What ways can Pokemon GO be hacked in 2022?

While cheating is never endorsed in any video game, players still find ways to crack the code of Niantic's famous mobile game, Pokemon GO. Whether its it place onself in a different country to catch region-exclusive Pokemon or to give oneself the most powerful legendary Pokemon, there have been a wide variety of ways to hack one's account, but which methods still work today?

There are many reasons a player may resort to cheating in Pokemon GO. Maybe players want to catch a Pokemon to add to their team that might just not be in season at the moment or players may need that extra little bit of candy to evolve a Pokemon. Whatever the reason, there are many ways the game can still be hacked.

Note: Cheating is not encouraged and this article merely seeks to inform on how some players go about doing it, in order to educate others about the situation.

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Various Methods to Hack Pokemon GO

Location Spoofing

Players have been experimenting with various ways to manipulate Pokemon GO since the games launch (Image via Niantic)

Pokemon GO hacking, or "spoofing" as the community calls it, is one of the ways players have been manipulating the game since its launch. Spoofing works by giving the player full control of their virtual location and frees their movement, thanks to a joystick that various third-party applications provide. This method tends to result in permanent bans for accounts that are reported for using these third-party applications.

Another way to achieve this result is through the use of a VPN, short for virtual private network. Though these apps are most commonly used for protecting the user's privacy, they have the side-effect of changing the user's GPS. When a VPN is activiated, it hides the user's true location by changing their signal and making appear like it originates from another location. The downside to using this in Pokemon GO is that players using these cannot move without the use of a joystick.

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Botting

An overview of the user interface for the desktop version of a software used for botting (Image via ReposHub)

Botting is typically done from a computer, but there are a few apps that provide this service as well. Botting is when a third party program sends the player's account to a chosen location to catch all of the wild Pokemon in that area. The bot returns when it has completed this task.

Like spoofing, botting is a bannable offense for players caught participating in it so it is not recommended. There is no alternative method for botting that involves the player not leaving the house aside from finding someone who wants to play Pokemon GO for them. An auto-catcher can somewhat provide the same benefit as they function the exact same way as a bot does although it requires the player to move to a desired area.

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Creating Multiple Accounts

Many players are unaware that having multiple profiles linked to the same person is a bannable offense (Image via Niantic)

The same person having multiple accounts is not an uncommon thing in other online games. In Pokemon GO, however, it can lead to things quickly being taken out of hand. Players using multiple accounts can easily take over gyms and stack them with their most powerful Pokemon on each account while other players are only allowed to put one Pokemon in a gym.

Some players get around this by having each account join one of the three different teams rather than having them all on one team to avoid exploiting the game's gym system. These players use these different accounts as means of storing additional Pokemon or items rather than paying for the additional storage space. Regardless of how players use their multiple accounts, having them is still a bannable offense.

Pokemon GO has a lot of ways to exploit various parts of the game. Whether it requires third-party applications or multiple accounts, players always find ways around the game's restrictive gameplay mechanics.