In Pokémon GO there is currently a severe bug that marks your Pokémon as defenders and renders them useless.
The new arena system in Pokémon GO is not running smoothly yet. Many trainers noticed this in recent weeks when they tried to battle in arenas or participate in raids. Last week, developer Niantic released an update that was supposed to fix many bugs. However, the update has not completely resolved the issues yet.
Currently, there is a bug in Pokémon GO that marks Pokémon as defenders while simultaneously making them useless in the game.
Bug – Error when assigning arena Pokémon
If you want to assign one of your monsters to an arena in Pokémon GO, there can sometimes be an error. This means that either the monster is not assigned to the arena at all, or it receives a “broken” defender bonus. Reddit user LimboMon reports this error:
This severe bug can occur when you want to assign Pokémon to an arena. The monster is then marked as a defender but is not placed in the arena. This makes it unusable for the future since you cannot assign it to another arena in this status. And it does not earn you any coins either. Your Pokémon are classified as defenders, even though they are still with you.
And here’s how you notice the bug:
- When you assign a monster to an arena, there’s an “error” and the monster is not added or is not visible when you check the arena again.
- Nevertheless, the Pokémon receives the “defender” status
- While the Pikachu icon appears on the arena overview, when you click on the arena, you won’t find any monster there. How this looks is shown in the following screenshot from LimboMon:
- Since your Pokémon is not “really” in the arena, it cannot be defeated by an attacker and sent home.
- The spot in the arena where your monster should sit can be occupied by other Pokémon or trainers. You can continue to battle in the arena, add other defenders, and receive coins from them. However, the bugged Pokémon will remain in its state indefinitely and is initially unusable.
This bug is still considered “rare”, but it can apparently affect any trainer who wants to assign their Pokémon to arenas.
Niantic has already been informed
In the mentioned Reddit thread, support staff member NianticGeorge stated that he had already seen a handful of reports of this bug. However, the team has not yet been able to determine that the bug persists for long. Nevertheless, the exact depiction by thread creator LimboMon shows that the problem is serious.
The Niantic team has been informed by George so they can work on a solution for this bug.
Have you experienced this arena bug yourself and perhaps even have a solution for it?
Here you can find known issues with the new Pokémon GO arenas
