Pirates from the Treasure Isles are making their way to the shores of Trove and have lots of booty to trade with players. The news came as part of the latest patch notes along with a subtle, but important, name change where "pets" now become "allies".

PIRATEY GOODNESS: The pirates of the Treasure Isles have begun sailing back into the worlds of Trove, their cargo holds chock-full of mysterious goods from the lands beyond the Sea of Regret. Find them anchored in any adventure world, and check out the goods they have to trade!

Originally Posted by Developer Notes:  This is the first part of our post-sky update and is still pretty early. The seas are still shallow, but this is how you can get some goods like pets, mounts, pearls, and recipes. Currently the pirates are just crafting stations and this will be updated with the larger water update planned as the next big update after the sky one.

ONCE OUR PETS, NOW OUR ALLIES:   Allies-- formerly Pets-- are now more widely available and have some extra special powers. Catch 'em all!

Check out the full patch notes on the Trove site.