Niantic offers free Pokemon GO bundle for Shadow Zapdos glitch: How to get, rewards, and more

Shadow Zapdos was introduced in Pokemon GO on September 1, 2023, and you will be able to encounter this legendary Pocket Monster through November 30, 2023. In raids, legendary monsters usually come with a higher chance of being shiny after you successfully defeat them. However, the same hasn’t been true for Shiny Shadow Zapdos.

When it comes to legendary critters, you will usually encounter a shiny variant in the first 20 to 25 raids. But the reality has been very grim for Shadow Zapdos.

In this article, we will take a look at the recent controversy in Pokemon GO surrounding Shiny Shadow Zapdos and how Niantic has decided to compensate for its shortcomings.

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How is Niantic compensating for the glitched Shadow Zapdos raids in Pokemon GO?

It was brought to light that people were not getting Shiny Shadow Zapdos even after doing more than 30 raids. As people started complaining to Niantic about this issue, the company took responsibility for the glitch in these Shadow Raids.

The folks at Niantic not only acknowledged the glitch in the raids but revealed that Shiny Shadow Zapdos was not incorporated in Pokemon GO at all. They resolved the issue later on, but people who had already spent tons of passes trying to get the shiny version of the bird were devastated.

Furthermore, Niantic stated that they would compensate every player affected by this issue by providing them with three free raid passes.

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How did the community react to the Shiny Shadow Zapdos controversy in Pokemon GO?

Twitter user upset with Niantic's decision (Image via Sportskeeda)

When Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf had lower shiny odds than what legendary beasts usually have, Niantic refunded all the raid passes to every affected trainer.

Unfortunately, such practices often put the company and the game as a whole in muddy waters. People are gradually starting to accept the fact that Niantic is leaning more toward personal profits over catering to the Pokemon GO community.

If you are someone who did not participate in the Shadow Zapdos Raids in Pokemon GO, this will probably not affect you in any way. But it is something all players must take note of.

Niantic has been making this mistake time and again, where they drop the shiny odds of certain creatures without informing the players. Once they get caught, they will dish out a measly reward.

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How to collect the compensatory free raid passes from Niantic in Pokemon GO?

In one of their Xeets, Niantic said that people who participated in the Shadow Raids and did not get a Shiny Shadow Zapdos after multiple raids will be able to claim a free item Bundle consisting of three Premium Battle Passes.

This bundle will be available in the Shop from Thursday, September 28, 2023, at 10 am local time through Sunday, October 8, 2023, at 10 am local time.

It will only be available to people who raided throughout the duration of the glitch in GO.

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Should you continue doing Shadow Zapdos raids in Pokemon GO?

Zapdos (Image via Niantic)

This is a question that can only be answered by one’s personal preference. If you don’t have a Shiny Shadow Zapdos in your account, you might want to add this Pokemon to your collection for its good design.

However, the shiny variant of this shadow creature does not look a whole lot different from the normal one.

Moreover, Zapdos is not the best in its class either. There are far better Electric- and Flying-type Pocket Monsters in the market, ones that are much cheaper and easier to upgrade when you consider how rare it is to find a Zapdos in this game.