'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAf/2gAIAQEAAAAADNf/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAC/9oACAECEAAAAB//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAC/9oACAEDEAAAAH//xAAeEAABBAIDAQAAAAAAAAAAAAACAQMEEQAFEhMXkf/aAAgBAQABPwD0fbDIh7Vk0bIOk0ABoKWuVh9rNnr3ZmylyUkGPc6bnG7q1vP/xAAXEQADAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIR/9oACAECAQE/ALp6f//EABcRAAMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABERL/2gAIAQMBAT8Ayof/2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Legendary Pokemon in Pokemon GO are coveted primarily for their impressive stats as well as their collection of moves. In addition to capturing them from PvE raids and battling Giovanni, trainers can also receive Legendary Pokemon as rewards in the game's GO Battle League.
However, recent posts on Pokemon GO's associated subreddits seem to indicate that certain changes have been made that have largely gone unnoticed. On r/TheSilphRoad, community members of one of the game's analytical groups have come to the conclusion that Legendaries are being encountered less in GO Battle League. Typically, acquiring a solid win streak would result in an encounter with a Legendary, but many players have made posts in recent days alleging that it's now much more difficult to do so.
The Silph Road community reacts to the alleged reduction of Legendary appearances in Pokemon GO
Legendary Pokemon have been a fixture within Pokemon GO's Battle League for a significant amount of time, but they may no longer appear as often as they once did. Several posts on The Silph Road's subreddit seemed to indicate that while players may not have concrete numbers from the developers at Niantic, something appears to be off with the Legendary encounter rate in Pokemon GO's Battle League.
Though Niantic has remained mum on the subject of any change in encounter rates, The Silph Road has carefully collated the data of community members. According to their analysis, there are indeed fewer Legendary Pokemon appearing in GO Battle League at an appearance chance of 8-9%, which is significantly lower than previous PvP seasons.
Due to the sizable number of players posting on The Silph Road's subreddit, there appears to be plenty of personal data that points to a decline in Legendary appearances in Pokemon GO. Though these dedicated players have clearly noticed a trend, it's highly unlikely that Niantic will issue some form of response as a result. Although Niantic appears to want to keep things quiet, the community has no such inclination.
If it is indeed true that Legendaries have had their encounter rates nerfed, Pokemon GO's Battle League may be negatively impacted as a result. Many trainers dive into PvP and climb the ranks in order to steadily encounter and catch Legendaries. This has been a solid method of doing so compared to PvE raids, considering raid passes can be expensive for many players. If a trainer performs well at PvP, then they still have an option to obtain Legendaries without burning through Pokecoins to purchase additional standard or remote raid passes.
Though Niantic is highly unlikely to address things publicly, there's hope that the company may instead tweak and fix the encounter rates as a result of the social media backlash. This will likely be done behind the scenes (if at all), but with a sizable number of Fall and Winter holidays approaching, it's not completely out of the realm of possibility to expect the developers to address the game's encounter rate for events.
