Larvesta reportedly sported less than 1% hatch rate during Pokemon GO An Instinctive Hero

Pokemon GO fans were initially excited for the "An Instinctive Hero" event when Larvesta and Volcarona were confirmed to appear in it. This would mark the first time the two fan-favorite Pocket Monsters would be seen in the mobile title. However, recent data confirmed by the player group The Silph Road has caused outrage from the fanbase over Larvesta's incredibly low hatch chance.

As part of An Instinctive Hero, Pokemon GO trainers could obtain Larvesta by hatching eggs, then using 400 candies to evolve it into Volcarona. However, The Silph Road conducted an experiment that revealed that Larvesta's chances to hatch from eggs are as low as less than one percent.

An Instictive Hero — Larvesta Hatch Rate by u/SilphScience in TheSilphRoad

Fans were outraged in the comments, and many accused Niantic of deceptive tactics by not revealing the hatch chances and making players waste their time on Pocket Monsters that were virtually impossible to obtain.

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Pokemon GO fans criticize Niantic over Larvesta's low hatch rate

Comment by u/SilphScience from discussion An Instictive Hero — Larvesta Hatch Rate in TheSilphRoad

Larvesta and Volcarona's inclusion was initially heralded as a good move for the health of the game. However, making Larvesta only obtainable through egg hatches and setting its hatch chance incredibly low has upset more than a few fans.

Trainers considered the decision akin to gambling, accusing Niantic of forcing users to play an obscene amount of time and spend real-world money on Super Incubators just for an opportunity to acquire one Larvesta, much less multiple individuals that would give players the 400 candies to evolve it into Volcarona.

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Pokemon GO has been embroiled in controversy in recent months, from the nerfs to remote raiding to mishandled events and paywalled Pokemon debuts. The game even slipped out of the top ten rankings for highest-grossing mobile games in April 2023, which many fans have attributed to player-led boycotts and trainers uninstalling the game after losing the desire to continue playing due to Niantic's recent decisions.

There's no doubt that hardcore players who are willing to spend heaps of money to get Larvesta hatches may continue to play and support Niantic, but the focus on those players is clearly pushing many members of the fanbase away.

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If the recent controversies surrounding Pokemon GO weren't enough to upset players and persuade them to quit playing, this decision may be the final straw. Niantic's decisions seem to indicate a trend of focusing on the most dedicated Pokemon GO players who are willing to spend large amounts of money. This small subset of trainers has no qualms with spending cash as long as they get what they're after, but Niantic seems to be overlooking the vast majority of players who play the game for free or only spend small amounts of real-world cash.

This has led to outrage on social media towards the Pokemon GO developers, and Niantic's bottom line appears to have been influenced based on its drop from the top ten highest-grossing apps for mobile devices. However, the game is still pulling in over $30 million per month, which is certainly not problematic for Niantic's future prospects. Player boycotts may have been enough to hurt the developers' income stream, but more action may be needed to make a serious dent.

However, Niantic's current content strategy has surely been causing problems with the Pokemon GO community. If more events and decisions persist and continue to upset the player base, it may not be long before Niantic's landmark mobile title becomes a game kept afloat solely by the most hardcore players.