Next Season Details for Pokémon Go Uncovered in Leak

Pokémon Go‘s next season will be named Might and Mastery, and focus on the Legendary kung fu bear Kubfu.

That’s according to in-game imagery added to the app’s files this week, as spotted by Pokéminers. Banner art for the new season shows its title and also includes a pair of fists, hinting at the Legendary Fighting-type’s evolution, Urshifu.

The banner’s split black and blue design is another reference to Urshifu, fans believe, and the bear’s two separate forms.

“Black on the left for Single Strike Urshifu, blue on the right for Rapid Strike Urshifu, with a crimson streak in the middle representing Dynamax energy,” Pokémon fan B0SS_Zombie wrote on top Pokémon fan reddit TheSilphRoad.

“Might referring to Urshifu’s strength, Mastery referring to it mastering a ‘Strike’ style to evolve,” they also noted.

Kubfu and Urshifu were originally introduced in The Isle of Armor, the first expansion to Generation 8 games Pokémon Sword and Shield.

Finding and befriending the cute-looking Kubfu is a major part of that expansion’s plotline, which guides players to the choice of which evolution path for the Pokémon they wish to take.

Kubfu evolves into Urshifu after observing a particular scroll, with a choice of Fighting/Dark-type Single Strike Style or the Fighting/Water-type Rapid Strike Style.

While similar in appearance, each form is designed to represent a different Chinese martial arts style. Each form also has its own unique Gigantamax version – the only Pokémon with more than one Gigantamax option.

Pokémon Go’s next season is set to begin on 4th March, once this weekend’s big Unova-focused Go Tour is done and dusted. Yesterday, Pokémon Go developer Niantic sought to better explain the game’s first battle pass, which is rolling out in time for the Go Tour event.

Looking further ahead, the future of Pokémon Go looks uncertain following the report that Niantic is planning to sell the game to Monopoly Go maker Scopely, which has been criticised for its monetisation strategy after taking over other mobile games.