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Pokémon GO fans are facing a new challenge with a recent update that restricts interactions with Team GO Rocket Grunts. A new change, which players were initially unaware of, now bans users who interact with more than 160 Team GO Rocket Grunts. This limit was discovered through an experiment conducted by Pokémon GO player Faladyne and shared on The Silph Road subreddit.
In recent weeks, the Pokémon GO community experienced mixed feelings. While many were thrilled about the return of the Mega Rayquaza raid, the event was marred by several issues, leaving players disappointed. Now, an additional change threatens to dampen the excitement for the upcoming Pokémon GO Adventure Week: Taken Over event.
Faladyne's experiment revealed that players will receive a temporary ban after interacting with 160 Team GO Rocket Grunts. It’s important to note that this interaction limit includes simply engaging with the Grunts, not necessarily battling them. This limit appears to be a measure by Niantic to prevent players from using exploitative methods to farm Stardust.
The ban is not permanent but results in a temporary cooldown period where Pokémon will not spawn, and the map will appear blank, making the game almost unplayable. The duration of this cooldown period is still unknown. Rocket Balloons, however, do not count towards this limit, so players can still interact with them without risking a ban.
This new restriction could be particularly problematic during the Pokémon GO Adventure Week: Taken Over event, where the spawn rate of Team GO Rocket Grunts is increased. With the high volume of Grunts, hitting the 160 interaction limit might be easy for some players. Many in the community have expressed frustration over this change, arguing that it penalizes players simply for engaging with the game too much.