The free mobile game "Pokémon GO" is being played by millions of people around the world.
Tech Insider
So when it has problems, a lot of people get vocal about it. Such is the case right now, in the days following the game's first major update. Many users are reporting - and we can confirm - that some caught Pokémon are turning into other Pokémon after having been caught.
Here's how it happens, as described by Reddit user "Infektek":
"Basically what's happening for some people is the Pokémon they are catching are becoming something else with the same CP once caught.
So for a rough example you see a 200cp Squirtle and it could become a 200cp Rattata once you finally catch it, which would really piss you off if you just wasted a bunch of items to get it."
Sounds frustrating, right? It is!
Ben Gilbert / Tech Insider
In the case of Tech Insider video producer Chris Snyder, the Electabuzz he found last night in Central Park became a Nidoran after being caught. Too bad it didn't become a Ditto!
The glitch is seemingly the result of the latest update to the game, which arrived over the weekend. The update changes a number of things in the game:
- It adds the ability to customize your Trainer avatar at any time.
- It completely dumps the ability to track Pokémon - the "Nearby" tab in the lower right of the main screen no longer has footprints (the Nearby tab had otherwise been broken for the past week, showing all Pokémon as three steps away).
- It removes the Battery Saver function, which was pretty important considering how much of a battery suck "Pokémon GO" is (this appears to be an iPhone-only removal, as it's still on my Nexus 5X).
- And most importantly, it kills services like PokéVision which enable a richer Pokémon tracking experience. This is especially frustrating for fans because the game's own Pokémon tracking functionality is so poor by comparison.
It also, apparently, introduced this crazy new glitch.
Given that the game is pulling data from a list of Pokémon that, at maximum, has 151 entries, it seems that there's a mismatch between the data the game pulls when you begin a capture interaction with a Pokémon and what it's spitting out (in some instances, at least).
Here's a brief example of what the glitch looks like in action (Beware: There is some swearing):
Niantic Labs, the game's creator, has said nothing about the glitch, and representatives did not respond to request for comment as of publishing.