List of glitches in Pokémon GO

This is a list of glitches in Pokémon GO.

List of glitches

WARNING: The version numbers will be stated (Android version number)/(iOS version number) unless noted that it can occur on either only Android or iOS device.

Backpack freeze glitch

If a Pokémon escapes from a Poké Ball and flees while the player attempts to open up the Backpack, then the game will freeze. In version 0.31.0/1.1.0, the battle screen was slightly reprogrammed, resulting in this glitch being fixed.

Egg Hatching glitches

Disappearing Pokémon glitch

	This glitch is in need of research. Reason: Is there a reliable way to either trigger or avoid this glitch? Are the results somewhat random? Is there any footage or video of the glitch? You can discuss this on the talk page.

An Egg can reach the requirements to hatch while in Pokémon GO, but fail to actually hatch through a combination of issues. Occasionally, the egg will fail to produce a Pokémon and disappear, though it is possible for the Pokémon to appear later on.

Pokémon hatching too early

Sometimes, the Pokémon will appear in the Pokémon Box before the egg hatching animation, very short before the Egg hatches. If the player looks at the Egg, the Egg will have an empty, 0/0 km counter.

Pokémon model merging glitch

An Alolan Vulpix is visible behind Lairon

If a Pokémon's summary screen is viewed, when a Pokémon hatches from an Egg, the hatched Pokémon's model will appear behind the Pokémon, of which the summary screen is viewed.

Grimer glitch

	This glitch is in need of research. Reason: Can it occur with an iPhone or similar Apple product? You can discuss this on the talk page.

If a player using an Android phone encounters a Grimer or hatches a Grimer from an Egg, then the game will likely crash. This occurs in all released versions up to 0.31.0.

Gym glitches

1 HP gym bug

	This glitch is in need of research. Reason: Is there more to this issue? Are these sub-glitches of each other? You can discuss this on the talk page.

If a Pokémon reaches 1 HP during a battle for a Gym, then the game may prevent that Pokémon from fainting in battle outside of using status conditions that do damage. This can lead to several issues such as losing the ability to switch Pokémon or being prevented from starting the battle.

By MalavarTCOne

This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.

By Brian Doran

This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.

By Brian Doran

This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.

By Brian Stieve

This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.

Egg Gym glitch

A player can select an empty Gym and choose to place an Egg in the Gym instead of a Pokémon. The Egg will appear in the Gym with 0 CP, no model, and be unable to be fought.

Special Attack usage bug

Assume a Lopunny and Sudowoodo with these attacks:

Lopunny			Sudowoodo
	Low Kick	6		Counter	12
	Hyper Beam	150		Earthquake	120

The opponent is an Armaldo. It lets the Lopunny faint whilst Lopunny is using Hyper Beam, but it deals no damage to the opponent, however, Hyper Beam's animation is shown. Then, Sudowoodo is sent out, and it'll automatically use Earthquake.

Pokédex glitch

When clicking on a caught Pokémon in the Pokédex, the entry of the Pokémon may become distorted with the individual letters appearing down the side of the screen. Additionally, the game may revert to the entry for the first Pokémon available in the Pokédex. This glitch occurred first in version 0.29.0/1.0 and was fixed in 0.31.0/1.1.0.

Size Medal oversights

In version 0.29.0/1.0 of Pokémon GO, the Youngster and Fisherman medals stated that the current progress toward the requirements for the medal would be "Caught {0} Rattata/Magikarp weighing at most {1}" for all medals respectively. The intended text refers to catching a number of the required that have a specific weight indicator for the Pokémon in question, with Rattata being XS for example.

In version 0.29.2/1.0.2, the medals were changed to read "Caught (number of XS/XL) Rattata/Magikarp." Version 0.29.3/1.0.3 fully fixed the text for both medals to instead read "Caught (number) tiny/big Rattata/Magikarp."

Shadow glitch

If a Poké Ball is used as soon as it is available, then it can disappear under the ground and produce a growing shadow over the area. Eventually, the game will crash due to this. In version 0.31.0/1.1.0, the battle screen was slightly reprogrammed, resulting in this glitch being fixed.

Sound bugs

Music muting

Occasionally, the game will suddenly stop playing music due to different issues. It can be caused by a notification on an Android device or an issue with getting data from the server. It occurs in all released versions up to 0.31.0/1.1.0.

Music not changing

Occasionally, the game will not switch music due to different issues. This can happen if the player presses a certain button as soon as it is available.

