"0.185.0 Teardown Follow Up - Digging Deeper"

#PokemonGO: Hello everyone!So we took a further look into the latest APK with our tiniest pickaxe and found some more information we can share! Mostly about Megas and how they function but also helping to clarify a few speculations. Let's dive in!Orginal Teardown​HighlightsFun fact: They started working on Megas before remote raiding and stickersMegas are the first true implementation of real Form Transformations and might be reused in the futureMegas are their own raid level (not 1-5 as we previously reported)We think you would actually catch the mega mon and not the pre-evolved formMegas could require an item for certain Pokemon?Mega energy is called candy in the code because it uses the same backend as candyNew quest type specifically for Mega evolvingQuests can now display an icon on them (to help separate event quests from regular perhaps)Costume type can display on the Pokemon info screenBattle parties might soon be saved to the server (maybe)Mini Collection added to Today View (with no information on it haha)A subscription category was added to the store​HistoryOne thing that was very interesting (at least I thought) is according to the code, they started working on Megas (or at the very least started designing them) before work on remote raids and stickers. So these have been in the pipeline for a long time it would seem. Exciting!​Megas Are The First True 'Form Transformation'It appears that Megas are not 'created' as a separate form like we are typically used to. Rather they are a modified version of the existing Pokemon (meaning quite literally this is the first actual implementation of form transformations which gives hope to other non-Megas getting form changes as well in the future). There is more information about this specifically in the Game Master section below.As part of this, things we were able to determine these temporary transformations contain:What type of Mega evolution it is (regular, X, or Y)What their stats are (which does, in fact, imply they will have separate stats and not just a generic boost like we previously thought)Their typesHow they appear in the cameraCatching stats like base capture rate, how much they jump, attack etc (during encounters)This suggests when you do mega raids you will be able to catch them as Megas instead of their pre-evolved formsIf the mon was mega evolved is also logged in your journal after you beat the boss so this further suggests you will be able to catch Megas after the battleSpecific buddy size and heights of the models​In addition, it appears that each mon now stores a lot more information about it. We couldn't determine everything that was added but we were able to confirm the following:If it's a temporary evolution (obviously)What we are calling History? That name might be incorrect but there is now information regarding where the mon was caught from:WildEggRaidQuestVs Seeker (GBL)Invasion (Rocket)PhotobombA lot of the information stored within these fields were obfuscated, but we were able to pick out a few things, such as:If the mon is from a EX RaidIf it's a temporary evolution raid bossWhat type of quest it originated from (story vs field for example)What GBL season it was caught duringWhat Rocket it came from (Which leader, a grunt, etc)It'll be interesting to see what they do with this information. Would be cool to have more history about where the mon came from for display/history purposes.​Megas Are Their Own Raid LevelWe speculated this but have confirmation now that the raid level was updated to specifically include Megas as an addition to the levels 1-5. This means they can have a separate health boost vs other levels.In addition, the temporary evolution message was added to raid invitations meaning you will be able to invite others to Mega raids.​Mega EvolutionSeveral error messages were added for reasons why a Mega may fail to evolve. Some pretty standard stuff like already mega evolved, insufficient resources etc. But one that is very interesting is FAILED_INVALID_ITEM_REQUIREMENT. Nothing in the texts suggests requiring an item, but perhaps some Megas require an item in addition to energy in the future?Also, you will get XP for mega evolving but that's kind of expected.​Mega EnergyEnergy (or candy in the code) is most likely called Candy because it is using the same system as regular candy is. That is to say, it appears each 'energy' is specific for each Pokemon. Or at least it has the ability to be.​Mega QuestsA new quest type was added to specifically mega evolve a pokemon. This is probably to go with the Willow texts we saw about mega evolving the starters.In addition, quests received the ability to display an icon which might be helpful if used to distinguish between different event's quests.And as previously speculated, we can also confirm you can get energy from quests.​Mega InventoryA new inventory item was added called Mega Evolve Species. It contains two number fields that are obfuscated so we aren't sure what this is, but it's not the candy/energy section we have seen in other places so it's some other inventory item. It could be related to the Mega item requirement found above perhaps.​Mega TradingAs we saw in the text, we can confirm there is an exclusion reason for temporarily evolved pokemon in the trade exclusions.​Mega Settings Added To The Game MasterWe can't see exactly what they are, but our best guess would be:How long a Mega stays evolvedWhat the Mega boost % isWhat the Mega STAB boost % isSomething we have no idea hahaWe won't know until the settings start to get pushed to the GM before we can start to truly guess what they are.In addition, temporary evolution settings are also added and are separate from Mega Settings (Megas are actually a subset of Temporary evolutions). This will include a list of all Pokemon and what their temporary evolutions are (along with their asset information). This further suggests they will not be added as separate forms but rather modifications to existing Pokemon.There were also two new messages added to the Game Master that we have zero clue as to what they may be haha. We'll have to wait for them to be pushed as well.​Pokemon Display ScreenIn addition to the mega stuff we previously reported on, there is now a section for which costume the Pokemon is. These are typically things like Halloween 2020, Winter 2018 etc. So kind of like collections I guess? Would be cool to display that on the screen as well.​Battle Parties Saved To The Server?In player preferences, a new setting is stored that from what we can tell (obfuscation makes it difficult) stores your battle parties. If this is correct (big if) then that would be exciting and a very nice QOL update.​Mini Collection in Today View?A new section to the Today View was added called Mini Collection. Unfourently it literally contains no information so it's just a stub at the moment. Will be interesting to see what comes of this.​Store SubscriptionWe saw hints at a subscription service a long time ago, but now as part of the Store section, a Subscription Category has been added in this version. Would be interesting how and what that looks like.​Additional Fitness StatsIt appears additional fitness stats are now stored as part of your player stats. A few values were added, and they were all obfuscated, but we were able to determine one of them is step count, which suggests the other two are also fitness related.​TelemetryNot as exciting, but they are now logging/reporting Niantic Social settings back to the server (like if you changed your online status, opened someone's profile, etc).​There were other quite a few other changes we saw during this, but we left them out if they were completely obfuscated as we don't really have anything to report on (stuff and things happened haha).​-PokeMiners via /r/TheSilphRoad https://ift.tt/3aQQeKP