Take caution, players: right now, there appears to be a bug tucked away in Pokémon GO, which reportedly came along with the latest update to the game's files. This glitch involves the recently added raid battles system with Pokémon Gym users, attackers, defenders, and participants.
Pokémon GO Glitch: Pokémon Is Lost Forever When Added To A Gym
Pokémon GO players who add Pokémon Gym to defend or participate in a raid boss battle might discover that their little pocket monster will promptly disappear, racking up no coins, batting zero opponents. Should this bug permeate the bulk of Pokémon GO players everywhere, Niantic should be at the ready for a flurry of questions coming their way, surely.
The bug, though rare, has been confirmed by a number of users from The Silph Road subreddit, in which a user broke down the current phenomenon plaguing the app.
First, when a player adds a Pokémon to a gym, it fails to add and the monster fails to show upon checking the gym again.
But then, the Pokémon gains a "defender" status symbol in its status page. Going to the gym badge overview page will show the Pikachu icon on that gym, but upon clicking the detailed page, no Pokémon is actually defending.
Thus, since the player's Pokémon is bizarrely not in the gym, no one can give it back.
Additionally, per SlashGear, there has been some conflicting reports about the bug with regard to raid battles. It seems that the bug only affects players who add Pokémon to a gym that their team controls or will be in control of if they successfully add their monster.
Again, the bug rarely affects players, but considering the fact that millions still play Pokémon GO, the issue has nonetheless popped up in the last couple of days. Niantic hasn't formally addressed the issue yet, presumably because it doesn't seem to be affecting a huge portion of users to cause serious, widespread concern. But that said, players aren't going to be happy of the notion that their Pokémon could possibly be trapped in limbo for eternity.
Pokémon GO First Anniversary
Don't expect Niantic to talk about the issue anytime soon, if it'll ever, since the company is currently busy preparing for the game's first anniversary, which will begin on July 5, Wednesday. Celebrations will kick off with the Solstice Event, which will focus on fire- and ice-type Pokémon. Additionally, Niantic is throwing in some XP boosts for good measure, and Lucky Eggs will be available at discounted prices.
Then on July 22, Niantic will host the Pokémon GO Fest in Chicago, Illinois, at Grant Park, although specific details about the festivities remain a question.
