Zackerie Fairfax
❘ Published: 2023-02-26T19:12:09
❘ Updated: 2023-02-26T19:12:17
Niantic Support has claimed that Shiny Raid Pokémon were never guaranteed catches following a player’s heartbreaking Shiny Primal Groudon failure.
Pokemon Go Raids are among the most challenging aspects of the game. Players can battle a powerful Legendary or Mega Evolved Pokémon with friends and have a chance to catch it if they succeed.
Many trainers participate in these battles to hunt down Shiny the Raid Boss. In some cases, these raids are the only way to find these legendary Pokémon shiny, and buying raid passes can get expensive for dedicated hunters. Previously, players assumed that shiny bosses found after defeating a raid were 100% guaranteed catches.
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However, after failing to catch a Shiny Primal Groudon during the Pokemon Go Tour: Hoenn event, one player was told that Shiny Raid Bosses were never guaranteed catches.
Niantic Shiny Raid Bosses were “never guaranteed” catches
During the Pokemon Go Tour: Hoenn event, Niantic introduced Primal Raids featuring Groudon and Kyogre’s Primal forms of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. And these raids are as daunting as they sound.
These raids require at least seven high-level trainers to have any chance of defeating them, not to mention battling connection issues and bugs. So it’s understandable why Reddit user nelajer21 was upset after Shiny Primal Groudon broke away from every ball, resulting in a failed encounter.
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However, when they confronted Niantic support about their loss, they received the following statement: “Well, to your concerns about the Shiny Legendary or Raid Boss, this was never a guaranteed catch. Like any other Pokémon, it is difficult to catch and can also escape or break free.”
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Despite these claims, anecdotal evidence and a look at the game’s code seem to show that successful hits with a pokeball result in a 100% catch rate. Knowing this, players provided other reasons why nelajer21 might have failed the Shiny Primal Groudon encounter.
“I think you were driving fast so it broke loose,” commented one user, assuming OP was in a vehicle at the time of the catch. Another said, “Either that or you’ve lost GPS signal,” referring to a bug that can prevent players from catching Pokémon.
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This is a security feature Niantic implemented to prevent Trainers from playing while driving. We’ve seen players lose shinies in the past for moving too fast during the encounter, and this could be a similar case.
