Pokemon Go bug causes player to instantly fail Shadow Regice encounter

Cassidy Stephenson
Giovanni and Shadow Regice in Pokemon GO

A Pokemon Go glitch caused one player not to be able to catch Shadow Regice – or even attempt the encounter – in the game’s recent event after defeating Giovanni.

The Ice-type Regice is one member of Generation III’s Legendary titan trio, along with Regirock and Registeel. The Generation VIII games later added Regieleki and Regidrago to the group of Legendary Pokemon.

Regice appeared as an obtainable Pokemon during the second part of Pokemon Go’s March 2023 Let’s Go Event, emerging as a Shadow Pokemon in Team Rocket Boss Giovanni’s party. While trainers can unlock Regice by beating Giovanni, the Legendary Pokemon failed to show up for one player.

How one Pokemon Go player failed to catch Shadow Regice

Regice in Pokemon Go

Reddit user ItsLIX89 posted a disappointing screenshot on the Pokemon Go subreddit. As seen in the image, ItsLIX89 managed to defeat Giovanni, but an in-game bug caused the Pokeball screen not to have the “OK” button. Therefore, they couldn’t catch Shadow Regice.

Instead of Shadow Regice, ItsLIX89 received the standard reward of beating the Team Rocket Boss. Those included four Max Revives, eight Max Potions, and 5000 Stardust.

Trainers in the comments advised ItsLIX89 to battle Giovanni again at a Pokestop. However, the unlucky player faced Giovanni through a Team Rocket balloon. Since the balloon timer ran out, ItsLIX89 could not reencounter Shadow Regice.

beanswell suggested the user should contact Niantic support to battle Giovanni again. “If I’m not wrong, Niantic will give you another encounter with Giovanni to get the Shadow Regice as long as you contact them about the issue,” the helpful trainer wrote. “I have heard of it happening before.”

“This happened to me once with Shadow Latios (I think), and I was able to email Niantic about it,” plague 96 said. “After I gave them some info about the situation, they granted me another Super Radar.”

Consequently, ItsLIX89 sent a bug report to Niantic after failing to reach an actual person. It’s undetermined if they will gain access to another chance to defeat Giovanni.

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About The Author

Cassidy graduated from Concordia University Chicago in 2021 with a Bachelor's Degree in Media Communication. She's an expert in all things Pokemon, and her favorite games include Pokémon Crystal, Genshin Impact, and Fire Emblem: Three Houses. You can contact her at cassidy.stephenson@dexerto.com.