*UPDATE (04/08/16): After denying the Articuno coming from them, Niantic has since admitted a few Articuno did in fact get away from them:
“A few of our Legendary Pokémon had erroneously been granted to some Trainers. Thanks to the help of several of our Trainers, we were able to locate them and bring them home safely.”
Just when you thought you’ve heard the last of the Articuno story, more keeps coming and now it seems Niantic have found a way to deal with the Articuno problem, and that’s by removing Articuno from accounts belonging to trainers who shouldn’t even have the Pokémon in the first place. Here’s the official statement from Niantic:
“We recently noticed that a few Legendary Pokémon 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 Pokémon from the Trainers’ accounts.”
So for now at least, we should have seen the last of Articuno in Pokémon GO, at least until Niantic decide to officially “bring” the Legendary bird to the app that has now surpassed $160 million dollars in net revenue across Android and iOS devices since its initial release close to a month ago. But as far as Pokémon GO, concerns, anything is possible, so it really wouldn’t surprise me if we suddenly start hearing about a Zapdos or Moltres popping up in the game sometime during the next few weeks.
Source: Jonathon Dornbush of IGN
Wow, so it actually was real. I admit that I had serious doubts about the claims of Articuno appearing even after the screenshots and videos. Well, those trainers will definitely never forget being the first ones to try the legendary Pokemon out! This also basically confirms that you will be allowed to use Legendary Pokemon in gyms. I can’t wait until they officially start bringing them out!