Can you get Black Kyurem and White Kyurem in Pokemon GO?

Pokemon GO players in New Zealand, Australia, and other parts of the Eastern Hemisphere reported spotting Black Kyurem and White Kyurem as part of their GO Battle League rewards on the morning of December 16, 2023. This corresponds with the return of Kyurem's base form in the game as the 5-star raid boss.

This has left the community confused since the official announcement on the Pokemon GO X page from November 28, 2023, containing the December content update, mentioned only Kyurem's base form, with no specifications of these hitherto unseen forms.

This has stirred conversation on online forums as players were left wondering if this was a surprise from Niantic's end or yet another unforeseen glitch that would be rolled back in due time. However, the developer soon posted on the Niantic Support page on X:

"These two Pokémon were unintended, and the issue is now fixed, so these two Pokémon are currently no longer available."

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Black and White Kyurem accidentally released in Pokemon GO as GBL rewards

Black Kyurem GBL encounter byu/MaarkusB inTheSilphRoad

While Black Kyurem and White Kyurem were spotted in Gym raids, they appeared as Pokemon GO Battle League rewards for players who have crossed Level 20 in season 17 (the current season). After players cross this milestone, every time they win the third battle of a set, they have a 5% chance of encountering the current 5-star raid boss.

After many players had encountered both Black and White Kyurem, Niantic Supported posted on their X account that the release was unintended and fixed the glitch that led to it occuring.

As of writing, these creatures are no longer available as GBL rewards in Pokemon GO. It remains to be seen if those who caught the creatures during their brief availability period will get to retain them.

Niantic Support's announcement (Image via X/@NianticHelp)

For the unacquainted, Black Kyurem and White Kyurem are the forms of Kyurem after it absorbs Zekrom and Reshiram, respectively. While they share the same elemental typing as regular Kuyrem, they have a much higher base Attack (310 as compared to 246) and a slightly higher base Defense (183 compared to 170).

The base version of Kyurem was released in Niantic's mobile game in July 2020 and has since appeared in the game as a 5-star raid boss annually. December 2023 was expected to be another such return, with no mention of its Black and White forms on any official document.

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While Black and White Kyurem are not available at the moment, the December 2023 Community Day is bringing back a lot of beloved critters.