing out updates for its Pokémon GO app. Now, the company has begun rolling out a small update in the background that allows players who see certain Pokémon in gym locations be marked as "seen" Pokémon.
Previously, Pokémon encountered while exploring were the only ones that showed up as "seen" on a player's Pokédex, and not those encountered at gyms. Now, the little creatures are being included in the Pokédex altogether.
However, the update will not retrofit previously encountered Pokémon at gyms, meaning, every Pokémon that players have encountered via gyms before the update will not be marked as "seen." The update only affects Pokémon encountered in gyms moving forward. So those of you who were somewhat irked about this slight qualm, there's less worry now that gym encounters are reflected inside the Pokédex.
Another notable change that comes with the update deals with Pokémon that players have seen in a gym but have yet to be caught. If a player encounters a gym Pokémon still uncaught, it will be counted as "Seen: 1" and if the player successfully catches the particular Pokémon encountered both in the gym and in the wild, the number count will elevate to two instead of just one.
This is a particular hot topic over at a Reddit thread, where users quipped that they were glad that non-caught gym encounters now show up as Phantom Pokémon, while being slightly worried that this will affect their caught/seen ratio after they actually catch the "seen" Pokémon.
Many Pokémon GO players have all turned to Niantic in unison to bring this feature onto the game. In the main Pokémon games for handhelds, Pokémon are counted as seen whether or not players encounter it while exploring across the expanse of the Pokémon region or during a gym battle.
This is a welcome feature for completionists, since the main point behind Pokémon games, apart from battles and exploration, is stockpiling all the little creatures, harking back to the familiar and beloved catchphrase: "Gotta catch 'em all." The update also means that some region-exclusive Pokémon can end up in the Pokédex as "seen" if players encounter it in a gym despite its exclusivity.
The update is rolling out in the background, meaning there's no need to actually update the App from the App Store. Some users are receiving it ahead of others, likely that Niantic is pushing it out slowly.
Niantic has been constantly providing updates to the game, despite its waning popularity. It has released an update that makes it easier to catch rare Pokémon, possibly in an attempt to win back casual players who have their backs on the game. Along with the slew of updates, especially one that's aiming to make gym battles more exciting, Pokémon GO still has a pretty long shelf life amid forecast of its demise.
