Pokemon Go biome update has more beaches than you think – but don’t expect to find Wiglett

Players have found Pokemon Go’s new beach biome appearing in some unexpected places, but there is a major catch.

Pokemon Go players who live nowhere near the coast have better odds of seeing one of the game’s new beach biomes than they think.

As part of the massive and ongoing Rediscover Go event, many real-world environments now look more realistic on the game’s map and during encounters. However, as some players are reporting, beach biomes are showing up in unexpected places.

“Golf Courses are secretly BEACHES!” shared one player who explained, “I work inland at a golf course and noticed that occasionally I get to see the Beach Biome screen when catching.”

Other commenters noted they’d found beach biomes at other golf courses and sandy locations like volleyball courts, leading one to conclude “moral of the story is biomes can appear in unexpected locations.”

However, there is a catch. As part of the biome update, Niantic added Gen 9’s Wiglett and Wugtrio to the mobile title, making the Pokemon exclusive to the new beach biome. But while players may be able to find beaches in surprising places, they shouldn’t expect to find Wiglett there.

As players have discovered, Wiglett only spawns in areas the game has marked as “natural=beach” or “natural=coastline.” Since these golf course and volleyball court-based beach biomes won’t have this marking, you won’t be able to find the Garden Eel Pokemon even though it looks like it should spawn there.

Despite this crucial limitation, this discovery should encourage those interested in seeing all the new biomes themselves to explore their own communities. Of Pokemon Go’s many recent changes – including its controversial avatar design overhaul – biomes and improved backgrounds have been seen as bright spots.

To many, these new visual enhancements make the game more immersive, and it’s good to see inland players won’t have to miss out completely.