Pokemon Go players left frustrated after Jeju Island event mix up

Chris Studley
Screenshot of shocked Pikachu from Pokemon Lets Go Eevee & Pikachu.

A mix-up during the Pokemon Go Jeju Island event in South Korea helped some catch event- exclusives outside the location. However, Niantic won’t let players keep some of them.

In addition to Adventure Week and the Poliwag Community Day, Niantic is currently holding a special event in South Korea.

The event has given select trainers the opportunity to catch rare Pokemon, but a glitch gave some players outside the country to get in on the action.

Niantic fixed the glitch, but the developer decided to go a step further and modify the Pokemon caught outside of the event. That decision has players up in arms.

Pokemon go pikachu bug

Niantic’s Jeju Island event caused frustration among Pokemon Go players

Niantic is in the midst of a special event on Jeju Island, South Korea, in collaboration with Pokemon Air Adventures. The event, being held from July 28-30, has given trainers the chance to explore the island and catch event-exclusive Pokemon.

However, a bug during the event gave players in New Zealand a chance to catch three special Pokemon: a Pikachu with a blue shirt, a Flying Pikachu with orange balloons, and a Farfetch’d. The latter species is a regional exclusive in Eastern Asia.

In response to the bug, Niantic confirmed that players that caught either of the two Pikachus will be replaced with different versions.

The Flying Pikachu with orange balloons will be changed to one that has multicolored balloons, while the blue shirt Pikachu will be replaced with one that doesn’t have a costume.

No adjustments to the Farfetch’d caught due to the bug will be made, per Niantic.

The news frustrated players, many of whom blamed Niantic and believed they should not be punished for its mistake.

One trainer stated, “For so long [New Zealand] trainers have been at the butt end of your failed events and now when they benefit in a small way, you take it away.”

This mishap comes just weeks after Niantic reduced the wild spawns radius after an update that briefly increased it. The company took heat for the rollback of the short-lived feature, as it received strong reviews while in place.

About The Author

Chris is a gaming writer for Dexerto who has covered the sports and gaming scenes for over five years. This has led him to become an expert on many sports games, inclduing Madden, NBA 2K, EA Sports FC and more. You can contact Chris at chris.studley@dexerto.com.