Pokémon Go fans furious over exclusive hundo Mewtwo Times Square event

An exclusive legendary with perfect stats has left average fans feeling left out

It's Pokémon Go's 10th anniversary, and you can't celebrate nearly achieving world peace quietly. Indeed, the kickoff to the milestone was, by all accounts, spectacular. Still, many Pokémon fans have been left with a sour taste in their mouths.

On Thursday, Japanese fans noticed something was amiss. Normally, the Shibuya Pokémon Center is adorned with an ominous Mewtwo statue that references the legendary Pokémon's lab-grown origin. But near the end of the week, Mewtwo had disappeared from the display.

Developer Scopely let fans puzzle over Mewtwo for hours without a word. Then, by Thursday night, the stunt was revealed. Pokémon Go took over New York City's Times Square with a spectacular display: Mewtwo menacingly resurfaced, and players were prompted to fight it. Participants were then able to capture a "Hundo" Mewtwo — a Pokémon with perfect stats. It was a cool moment that harkened back to the game's 2016 announcement trailer, which ended with a mass of people in Times Square all fighting a Mewtwo.

As in the mainline games, natural Hundo monsters in Pokémon Go are exceedingly rare. A legendary Hundo Pokémon, then, is extremely special. The problem is that the Pokémon Go Times Square event was an invite-only occasion. The players who got the exceptional Mewtwo were all influencers, content creators, and press. Everyone else just got to watch in envy. Fans who watched the Times Square event for at least 30 minutes were given items like Poké Balls and Lucky Eggs, but the rewards felt meager compared to what actual attendees received.

Regular players will get access to Mega Mewtwo X and Y starting on July 11, when the global Pokémon Go Fest 2026 event begins. But normal players aren't necessarily guaranteed a perfect monster — and they're going to have to work to get it. Already, Scopely is encouraging fans to purchase items like Raid Passes to make sure they get the most out of the event.

One of the top-voted threads on the Pokémon Go subreddit calls the event "one of the most out of touch decisions in the history of this game." The post argued that, while cool, the Mewtwo event is spiritually the "antithesis" of what made Pokémon Go special in 2016.

"Pokémon GO became a global phenomenon because of little moments experienced by millions of average players," the post read.

After the event concluded, Scopely thanked players on social media for supporting Pokémon Go throughout the years. The sentiment was met with scoffs and anger.

"A big middle finger to the rest of the world," one Facebook comment reads.

"The people who have been here since the beginning should have gotten SOMETHING like this," another post protested.

Mewtwo has appeared in Pokémon Go before, so the issue isn't solely exclusivity. Some fans say they've participated in hundreds of raids for the legendary, yet they've never been able to find a perfect Mewtwo.

"Times Square influencer event was a bunch of bs and extremely tone deaf," the top reply declares.