The latest bug to affect Niantic’s smash-hit Pokémon Go Android and iOS game has players swearing at their phones, as rare monsters become common beasts after capture, with Blastoises turning into Rattata and Ninetails into Ekans.
The glitch appears to have appeared in the last 48 hours following an update to the game that removed distance tracking and blocked third-party Pokémon mapping services.
Players report that the error seems to happen at random, while the breed that an affected user’s Pokémonis changed into appears to follow no logic. Some have been lucky, seeing common Pokémon morphed into rare types on capture, while others have been robbed, spending effort attempting to capture what appears to be rare or powerful Pokémon only to end up with abundant weak monsters such as a Rattata or a Pidgey.
The update also changed the dynamics of curveballs, and appears to have increased the escape rates of Pokémon making even weaker level monsters harder to capture, further angering players.
Pokémon Go recently hit over 100 million players, with players flocking to the streets and open spaces, have narrow escapes from islands in the Bristol Channel and literally walk into the sea in search of the virtual beasts. But its most hardcore players are starting to become disenfranchised with the game, picking more and more holes in it.
How long the location-based gaming hysteria can last remains to be seen, but it has had a real-world impact on the businesses and areas frequented by players. Pubs, cafes, shops and public spaces have jumped on the bandwagon, encouraging players to spend time in their areas.
