This bird’s got fans crying fowl.
Articuno, the legendary ice bird Pokémon, has reportedly appeared in Pokémon Go, presiding over a gym in Ohio. The Daily Dot reports that katiecovey, the trainer who allegedly owns the Articuno, received the Pokémon directly from Niantic, the game’s developers, as an apology for an issue she had to deal with. This flies in the face of previous comments from Niantic, who have implied that legendary Pokémon like these would only be obtainable through special events and promotions.
After being asked for proof, Covey appeared in a Twitch video alongside Matt Covey, showing that the Articuno was in their collection, along with the correct Pokédex entry. Once again, given known spoofing techniques and other methods of faking Pokémon, it’s not quite irrefutable evidence. As well, in the support e-mail they show regarding the original issue that got them the Articuno, it looks like the support agent misspelled the Pokémon’s name, typing “Articundo” instead. Hmm.
While multiple users have posted alleged proof that this mythical Pokémon has been captured (see above), keep in mind that plenty of Pokémon spoofing methods have been posted to the internet since the game’s release. More than a few of those methods have been used to illustrate the fact that the last remaining Pokémon yet to be captured (Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Mew, Mewtwo, and Ditto) actually have models in the game as it stands, they’re just not able to be captured quite yet.
Whereas Pokémon spoofing falls into a strange grey area regarding the game’s terms of service, GPS spoofing is 100% against the rules, and as a result, the uploader who shared the video you see above has been softbanned for posting this proof because you can see they’re using GPS software to change their location.
This news comes hot on the heels of a major update to Pokémon Go that left many fans feeling burnt by Niantic’s changes, namely regarding the limiting of third-party support. Since then, Niantic’s been receiving a deluge of comments from many unhappy players, ranging from relatively benign to incredibly volatile.
The response (or lack thereof) from Niantic regarding these changes and the fan feedback has resulted in stronger tensions between the two parties. Again, if this Articuno story proves to be true, then fans may have yet another item to add to their laundry list of problems with Pokémon Go.
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