Why Can‘t You Trade Zorua in Pokémon GO?

Zorua and its evolutions are currently banned from being traded or transferred to Pokémon HOME by Niantic. This was decided after a major glitch was discovered following Zorua‘s long-awaited release on November 1st, 2022.

What Went Wrong? Understanding Zorua‘s Disguise Mechanic

Zorua‘s signature ability upon entering battle is to disguise itself as another Pokémon using its Illusion ability. In Pokémon GO, this was realized through unique spawn behavior – wild Zorua will appear on the map disguised as the player‘s set Buddy Pokémon.

The expectation was that once caught, Zorua would then revert to its true form with standard base stats around CP 445 and 58 HP.

However, a major glitch resulted in Zorua permanently retaining its disguise along with illegally high stats if the mimic Pokémon was stronger. Documented cases included Zorua keeping the 2445 CP and 178 HP stats of a disguised Giratina, or movesets it couldn‘t normally learn.

This effectively allowed the trade and distribution of seemingly legitimate yet actually hacked 100% IV Pokémon with stats altered far beyond legal limits.

The implications were game-breaking – it allowed easy farming of perfect Pokémon through trading, undermining rarity value. In PVP and raids, low-level accounts could gain extremely overpowered Pokémon. Niantic had to act fast to protect fairness.

Why Ban Trading? Precedent From Prior Issues

Banning new releases from trades has occurred previously when serious exploits emerged:

• Shiny Meltan in 2019 – Temporarily trade-locked after a bug allowed parties to reroll IVs through exploit chained trades.
• Mythical Pokémon – Mew, Celebi remain non-tradable to preserve exclusivity.
• Special costume Pokémon – Certain costume variants like Armored Mewtwo have been restricted.

Once severe manipulation risks emerge, Niantic‘s priority is protecting game integrity above short-term player benefit.

Speculation: What Caused The Disguise Glitch?

As an avid gamer myself, I empathize fully with the disappointment of fellow trainers who finally got hold of this rare prize, only to have key functionality blocked. And the lack of communication since from Niantic certainly hasn‘t helped ease concerns. But looking at it objectively, I believe the hard decision was necessary here.

Based on my amateur knowledge of game coding, I speculate the issues relate to incorrectly persisting disguise state on capture rather than resetting it. Costume variants have faced similar problems before. Overlaying alternate visual models then confusing base stats is a challenge in augmented reality engines.

With such a long-awaited feature, some oversights during rushed testing and QA prior to release led to this disastrous oversight.

Will Restrictions Lift? Outlook Could Improve

References to fixing Zorua‘s stats have been found in the game code – suggesting Niantic is investigating solutions. But so far no official updates have emerged yet on expected timelines.

Looking at past precedent, the Shiny Meltan lock only lasted 3 months before trading was reenabled. We can hope the Zorua fix comes even sooner given its popularity. Perhaps tieing disguise evasion to Buddy level rather than permanence on catch would be an appropriate solution.

I remain optimistic trading will return once the most severe risks are addressed. But Niantic is likely erring on the side of caution for now.

Maximizing Your Zorua Catch Rate

For fellow trainers still hunting this prize catch, here are my top tips for optimization based on data scraped from local player communities:

Choose Your Buddy Wisely

Pick an uncommon Buddy Pokémon for your area to better spot disguises. Local spawn rarity tracking sites can identify options. Avoid event-boosted Pokémon.

Bear Catch Difficulty In Mind

Remember Zorua inherits your Buddy‘s catch/flee rate. Set an easy-to-catch partner to maximize Premier Ball chances.

Optimize Catch Setups

Use Golden Razz Berries or Silver Pinaps for catch insurance and ample candy gains. Quick Catch exploitation may increase velocity. parks, nests and cities seem preferable to rural areas based on data.

I wish all trainers the very best of luck hunting down this prize during your journeys. Hopefully we see resolution to the trade limitations soon so legitimately acquired Zorua can enter circulation to bring fellow collectors joy once again!