'Pokemon Go's Hilarious New Glitch Turns Poke Balls Into Pokemon

A hilarious new Pokemon Go glitch transforms Poke Balls into various types of Pokemon, which can then be tossed across the screen.

The new glitch was first discovered yesterday and coincides with the start of the game's new Johto Festival event. The bug replaces the Poke Ball 3D model with that of a Pokemon, although the Pokemon/Poke Ball hybrid still retains the Poke Ball's original color scheme. Meanwhile, the Pokemon disappears from the screen, although a targeting circle still appears when a player tries to use the Pokemon....I mean, Poke Ball.

You can see a video of the glitch below.

Pineco the Great Ball... from r/TheSilphRoad

So far, we've seen examples of the glitch happening during encounters with Pineco and Sunkern. We've also seen a similar glitch in which a player evolves Natu into Xatu, only for Xatu to appear without any coloring or shading assets.

The glitch seems totally harmless, as players can still catch the Pokemon without issue. It just makes for a very strange visual, as it's not very often that players can actually throw Pokemon around in the game.

As of right now, we don't know whether the glitch is tied to the new Pokemon Go update, which hasn't been released on Apple devices. We also don't know whether the glitch could happen to any Pokemon, or if it only affects Pokemon like Pineco, Sunkern, and Natu...which are all roughly the size and shape of a Poke Ball.

Pokemon Go is enjoying an influx of players, thanks to the Johto Festival event and its corresponding Special Research quest. If players complete the Special Research, they'll have an opportunity to encounter and capture the mythical Pokemon Celebi. Players can also find shiny versions of Natu, Pineco, and Sunkern in the wild, and collect new research to capture certain types of Pokemon first found in Pokemon Gold and Silver.