Pokemon GO Adding Annihilape

gamerant.com:

Pokemon GO will be introducing Annihilape, the final evolution of Mankey, on January 19. Its upcoming release will mark the latest step in Niantic's efforts to add Scarlet and Violet creatures to Pokemon GO, which the studio started doing in September.

Out of all the cross-gen evolutions that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet introduced in late 2022, Annihilape ended up being one of the most popular ones. That's largely because the third form of Mankey proved to be an immensely capable choice for raids due to its access to high-powered attacks like Close Combat and damage-boosting moves in the vein of Focus Energy.

Some 14 months following its release, the hard-hitting pocket monster is now primed for its mobile debut, with Niantic just confirming that Pokemon GO players will be able to obtain Annihilape starting next Friday, January 19. As predicted, this Paldean creature will have a different evolution method in Pokemon GO, with Niantic deciding to lock it behind the requirement to defeat 30 Psychic- or Ghost-type Pokemon in battle while having Primeape equipped as a Buddy. Evolving a shiny Primeape will yield a shiny Annihilape, which is slightly darker but still extremely similar to the regular version of the «rage monkey Pokemon,» as it's classified in the mainline games.

For comparison, evolving Primeape into Annihilape in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet was a bit easier, as the creature would automatically start evolving as soon as it used Rage Fist 20 times. Since that move is first learned at level 35, most Scarlet and Violet players were able to get their hands on an Annihilape or three before long. While battling works completely differently in Pokemon GO, beating 30 Ghost- or Psychic-type creatures in Niantic's mobile game