"0.179.0 Teardown Follow Up - Digging Deeper (More on the Rocket Balloon)"

#PokemonGO: Hi again!So we took a deeper dive in 179 and had enough information to do a digging deeper report on this one too. The obfuscation makes things very difficult to piece together (I guess that's kinda the point) so take this report with an extra grain of salt. We did our best but Niantic isn't making it easy haha.Let's dive in!Original TeardownUpdate: Added information that Balloon grunts don't have specific pokemon types like regular gruntsRocket BalloonThe Balloon will hover on the map as stated in the original teardownIt doesn't appear to be tied to any PokeStop or GymThere is a specific call for tapping on the balloon vs using the radar for exampleIt will move around and eventually 'wander' offThe Balloon has several different states in regards to how it may spawn includingIs it cooling down (implying there is a time between when two balloons are allowed to spawn)Is the Balloon disabled (probably to control the rolling out of this feature or to shut it down if needed)If another Balloon already exists (implying only one Balloon may spawn at once)There is a state for an invalid equipped item, which might imply you require an item like the Rocket Radar to spawn it? There is little to no supporting information for this at the momentRocket Invasions were split into two separate categories, one for PokeStops and one for BalloonsA new Invasion type of GRUNTB (for Balloon most likely) was addedThis implies that you would not battle Giovanni or the Leaders as they have their own TypeTo that point, a CHARACTER_GRUNTB_FEMALE and a CHARACTER_GRUNTB_MALE were added as character types, so further evidence that the Balloon will only allow you to battle gruntsUnlike regular grunts where they have a type associated with them for their team, the balloon grunts are just balloon grunts currentlyBALLOON_GRUNT and GRUNTB are separate types though which is odd, perhaps one is a placeholder​Sponsored GiftsSponsored gifts pull from the same loot table as regular giftsThere will be a small tutorial for sponsored gifts​-PokeMiners via /r/TheSilphRoad https://ift.tt/2Nfvmli