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Pokemon Go's weekend Catch Mastery event celebrated fossil Pokemon, promising increased shiny encounter rates for Archen, Omanyte and Kabuto. Unfortunately for trainers, Niantic has reported that shiny encounter rates for Omanyte and Kabuto were not increased at all during most of that time.
This error followed an entry posted on Niantic's official help account on the social media platform X. Niantic stated that they did resolve an issue with Shiny Omanyte and Shiny Kabuto not being encountered at an increased rate during the Catch Mastery event. More information regarding affected trainers will be addressed shortly. Trainers who did participate in the Catch Mastery event on Archen voiced feeling that their time and effort were wasted.
Though Niantic purportedly worked on the situation, most participants said their encounters showed little improvement. Loads of backlash have unfolded from the Pokemon Go community. Players felt frustrated over wasted time and resources during that eight-hour event. Some stated they hunted dozens of catches with hardly any shiny ones. Niantic's troubles came on the heels of the USD$3.5B acquisition deal wherein Niantic sold most of its operations to Scopely.
This instance is quite reminiscent of some similar past misadventures, such as on Minccino Limited Research Day in 2020 and Regirock Raid Hour in 2019, where the battle against technical issues intervened with the Shiny rates. Trainers who spend days trying to catch and evolve Mighty Pokémon in the game increasingly voice despair over these seemingly never-ending cases of complaints. The trend indicates that there need to be consistent technical glitches concerning applying special encounter rates during time-limited events.
Niantic has not specified how they will compensate players, or how the team will determine who will be eligible for such reparatory benefits. It raises speculation regarding the upcoming Totodile Community Day Classic. Where increased Shiny witnessing rates serve as the event's main attraction. Those who play Pokemon Go and engage in other games under the Pokemon franchise would likely hesitate to participate in events that promise special encounter rates in the future.
