Pokemon Go Appears to Have Hit Remote Raids With Another Nerf

Pokemon Go players have discovered another apparent nerf to Remote Raids. The Japanese website 9db is reporting significantly lower Shiny encounter rates for Azelf and Mesprit raids, with Azelf having a Shiny encounter raid rate of about 1 in 126 raids and Mesprit having a Shiny encounter rate of about 1 in 10. Due to the fact that most players on the site are Japanese, it's likely that the bulk of these encounters were remote raids. Typically, Legendary Raids have a Shiny encounter rate of about 1 in 20, which leaves two possibilities – either the Lake Trio's encounter rate were nerfed for all players or it was nerfed just for Remote Raids. Because of Niantic's systematic push against Remote Raids, players are guessing it's the latter option. 

Niantic has commented on any change to encounter raids, but it's another supposed change that's causing outrage in the community. In recent months, Pokemon Go has rolled out numerous "nerfs" to Remote Raids, locking some types of Pokemon from being raided remotely, limiting the number of Remote Raids a person can do per day, and increasing the price of Remote Raid Passes. These changes were met mostly with frustration from Pokemon Go fans and even calls to boycott the game. But despite anecdotal evidence that the game's popularity is declining, Niantic has stuck to its guns and in fact has claimed that Pokemon Go is as profitable as ever. 

In the meantime, Pokemon Go has just launched its latest season – the Season of Hidden Fates – which will lead into a summer of Pokemon Go Fest events. Details about the season are largely being kept under wraps, but it appears that the event will culminate with an appearance by the Mythical Pokemon Diancie.