5 most infamous Pokemon GO glitches of all time

Pokemon GO isn't a perfect game, and no title really is, as glitches and bugs are bound to happen. No matter how hard a development team may work, unexpected glitches occur, and they simply have to do their best to address them. This applies to Niantic as well as nearly every other game development group.

Pokemon GO has pushed onward for almost seven years now, but it has had to overcome its share of technical issues. Numerous bugs have been encountered and reported by the player base, and most of them have been fixed. However, some glitches remain seared in the minds of the player base.

With June 2023 dawning on Pokemon GO, it isn't a bad time to review some of the most noteworthy glitches and bugs that have impacted the game throughout its history.

Note: This list is subjective and solely reflects the opinions of the writer

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Three Mega/Primal Pokemon on GBL Teams and other egregious Pokemon GO glitches

1) Floating Head on the World Map

[Bug] Huge head visual bug by u/plastikwar in TheSilphRoad

Back in approximately 2018, Pokemon GO players encountered a bug that was incredibly eerie, to say the least. The problem only persisted for a short time and affected a small fraction of fans, but the specter of a floating avatar head whipping around on the world map under its own power was nightmare fuel.

It's unclear what exactly caused the bug in the first place, but it certainly remains one of the most memorable and unexpected issues in the mobile title's tenure. Fortunately, the problem hasn't re-appeared since the early years of the game, but trainers aren't likely to forget this ominous and goofy disembodied head.

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2) Last Premier Ball Glitch

Arguably one of the most frustrating Pokemon GO glitches arrived back in 2017 and involved the Premier Ball, which is primarily used to capture Pokemon during post-raid encounters. According to reports, trainers who attempted a catch with their last Premier Ball would find the Pokemon escaping and fleeing immediately.

The problem persisted for nearly a month, but the fact that trainers were robbed of plenty of quality Pokemon due to the bug likely upset a sizable amount of the player base. Players could technically circumvent this bug by landing a critical catch, but this was entirely dependent on the in-game RNG and couldn't be relied upon.

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3) Three Mega/Primal Pokemon on GBL Teams

One of Pokemon GO's most game-breaking glitches was also one that only took place a few months ago. As Niantic attempted to introduce Mega Evolutions and Primal Groudon/Kyogre into limited PvP battle formats, an unexpected glitch arose. In January 2023, trainers met the bug that severely disrupted the meta.

According to Niantic, the original intention of the new limited PvP formats in GO Battle League was supposed to let players add one Mega Evolution or Primal Pokemon to their team lineup. However, the unexpected bug permitted players to add three Megas/Primals to their team at once, severely throwing off game balance.

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4) The Lucky Trade Glitch

Back in early 2022, Pokemon GO players were met with arguably one of the most beneficial in-game glitches in the game's history. It involved Lucky Trades, which usually occur randomly when trading or when trading with players who have added each other and who have become Lucky Friends.

The glitch in question, albeit for a short time, made every single trade conducted a Lucky Trade instead. This provided trainers with a plethora of Pocket Monsters with great IV stats and halved Stardust costs to power up, making it hugely beneficial for the short amount of time the bug was available.

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5) The Frozen Pokeball

It hasn't been an issue for most Pokemon GO players for years now, but the Frozen Pokeball bug was one of the most headache-inducing in the game's early days. Players would either notice that their Pokeball was frozen before it could be used, or it would just sit in a stationary position after "capturing" a 'mon.

There were allegedly a number of factors contributing to this Pokemon GO bug including server and GPS tracking issues with the app. Fortunately, this glitch has seemingly fallen away into memory in recent years and doesn't occur nearly at all, keeping players from having to restart their app and risk losing their Pocket Monster.