Pokémon Go creadores respond tras Times Square Mewtwo sparks backlash

Pokémon Go's 10th anniversary celebration in New York City's Times Square has sparked backlash after invited attendees received an exclusive guaranteed 100% IV Mewtwo, leaving many longtime players feeling excluded.

Por qué esta historia importa ahora

The event recreated the iconic scene from Pokémon Go's original reveal trailer, with nearly 2,000 invited Trainers battling Mega Mewtwo Y together in one of the largest in-person raids in the game's history.

El contexto que mueve la conversación

Exclusive rewards overshadow Times Square celebration

Qué puede pasar después

Invitations to the event were distributed through Pokémon Go Community Ambassadors across New York City's five boroughs, with attendance limited to around 2,000 players to avoid overcrowding in Times Square.

Lectura rápida para la comunidad

After a surprise in-game notification, attendees gathered for a live event before taking part in the massive raid battle.

While many praised the recreation of the original trailer, criticism quickly emerged after attendees shared that the event rewarded players with an exclusive Times Square background Mewtwo guaranteed to have perfect IVs.

Numerous posts on social media have cropped up since the event's conclusion, with one on Reddit describing the event as "the antithesis of what made Pokémon GO a phenomenon back in 2016."

Responses called the event's inclusion of a guaranteed 'hundo' (perfect stats) Mewtwo "a slap in the face" to players who had spent years grinding for perfect Pokémon or travelled to Go Fest hoping to obtain one themselves.

Responses to the official Pokémon Go X account were similarly dominated by dissatisfaction over the belief that content creators and influencers had been favored over the wider player base.

Some defended the decision, pointing out that Community Ambassadors and content creators have helped build local Pokémon Go communities for years, while others noted attendance had to be capped at 2,000 because of Times Square's limited capacity.

Since the Times Square event, a number of Pokémon Go content creators have shared their experiences and thoughts on the topic. Caleb Peng, who didn't attend the event in person, said people invited had no idea what it entailed, including being granted access to the contentious Mewtwo.

Alex Nexton, who was invented to attend, reiterated this, stating, "I had absolutely no idea that was going to happen. None of us did. The entire day was surprise after surprise, and that reveal was one of them."

Peng also tried to dissuade players from being hostile toward creators who were invited. "I think it’s ridiculous that anyone going to/invited to the event should get hate for it. To my knowledge, they didn’t even know what was in store for them and they’re allowed to be excited about a perfect Mewtwo with the New York background." Who wouldn’t be?"

Players worldwide won't miss out on Mega Mewtwo itself. Mega Mewtwo raids are available globally as part of Pokémon Go Fest 2026, though the exclusive Times Square background and guaranteed perfect IV reward remain unique to the anniversary event.