New Pokemon GO Update With Anniversary Event! [APK Download]

This morning Niantic released the next app update for the game Pokemon GO, and with it, their 1-year anniversary code! This version of the app does not include anything that'll be seen in the game for the anniversary yet – or so we're to understand – but it does have some sneak peeks. The Pokemon that'll be coming – special and rare for the 1st birthday of Pokemon go – SHINY PIKACHU – this might be the code we needed to make it go live!

It's that time of the year, a time of the year that'll eventually be an international holiday for those Pokemon GO faithfuls across the planet. It's the first anniversary of the game's public release! On the 5th of July, 2016, the game was first released into app stores for both Android users on Google Play and iPhone users on the iTunes app store.

To celebrate this 1-year anniversary, Niantic is launching the Pokemon GO Fest event! This event is taking place in one physical location – Chicago – and will push rewards to users all around the world, too! This event's real-world date is the 22nd of July, 2017 – but we'll see additional celebrations before then! For more information on tickets, see our most recent Pokemon GO Fest Tickets release article with a Cubs hat-wearing Venusaur!

This week we got word that the "Rare Pikachu" that should be announced today(!) will be a SHINY Pikachu. Our anonymous source with information on the subject suggests that the Shiny Pikachu has been in the game's codes for some time – it just needed to be pinged to find! This shiny Pikachu is similar to those shown in past games – a bit more orange than it was yellow, and a bit more magenta than it was red in the cheeks.

It still works the same way!

If this Shiny Pikachu is made live – we're acting on the assumption that it's going to be made live – chances are it'll be difficult to catch! This version of any Pokemon is rarer than the average monster – not nearly as easy to catch as the average super-rare Pokemon. Think about the amount of times you've seen a 3rd-tier evolution Pokemon, then assume you wont see a Shiny Pikachu nearly so often in the wild!

The list of RAID Bosses has changed ever-so-slightly since the feature was launched in Beta last week. This Raid Battle action is taking the whole Pokemon GO universe by storm – with Pokemon we don't normally see in battle all too often! Don't be surprised the see the following in one of your next Raid Battles:

SEE TOO: Item Requirements for RAID BattlesPokemon GO RAID BOSS Wave One:

• Arcanine

• Alakazam

• Bayleaf

• Blastoise

• Charizard

• Croconaw

• Electabuzz

• Exeggutor

• Flareon

• Gengar

• Jolteon

• Lapras IF YOU AREN'T UPDATED: Legendary Raid Event APK app download

• Machamp

• Magikarp

• Magmar

• Muk

• Quilava

• Rhydon

• Snorlax

• Tyranitar

• Vaporeon

• Venusaur

• Weezing

There's a LEGENDARY Egg level for Raid Battles too – so we're keeping our fingers crossed for some Legendary Pokemon battles coming not too soon into the future. Think Mew, think MewTwo, think Legendary Bird Pokemon – think about the whole lot. The future is brightly colored and according to the teams your on!

As tipped by the folks over at The Silph Road, this APK contains a secret! This update pushes a set of character height fixes, minor battle buffer fixes, and a hint at the upcoming Anniversary Day Event. This update appears with the code "ONE_YEAR_ANNIVERSARY" in it, which makes it clear that we'll get something – something super special – on the day OF the event, not just surrounding it.

For iPhone users, the most recent update this week for Pokemon GO will be appearing in the iTunes app store immediately if not soon. This version of the app should NOT be downloaded from 3rd-party sources, as the iOS sideloading app community is not nearly so worthy of trust as that of Android's. The insides of this update will be made available before the anniversary, so don't worry!

Those of you using an Android device, the APK is available now through APK Mirror as version 67.2 – released near the tail end of the night on June 29th, 2017. As always with 3rd party sources, the responsibility of the download and the load remain entirely the users own. SlashGear is not responsible for anything that happens outside of this article.