Goodbye Spoofers!

Spoofing in Pokémon GO has been a major issue recently. Basically, players will use apps to locate a certain Pokémon and change their GPS location to the exact location of said Pokémon. Spoofers can use this method to find high level Pokémon with the best IV and movesets around, allowing them to dominate gyms in their area.

Niantic recently tried to counter this problem more aggressively with a very quiet update. To prevent spoofers from making huge catches, Niantic has now randomized the IV, movesets, height, and weight for wild Pokémon up to trainer level 25. Before this update, let’s say that you and a friend were on the same Pokémon spawn. You were level 24 and your friend was level 20. If you both caught the Pokémon, they would have different CP’s, but their IV and moves would be identical.

If a spoofer tried to catch a Pokémon with a friend of a different level today, the IV and moves would be completely randomized on a per level basis. This renders low level spoofing accounts useless and will help spoofers from dominating towns. While they can still catch any Pokémon they want while just sitting on their couch at home, the Pokémon will be less likely to crush all opponents.

Hello Shinies!

Niantic had also released Shiny Magikarp, which has unique spawns by player. Since these are not worldwide spawns, it makes it very hard for spoofers to track down shiny Pokémon. Since Niantic has implemented this update and has decided to make shiny Pokémon spawns unique, perhaps a large wave of shinies will be on the way. While they may not release fifty at once, there is a good chance that Niantic will be feeling much more confident to let to them run free in your town!