A brand-new Pokémon is showing up in Pokémon GO

Just in case you thought the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet marketing cycle was getting quiet, The Pokémon Company has cooked up a fun little surprise for Pokémon GO players.

At the end of today’s Dratini Classic Community Day in Pokémon GO, players in New Zealand – where the Community Day just ended – noticed that golden Pokéstops were appearing in the world. Spinning those stops awards an item called a “?????? Coin”, said to be an item from the Paldea region, and starts a conversation with Professor Willow, who introduces you to Jacq, a professor in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

The new professor quickly disappears, but a little fella stays behind — a brand-new, never-before-seen Pokémon. It looks a little bit like a bipedal bug, with a big coin on its back. It can’t be captured, and we don’t even know its name, but tapping on it reveals its unquenchable thirst for more coins. It’s a cute little guy who just follows you around in GO, and we can probably assume it’ll be turning up at some point in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

This isn’t the first time The Pokémon Company has used Pokémon GO to reveal a new Pokémon. Back in 2018, ahead of Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee, the game featured a Chikorita Community Day that spawned dozens of Meltans, showing us this new creature for the first time. Back then, we didn’t know its name either, and we dubbed it Nutto, since it looked a bit like a Ditto but with a nut on its head. So what’re we calling this new coin-carrying weirdo? Who knows, but give us your best suggestions before The Pokémon Company spoils all the fun.

Thanks to Birphon over on the r/TheSilphRoad subreddit for sharing this fun new friend with the world.