Niantic, the developer of the popular augmented reality mobile game Pokemon GO, has confirmed a glitch that impacted players during the recent Catch Mastery event held on March 16th.  This event, which offered increased encounters with Archen, Omanyte, and Kabuto, including their shiny variants, ran for 10 hours.  However, a technical issue prevented some trainers from encountering the boosted shiny versions of Omanyte and Kabuto.

Following reports from the community, Niantic publicly acknowledged the problem via their support page. They have since assured players that the issue has been resolved and that they will be "following up soon" with those affected. This suggests that some form of compensation, similar to that offered after technical issues during Pokemon Go Fest 2024, is likely forthcoming.  Previously, Niantic provided compensation to players who experienced problems using Remote Raid Passes during Go Fest.

While the swift response from Niantic is commendable, some players remain frustrated with the recurring bugs and glitches within the game.  Some trainers reported experiencing the shiny encounter issue even after Niantic claimed to have implemented a fix during the Catch Mastery event itself.

Despite these setbacks, March continues to be a busy month for Pokemon GO trainers.  The upcoming March Raid Day on March 23rd will feature Mega Absol, with a paid ticket option granting additional rewards and Raid passes.  Mega Lucario and Mega Marshtomp are also appearing in raids throughout the month.  Looking ahead to April, the Stunning Styles event, running from April 3rd to 7th, will introduce Paldean Tauros variants, alongside rare shiny Pokemon opportunities, double XP, Special Research tasks, and a Special Research story featuring Marshadow.

A recent leak suggests that Pokemon GO developers may introduce a new, potentially controversial feature in the future. More details are expected as they become available.