Niantic confirms first Legendary Pokémon sightings were real, but issued in error

The Pokemon Go community just about lost their damn minds after the alleged appearance of the world’s first Legendary Pokemon — Articuno — began making the rounds. According to a user in possession of the Pokemon, they claim it was sent to them directly from developer Niantic after submitting a complaint about something in the game going awry.

Sort of an unusual apology, especially considering the hundreds, if not thousands, of complaints the developer has received since the game’s bumpy launch. It’s because of this, many called BS. But the claim was further corroborated by other players in the Ohio area who uploaded proof of the Articuno occupying a nearby gym.

Although we’d expect radio silence with this sort of thing from Niantic, they have not only publicly confirmed the unreleased Articuno is real, but that it was issued in error. In a statement to IGN, they mention they’ve already effectively removed the Pokemon from these players’ accounts. Here’s the full statement:

“We recently noticed that a few Legendary Pokemon got into a few accounts when they shouldn’t have, To preserve the game’s integrity and as a measure of fairness, we have rectified the situation and revoked the legendary Pokemon from the Trainers’ accounts.”

No word on when — or even how — the developer plans on releasing Articuno or other Legendary Pokemon but we’ll keep an eye out. In the meantime, get out there and keep hunting (aimlessly). Oh, and don’t forget to check out our 15 Advanced Tips & Tricks for Pokemon trainers right here.