Pokemon Go: Legendary Pokemon appear in game, but Niantic quickly snatches them away

A couple claimed to have achieved Pokemon Go’s highest and hardest state: catching a legendary creature. But they have quickly had it revoked.

Those still playing Pokemon Go were whipped into a frenzy this week – after anger at a new update – by rumours that it was possible to catch legendary Pokemon in the game. Legendary creatures are by far the rarest in the Pokemon universe, and it hadn’t been clear whether they even existed in the game let alone whether they could be caught.

But a couple this week claimed that they had found an Articuno, a flying legendary Pokemon. And their claim spread quickly through the internet.

But now Niantic has said that the Articuno found its way into the game by accident, and that it would now be removed.

"We recently noticed that a few Legendary Pokemon got into a few accounts when they shouldn’t have,” a Niantic spokesperson told news site IGN. “To preserve the game’s integrity and as a measure of fairness, we have rectified the situation and revoked the legendary Pokemon from the Trainers’ accounts."

The rumour does seem to suggest that legendary Pokemon are on their way into the game, if they aren’t there already. Some had suggested before Niantic’s statement that players had faked their finds, but the developer appears to suggest that those legendary Pokemon are planned but haven’t yet been released yet.

The rumour comes after a week of controversy about the game – and threats to quit. Niantic updated the game last week with a range of changes, the most controversial of which were the removal of a tracking feature and the blocking of third-party apps.