There have been glitches and bugs in Pokémon GO since day 1, and it seems that each is more frustrating than the last.
This pattern continues with the newest glitch, which allows players to leave an egg to guard a gym. This may not seem like a huge deal, but it essentially breaks gyms.
Gyms are one of the core parts of Pokémon GO. Trainers battle for control of the gyms by tapping their opponent’s Pokémon to attack, and swiping to dodge. If you defeat all the Pokémon currently guarding a gym, you have the opportunity to claim the gym and leave a Pokémon to guard it.
The egg glitch allows players to leave an egg to guard the gym. This egg cannot be battled, meaning the player who left it will hold the gym until Niantic patches the bug.
Check out this video to see how it works.
There are a couple reasons some players would want to take advantage of this exploit.
The first reason is for team pride. Just a brief scan of Twitter and Facebook shows that people take pride in their chosen team, and get enjoyment from knocking opposing teams down a peg. The gyms on which the exploit has been used are going to stay as that team’s gym until a patch comes through.
However, the second reason is probably the real motivation for using the exploit: PokéCoins.Pokémon GO rewards players who are holding a gym by awarding them a defender bonus once a day, in the form of PokéCoins. Those players who have taken advantage of the egg exploit are presumably raking in PokéCoins day after day.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first example of players taking advantage of something in the game at other players expense. For weeks there have been complaints of gyms being claimed by other trainers while the triumphant player was healing their pokemon.
Hopefully Niantic can address both of these issues with the next patch.
Like this story? Check out our other stories about Pokémon GO!
New Pokemon GO Dating App Wants to Help You Catch That Special Someone
