Workaround for Pokémon Go anti-cheat update disappears as quickly as it’s discovered

After briefly finding a way to get around Pokémon Go’s latest punishment for hackers, some players are stuck with collections of “slashed” Pokémon. Pokémon obtained with unofficial programs are now designated with glaring red marks, something that is proving hard to remove.

Niantic announced that it had implemented a new anti-cheating measure yesterday. Without getting into specifics, the developer said that “Pokémon caught using third-party services that circumvent gameplay” would appear with a slash in a player’s Pokédex, as well as act differently than normal Pokémon. They won’t collect candy when transferred, for example, but they can still evolve — and for awhile, that would get rid of the garish slash altogether.

“So there was talk about the slash going away upon evolution, well I can confirm that it does indeed disappear after the slashed Pokemon evolves,” wrote user cb325 on The Silph Road, a Reddit forum for hardcore Pokémon Go players. “My little bro just evolved a 100% Dratini with a slash into a Dragonair with no slash. Looks like a huge oversight on Niantic's part.”

It’s not clear if this Twitter user is cb325’s little brother, but he showed what looks like evidence of the evolution trick in a pair of tweets.

Reddit users also said that Pokémon caught with bots or spoofing programs didn’t show the slash if they evolved prior to the update. Of course, this kind of workaround only works for certain Pokémon — anyone with a hacked Farfetch’d is out of luck, for example.

But just as soon as players found a way to rip the Scarlet Letter off their Pokémon’s chests, Redditors reported back in: Hacked Pokémon could no longer evolve.

Reddit

Most players seem happy about Niantic’s quick response time to fixing this glitch. The consensus is that players who cheat their way through the game should be punished for it; they’re on Niantic’s page in that sense.

“Glad to see they fixed this oversight shortly after getting reported rather then days later,” wrote one user, a common sentiment. “I would guess that in the next few days most if not all slashed Pokémon that evolved will get their slash back but this rapid of a response from Niantic is great.”

Niantic’s warning to cheaters and hackers remains clear: Don’t do the thing, unless you want your Pokémon to suffer the consequences.