The best Pokémon GO hacks won’t help either. Niantic is taking action!
When a couple in Ohio pointed out that Niantic had gifted them an Articuno, many players had already figured out that this must be a fake or a hack. Why would Niantic simply send Pokémon to selected players as an “apology”? And an Articuno at that? Now, the “Pokémon GO” developer Niantic has spoken out and clarified the situation.
Fair Play in Pokémon GO
What was already clear has now been officially confirmed by Niantic. In a statement to IGN, a spokesperson for Niantic stated:
We recently learned that a few legendary Pokémon ended up in the hands of various trainers, although that shouldn’t be possible. To show that we take these cases very seriously and want to maintain fairness in the game, we have rectified the situation and revoked the Pokémon from the trainers.
Articuno was not given away by Niantic
A Niantic spokesperson told Geek.com that Articuno was definitely not given away by Niantic. It is possible that players used a hack or something similar to obtain Articuno. For example, there are also programs that change the appearance of Pokémon on their devices, so that a Caterpie appears as a Zapdos or even an Articuno.
In any case, the world in Pokémon GO is back to normal, as none of the trainers should have a legendary Pokémon in their possession anymore. It’s nice to hear more from Niantic lately. For a long time, it was very quiet, and players were in the dark. By now reporting issues or, as in this case, publicly showing that they want to keep the game fair, the developers are improving their reputation among many players.
What will happen with PokéVision is still unclear – but we have provided a good alternative for you to track Pokémon: The GO Map for Pokémon GO!
