Pokemon Go players frustrated as Team Go Rocket bug stops them from leveling

Some Pokemon Go players are furious after not being able to level up due to Team Go Rocket being temporarily removed. The villainous group had to be disabled following an April update that broke the game.

On April 10, reports began to surface online of widespread bugs plaguing Pokemon Go following the mobile title’s latest update. The new patch caused a flurry of bugs from maps disappearing to Team Go Rocket NPCs freezing the screen.

The problems became so bad that the villainous group had to be removed from the game altogether. Over a week later, the devious team is still missing with no return date in sight. Some players have become furious as it’s now halting their progress.

Team Rocket has been missing from Go since an April update broke the characters. 

Pokemon Go players furious over Team Go Rocket glitch

First introduced into Go in 2019, Team Rocket has since become an essential part of the mobile game’s meta. From Shadow Pokemon to quests, the villainous group plays a key role in how many Trainers progress in the title. Players began to become infuriated, however, after the antagonists were still missing from the game over a week later without any sign as to when they may return.

A viral post on the r/TheSilphRoad forum argued that the double Stardust Bonus given out during Rivals’ Week should continue to be active as compensation. “Double Stardust should be extended since we still have yet to receive an update on Team Go Rocket!!” the user wrote.

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Many Go players agreed with the sentiment, and took to the thread to voice their frustrations. They argued that the NPC’s absence from the game deprived them from being able to collect Stardust, XP, and Pokemon.

Double Stardust should be extended since we still have yet to receive an update on Team GO Rocket! by inpokemongo

Some even found themselves unable to progress their Trainer Level, such as one player who wrote, “I just got to 43. I am working on the 43 research. I need 43 [Team Rocket] grunts. That aint happening now.” Another had the same issue and replied, “Hi, someone who is stuck at level 44 here. I legit can’t progress until they fix Team Rocket.”

Interestingly, several fans pointed out that rural players often rely on Team Go Rocket balloons as main content for the game as they don’t have many PokeStops or Gyms close to them. Those who don’t leave their house very often are also being impacted by the villainous group’s absence.

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At the time of writing, Niantic has yet to give a clear update as to when the community can expect the antagonist organization to make their return. One thing is for certain though – many users desperately miss them and they are needed given their deep integration into the mobile title’s progression system.