Failed Pokemon Go feature has trainers throwing hard-earned Pokemon in the trash

Niantic’s Backgrounds feature wasn’t interesting nor rare enough for Pokemon Go players, which is why they are transferring plenty of their ‘special’ Pokemon with Backgrounds back to Professor Willow.

Cosmetics are a huge part of most long-running games, as they are another way to persuade players into spending more hours – or money – in a game. But, while some become a success, others can be a huge miss, like the Backgrounds in Pokemon Go.

The feature added in 2023 changes the regular background of a Pokemon’s main page for one with a location or a special event-themed image. However, Pokemon Go players were not impressed by it at all.

Safe storage, delete the Backgrounds

Curious about fellow players’ actions, a user from TheSilphRoad Reddit page asked what to do with their Background Pokemon, as they have a bad habit of keeping all kinds of event Pokemon.

Unlike them, most replies stated that because Pokemon with Location or Special Backgrounds are not rare or even exclusive, they should just get rid of them by transferring the creatures to Professor Willow.

One player wrote, “Only Niantic says these are rare. Fact is EVERY player has one”, to which another replied, “They’ll slap the label of rare on something that literally everybody gets for playing”.

However, a few users went the other way saying that there can be certain exceptions, since if the Pokemon with Background is a Shiny, Hundo, or Legendary, then it’s worth keeping them.

“I’ve been deleting them. They are Pokemon I will never use or even look at. So why waste the space? If it was a good Legendary, then I might keep it”, a trainer added.

Because the Backgrounds can only be appreciated if you open the Pokemon’s page, the impact for the user is minimal. They cannot see it any other way in the game, nor if they transfer the Pokemon to Home. Plus, if they want to send such a creature to a friend, the trade is considered Special, which is more expensive.

This does not mean the feature should be deleted, as one player suggested, “They’d be more interesting if buddying with them would change your background in your trainer profile”.

Due to the poor reception the feature has had, Niantic could re-evaluate Backgrounds next year and implement something that makes them more valuable for players. For now, just keep sending them to Professor Willow to get some Candy in exchange.