Violence reported at Pokémon GO Fest

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  • Saturday, July 22, 2017
  • Reported on Bulbanews by Iteru

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Reports of violent incidents (not all of which have been confirmed) at the Pokémon GO Fest held earlier today have surfaced online. The event, which took place at Grant Park in Chicago, has been universally accepted as a failure with a significant amount of attendees being unable to log into the Pokémon GO app and were therefore unable to participate in the event during its early stages. The event was the first of its kind, and was to be the introduction of Legendary Pokémon to the game if players successfully caught enough Pokémon during the event. Current reports indicate that the issues have been partly solved.

Niantic have since apologized for the poor cellular reception and servers that led to players being unable to participate with full ticket refunds and USD $100 worth of in-game PokéCoins being offered to those affected. Attendees will also receive Lugia in their games. The event has also been tweaked to cover a greater area around Grant Park to make it easier for players to catch Pokémon.


We here at Bulbagarden completely condemn the violence that took place at the event. While we understand the frustration that players must have felt, the actions of a small group of the fanbase represent poorly on the rest of us. The Pokémon franchise is for all ages, and many people at the event likely felt scared and/or threatened. Resorting to violence is disgraceful, and is only likely to harm the enjoyment of others and the viability of future events. Those who did it deserve only condemnation, and should be ashamed.