Pokemon Go Swaps Regional-Exclusive Pokemon for the First Time

Pokemon Go made an unexpected swap as to where two regional-exclusive Pokemon appear.

Shortly after Pokemon Go's Holiday Event concluded yesterday, players discovered that Seviper and Zangoose had suddenly swapped territories.While these two regional-exclusive Pokemon briefly coexisted in the same territory, it now appears that Seviper is now spawning in what was once Zangoose territory, while Zangoose is stepping in on what Seviper's old turf.

Zangoose originally appeared in North America, South America, and Africa, while Seviper was limited to Europe, Asia, and Australia. While there were a few areas where players could catch both, Zangoose and Seviper were still considered regional-exclusive Pokemon as the vast majority of players could only catch one or another.

Zangoose and Seviper's regional-exclusivity also nodded to Pokemon lore, as the two Pokemon are hated rivals in the main series Pokemon games.

This marks the first time that Pokemon Go has ever swapped regional-exclusive Pokemon. While other regional-exclusives have occasionally been made available for events, this is the first time that two species have ever actually switched places on a wholesale basis.

As of right now, Niantic hasn't commented whether this is a permanent switch or just a temporary swap. We can also confirm that Plusle and Minun, two other regional-exclusive Pokemon that share regions with Seviper and Zangoose have not swapped as of this time.

Neither Seviper nor Zangoose are especially powerful Pokemon, but this does present a unique opportunity for trainers to add a relatively rare Pokemon to their Pokedex without having to travel to another continent.