Did Niantic remove Team Rocket from Pokemon Go due to a bug?
Pokemon GoAfter weeks of teases and rumors, Team Rocket were finally added to Pokemon Go, but just a day after their invasion, it looks like they have packed up and left.
Team Rocket arrived in Pokemon Go on July 22 focusing their evil intentions on PokeStops and bringing Shadow Pokemon with them. Just one day later though, and they are currently nowhere to be seen.
Team Rocket disabled in Pokemon Go
“Professor Willow has noticed that sightings of discolored PokeStops and Pokemon enshrouded in a shadowy aura have…suddenly stopped? Hmm… This phenomenon keeps getting more troubling the more we investigate it,” the official Pokemon Go account tweeted.
Professor Willow has noticed that sightings of discolored PokéStops and Pokémon enshrouded in a shadowy aura have…suddenly stopped? :thinking_face: :mag: Hmm… This phenomenon keeps getting more troubling the more we investigate it. :fearful:
— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) 23 July 2019
Did Pokemon trainers do such a good job defending these PokeStops and purifying Shadow Pokemon, that the Team Go Rocket Grunts just got up and left? Was Giovanni sitting in the background, watching their defeats and before deciding to retreat?
The more cynical Pokemon Go players immediately pointed the finger at Niantic, accusing them of removing Team Rocket due to bugs. One of the most popular replies to the news was “Did y’all just cover up a mistake by saying Team Rocket did it?”
Plot twist: They are team rocket
— xStickyy (@andrew_gregor) 23 July 2019
Where have Team Rocket gone?
Another user was a little more blunt saying: “Our game isn’t working so we are going to pretend this is a part of the plan.” It’s certainly possible that Niantic were forced to rollback Team Rocket due to difficulties, as there were reports of the game freezing for some players.
“Our game isn’t working so we are going to pretend this is apart of the plan”
— Walry (@WalrusNarwal374) 23 July 2019
Alternatively, maybe this part of the storyline and could be Niantic’s attempt to increase the hype surrounding Team Rocket. After all, absence makes the heart grow fonder. While Pokemon Go trainers, and fans in general, certainly aren’t fond of Team Rocket, maybe their sudden absence will make the new feature even more popular.
Whether this is all part of the ever-evolving narrative or if it’s an issue Niantic had to address remains to be seen. We’ll have to wait and see whether Pokemon’s most evil group appear in the game again, but it seems unlikely that this will be the last time we see Team Rocket in Pokemon Go.