With all the negative talk surrounding Pokemon GO lately, any other news about it might sound like a good idea. This, however, might not be it.
Articuno is a legendary Pokemon that is currently unavailable to catch. It is listed in Pokemon GO’s files; folks who have sniffed around the files confirm its presence. But it is still unobtainable.
However, multiple Reddit users have provided screenshots and video showing Articuno standing guard different Pokemon gyms in Ohio. The fact Articuno is real is not being debated. What is being debated is how he came to be.
Articuno’s owner, kaitcovey, posted about her catch on her local Pokemon GO Facebook page. It is how she came to own the legendary Pokemon that has people upset. She claims it was given to her by Niantic as part of an apology after she contacted them via email about an issue she was having.
This, of course, has set off a firestorm of anger and accusations. The reason is simple: one would think Niantic would save the reveal of Articuno for some public event, not gift it with an email saying, “I’m sorry.” This has led to a lot of theories as to how kaitcovey “acquired” the ultra-rare Pokemon.
One theory is that Articuno is the result of a glitch in the game. There was a recent report of a visual bug that caused a Caterpie to register as a Charizard once caught. Another more sinister theory is pure hacking. It is possible to edit the game’s creature data using an external tool. It’s not for beginners, but it is possible.
Whatever the reason, this Articuno mystery is just something else Pokemon GO fans can gnash their teeth about.
