Bizarre Glitch Makes Pokemon Go Extra Fancy

Once upon a time, Niantic's "Pokémon GO" was all gamers — of both the casual and hardcore variety — were talking about. The summer of 2016 saw the game become a cultural phenomenon as droves of people set upon the real-life streets in order to fulfill their own dreams of being a Pokémon master within the game's augmented reality framework. But with the summer coming to an end and many people moving on to more current trends, "Pokémon GO" was more or less left behind by mainstream culture.

Despite the mass exodus of players, "Pokémon GO" continues to enjoy success due to a sizeable niche of players, as well as longtime fans of the franchise, who are sticking with it for the long haul. In recent times, the game has polarized its existing audience with its questionable updates, but remains extremely popular and attracts an average of over 8 million daily players (via ActivePlayer). Many of these players were treated to a recent glitch that made a certain in-game character extra fancy, if we do say so ourselves.

Bugs in "Pokémon GO" are not an uncommon occurrence. In the past, these bugs have ranged from innocuous events such as accidental reveals of Pokémon not officially added to the game, as well as more dire mistakes such as developer Niantic wrongfully banning a ton of innocent players under the suspicion of cheating. However, one bug has recently popped up that's honestly hilarious — Wailmer is now sporting a fedora in-game! The glitch was originally posted to Reddit by user u/LinaStarPrincess with the caption "I can't believe this happened..." 

The glitch is seemingly the result of a clipping glitch that spawns a wild Wailmer over the player's in-game avatar, hence the giant water-type Pokémon now having human legs. If the player's avatar is sporting a fedora, the hat will clip through Wailmer's head, giving the hilarious illusion of the creature sporting the often-maligned hat typically associated with people who like to, you know, tip it for no discernible reason.

The glitch has become so popular and enjoyed that many players on the Reddit post have requested that Niantic keep it as an optional cosmetic for their Pokémon friends. "Now there is nothing I want more in the world than a Wailmer with a hat that's too small for it," Reddit user u/Marise20 said. Redditor u/prancingpapio also expressed interest, asking "Costume for our buddy when?"