A trainer from Pokémon GO just wanted more information about a monster in his collection. However, the Pokémon revealed more about him than he probably hoped for.
In Pokémon GO, there are all sorts of different variants of monsters. These include Crypto monsters, regional forms like Galar and Hisuian, or costumed versions of the popular pocket monsters.
A trainer found an example in his collection that left him a bit puzzled. The community has a very simple and precise answer regarding what this monster is all about.
Oops, that can happen … – A clear marking
What kind of monster is that? In the picture of the trainer, a Spearow is seen. But instead of the normal, familiar representation, this Spearow has a striking peculiarity. Above the picture of the monster, there is a red line running from the bottom left to the top right.
In another picture that the trainer later added in a response, it can be seen that the Spearow was caught on August 13, 2016.
The trainer asks in his post what this red line is all about. In the picture, this marking is only visible on this Spearow and not on any other monsters. Some clever commentators have found the answer regarding what the Pokémon is all about.
We are embedding the post on Reddit here for you:
What’s the story with the monster? Several trainers were able to help the player and found the answer to the unusual picture of the monster. It was obtained in a non-legitimate way in the game and thus marked by Niantic.
This means that the player probably obtained the Spearow through prohibited methods such as spoofing or using cracked and modified versions of the game. According to the Redditor techbear72, these markings were previously used by Niantic before they started banning players for such behavior.
What restrictions does the Pokémon have? According to some comments under the post, there are certain restrictions associated with the marking on the Spearow. It cannot be placed in gyms nor used for raids or battles in the battle league. Also, evolving and using it as a buddy Pokémon should not be possible.
However, the trainer can still keep the Spearow. Should he decide to send it to the professor, there should also be no candy for this.
What does the community say about it? Besides comments explaining the situation and remarks from some trainers that they have never seen such a marking, there are also a few amusing comments under the post. Some of them are:
- “Who in the wide wide world of pokemon go is cheating to obtain a low level Spearow??”, wonders paulD1983R
- “Fruit ninja sparrow”, writes mvwolfpack referring to a well-known game
- “An enemy Pokemon is attempting to use CUT against your Spearow”, claims segwaysegue
- “The spear in spearow”, comments Whole_Surprice_3204
If you prefer to catch your Pokémon legitimately, then events and raids are a good opportunity to obtain some specimens. What events are taking place this current month and when, you can find out in our overview with all events in October 2025 in Pokémon GO.
