'Pokémon GO' news: introduction of baby Pokémon hinders hatching of fully evolved creatures

An update does not always mean a step forward, at least with "Pokémon GO," as a recent study claims that the Dec. 12 update requires fans to work their way in evolving the newly introduced baby Pokémon to their grown-up state.

When Niantic Labs first made it known that they are bringing Pichu, Cleffa, Magby, Elekid, Igglybuff, Togepi and Smoochum into the augmented game via hatching, fans were already worried about the ability to hatch fully evolved creatures right from the bat. There was no official word regarding this but as weeks go by, more and more players have been noticing the significant drop in numbers of hatching an evolved form of a baby Pokémon after Dec. 12.

"Professor Willow has discovered Togepi and Pichu hatching from Eggs! Starting later today, Trainers will have the opportunity to hatch these and several other Pokémon that were originally discovered in the Johto Region in Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver video games. These are the first of more Pokémon coming to Pokémon GO over the next few months," the official statement from the folks behind the augmented reality game reads.

A study conducted by The Silph Road delves deeper into the matter given that the new scheme has yet to be confirmed. To compare the quantity of egg hatches from before and after the update was executed, the team tested 2,490 eggs cracked since Halloween to Dec. 12. The count resulted in 10 Magmar, 14 Clefairy, 33 Jigglypuff, 18 Jinx, 13 Electabuzz, and 36 Pikachu. Following the rollout, from a sample size of 1,621 eggs,21 Magby, 14, Cleffa, 30 Igglybuff, 18 Smoochum, eight Elekid, 32 Pichu, and 21 Togepi were hatched. In retrospect, the experiment concluded that a single one fully evolved creature of the newly introduced baby Pokémon was hatched after the aforementioned patch.

As of now, it seems like not a lot of players have noticed this particular change and it will be interesting how this will be perceived once word spreads out; moreover, how Niantic Labs will react should its new ploy does not sit well with gamers.