Pokemon Go players slam major Poke Ball shortage with Spotlight Hour & Go Fest

With Pokemon GoFest launching in July 2021, some players are complaining about Poke Ball and item shortages. Angry users have hit out at Niantic for draining their resources with the major event on the horizon.

With the series celebrating its fifth anniversary in July, it’s a busy time for Pokemon Go players. Only a few weeks later on July 17, the mobile title will also hold its massively popular Go Fest.

Despite the flurry of exciting events, some players are claiming that they are suffering a shortage of Poke Balls and resources. Trainers worry they will be out of items before the annual event even begins.

Pokemon Go players hit out at Niantic for Poke Ball shortage

The discussion was kicked off on the r/PokemonGo forum after several players complained about the Pokemon Go Fifth Anniversary event coinciding with the game’s weekly Spotlight Hour on July 6. Users were concerned about how quickly they were draining their berries and Poke Balls with Go Fest only a week away.

“You sure as hell won’t have any resources left for GoFest if you plan on playing much for this next week. This event obviously only exists to drain resources before the start of GoFest,” player ‘xclusivestylesz’ wrote, hitting out at the game’s current state.

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The Trainer then listed an example of how quickly they were using up in-game resources while participating in the July events. “5 minutes and 15 balls to catch a treeko? Thanks but no thanks, Niantic, I just won’t play.”

Other players backed up the user’s sentiment, sharing similar experiences. One fan wrote, “I went through 200 Pokeballs yesterday.” Another exclaimed, “I used 12 regular balls against a Bulbasaur last night before it ran away. I closed the game.”

While some fans pointed out that the Fifth Anniversary event rewards players with 80 Poke Balls, one fan shot this down and responded, “I’ve already spent resources rare than 80 Pokeballs doing this. Point is that people who haven’t got the PokeStop density [near them] to recover their resources should CONSIDER ignoring this challenge.”

Pokemon Go players also took to social media sites like Twitter to voice their concerns, such as a player who tweeted, “is it me or is this spotlight hour a resource drain by Niantic just to buy more balls from them before go fest?”

A second posted, “I don’t think berries even matter in Pokémon Go or what type of pokeballs you use on them or if the throw is great… spent 10 Pokeballs, 20 ultra, and spent almost all my Great balls. I’m out of pokeballs… again.”

While many voiced their concerns about a Poke Ball shortage, other users argued that they had not had any problems losing resources. A major issue the game has faced since its launch is PokeStop population and how some simply do not live by any, if at all. This could explain the vastly different experiences Trainers have.

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It should also be pointed out that in the past Niantic has given the community a large number of Poke Balls at the start of each GoFest. So this year’s annual event could see a similar reward, although it’s not guaranteed and doesn’t solve all the issues that users are complaining about. Only time will tell if the developer takes action to address the complaints.