Outrage as Niantic Revokes Event-Exclusive Pokémon from Players Outside South Korea

Some people were able to catch event-exclusive Pokemon outside of Jeju Island, South Korea, because of a mix-up during the Pokemon Go Jeju Island event. Niantic, though, will only permit gamers to keep some of them. Niantic is now hosting a unique event in South Korea in addition to Adventure Week and Poliwag Community Day.

A bug allowed certain players from outside the country to participate in the event, which allowed a few trainers to catch uncommon Pokemon. Although Niantic addressed the bug, the developer went one step further and changed the Pokemon captured outside the event. The decision has the players outraged.

Pokemon Go gamers expressed discontent with Niantic’s Jeju Island event

Niantic and Pokemon Air Adventures are hosting a special event on Jeju Island in South Korea. Trainers have had the opportunity to explore the island and catch Pokemon that are only available during the event, which takes place from July 28 to July 30. Players in New Zealand, though, had the chance to capture three unique Pokemon during the event: a Pikachu wearing a blue shirt, a Flying Pikachu holding orange balloons, and a Farfetch’d. In Eastern Asia, the latter species is a local specialty.

The following updates will affect Trainers who caught the exclusive event Pikachu if they were not physically present on Jeju Island.

• Flying Pikachu with orange balloons will be replaced with Flying Pikachu with multicolored balloons.

— Niantic Support (@NianticHelp) July 29, 2023

Niantic said that players who captured either Pikachus would be replaced with other Pikachus due to the bug. The orange-ballooned Flying Pikachu will be replaced with one that has multicolored balloons, while the blue-shirted Pikachu will be swapped out with one without a costume. According to Niantic, the Farfetch captured will remain the same due to the problem. The news infuriated players, many of whom held Niantic accountable and felt they shouldn’t suffer for its error. As one trainer put it, “New Zealand trainers have been on the receiving end of your failed events for so long, and now that they have received a small benefit, you have taken it away.”

• Pikachu wearing a blue shirt (Citrus) will be replaced with Pikachu that aren’t wearing costumes.

We will not adjust any Farfetch’d that Trainers may have caught due to this mistake.

We apologize for the confusion and the error. Thank you for your understanding.

— Niantic Support (@NianticHelp) July 29, 2023

This incident occurred only a few weeks after Niantic reduced the wild spawn radius following a patch that had temporarily boosted it. The short-lived feature earned positive reviews while it was in place. Therefore, the corporation drew criticism for rolling it back.