Nearby Pokémon glitches

Three footprint glitch

Sometime after the version 0.29.2/1.0.2 update, the step counter for all nearby Pokémon would always be displayed with three footprints, even if the Pokémon is visible onscreen. This continued into the 0.29.3/1.0.3 version and was speculated to be a server-side modification. In version 0.31.0/1.1.0, footprints were removed altogether.

Too far Pokémon glitch

Sometimes, a Pokémon spawning nearby will either not react if touched or the game assumes that the Pokémon is too far.

Ditto background glitch

In some cases when catching a Pokémon, Ditto may appear on the screen along with the background when a Pokémon transforms into Ditto. This has happened in the 0.63.1/1.33.1 update and has not been fixed.

Raid Battle glitches

Raid Boss last Premier Ball glitch

Raid Bosses can't be caught with a player's last Premier Ball, unless it's a critical capture. Instead, the Pokémon always pops out after half a shake.

Raid Boss HP bar glitch

When fighting the Raid Boss in a group, the player sees the HP bar not being fully gray (it has a red section). However, this does not always happen.

By Keyacom

This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.

Shadow Pokémon purifying glitch

When the player purifies a Shadow Pokémon, the Pokémon will not have full HP. Its HP will be 1 less than its max HP.

No internet connection message glitch

The message No internet connection can appear if the phone receives a call.

Zorua Morphing glitch

In October 2022, Zorua was introduced to the game and could appear disguised as your Buddy Pokémon. Players using the Pokémon GO Plus and Poké Ball Plus devices that caught a disguised Zorua with the device would have the Zorua fail to revert its species back to Zorua, causing the species to remain identical to that of the Buddy Pokémon, but with the CP and IVs of the wild Zorua. Niantic disabled the use of Bluetooth devices temporarily while the issue was investigated.

References

Glitches in the Pokémon games Multiple generations Transform glitches • Glitch Trainers • Cloning glitches • Error messages • Arbitrary code execution Generation I Glitches • Battle glitches • Overworld glitches -- • 0 ERROR • Broken hidden items • Cable Club escape glitch • Dual-type damage misinformation Experience underflow glitch • Fight Safari Zone Pokémon trick • Glitch City • Item duplication glitch • Item underflow Mew glitch • Old man glitch • Pewter Gym skip glitch • Pokémon merge glitch • Rhydon glitch • Rival twins glitch Select glitches (dokokashira door glitch, second type glitch) • Super Glitch Time Capsule exploit • Walking through walls • ZZAZZ glitch Generation II Glitches • Battle glitches Bug-Catching Contest glitch • Celebi Egg glitch • Coin Case glitches • Experience underflow glitch Glitch dimension • Glitch Egg • Teru-sama • Time Capsule exploit • Trainer House glitches • GS Ball mail glitch Generation III Glitches • Battle glitches • Overworld glitches Berry glitch • Dive glitch • Pomeg glitch • Glitzer Popping Generation IV Glitches • Battle glitches • Overworld glitches Acid rain • GTS glitches • Pomeg glitch • Rage glitch Surf glitch • Tweaking • Pal Park Retire glitch Generation V Glitches • Battle glitches • Overworld glitches Charge Beam additional effect chance glitch • Charge move replacement glitch • Choice item lock glitch Frozen Zoroark glitch • Sky Drop glitch Generation VI Glitches • Battle glitches • Overworld glitches Charge Beam additional effect chance glitch • Charge move replacement glitch • Choice item lock glitch Lumiose City save glitch • Symbiosis Eject Button glitch • Toxic sure-hit glitch Generation VII Glitches • Battle glitches Charge Beam additional effect chance glitch • Charge move replacement glitch • Choice item lock glitch Toxic sure-hit glitch • Rollout storage glitch Generation VIII Glitches Charge Beam additional effect chance glitch • Charge move replacement glitch • Choice item lock glitch Toxic sure-hit glitch • Rollout storage glitch • Party item offset glitch Generation IX Glitches Glitch effects Game freeze • Glitch battle • Glitch song Gen I only: Glitch screen • TMTRAINER effect • Inverted sprite Gen II only: Glitch dimension Lists Glitches (GO • Mystery Dungeon • TCG GB • Spin-off) Glitch Pokémon (Gen I • Gen II • Gen III • Gen IV • Gen V • Gen VI • Gen VII • Gen VIII) Glitch moves (Gen I) • Glitch types (Gen I • Gen II)

This glitch Pokémon article is part of Project GlitchDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on glitches in the Pokémon games.