Niantic changes Pokemon spawn points

December 4, 2016. Posted by: Alex Wong

For the eighth time since the game launched back in July, Niantic has changed which Pokemon appear from Pokemon Nests. Pokemon Nests are a special area where the same Pokemon consistently pops up in clusters.

Nests are a big part of Pokemon GO; players know that specific Pokemon will always spawn there, no matter when they go. Thus, Nests allow players to catch their favorite Pokemon and in large quantities.

This is a Magmar Nest. Magmars are the red and yellow lizard like Pokemon. 

However, Niantic has been periodically changing which Pokemon appear at Nests. There is no set time when Niantic does this, but they have generally changed Nests every two to three weeks.

Niantic has never come and and said why they do this, but it is possible that they do this in order to make the game less predictable and to give people access to different kinds of Pokemon, and not just the same one all the time.

Because of this periodic change, members of the Pokemon GO community have created tools to document annual Nest changes and to announce any Nest change that occur via social media. Member of the Pokemon GO community has also tried to predict what Pokemon will spawn out of a Nest, although there has not been much success.

Niantic often places nests within parks. Central Park, for instance, is one giant Pokemon Nest. If one were to walk there now, one would be 100% guaranteed to find an Electabuzz.

An Electabuzz

Because I live in New York City, I am fortunate to have a lot of parks and subsequently a lot of Nests. These Nests have also gotten me to explore parts of New York I would have never gone to. Just the other day I visited Battery Park in order to visit a Pokemon Nest. Nests are a great way for Niantic to get people to travel around their neighborhood and experience it in a unique way.