FleeceKing Becomes the First Pokemon GO Trainer to Hit 50
By Jack O'Dwyer
Australian Pokemon GO enthusiast FleeceKing (@ItsFleeceKing) has become the very first trainer to hit the new level maximum of 50 on Monday, Jan. 25.
Niantic Labs made the decision to increase the level cap in its mobile augmented reality title, Pokemon GO, last December 2020. This comes after nearly half a decade of stagnation with several players already sitting at the previous cap of 40. The company announced that Pokemon GO trainers would get an extra 10 levels to climb around the start of the new year, pairing it with a celebration and unique cosmetics for those already at the top.
Now, less than a month after the increase, one trainer has become the global first to reach this new standard.
If you weren't able to tune into my Twitch stream of me hitting level 50, here's a clip of the moment it happened! So grateful to have my mum there with me in the moment, she was just as passionate and was super happy for me. This is a moment I'll NEVER forget! Thank you all <3 pic.twitter.com/78vMPA5uHQ
— FleeceKing (@ItsFleeceKing) January 26, 2021
FleeceKing Hits Pokemon GO Level 50 Cap
Pokemon GO trainer FleeceKing hit level 50 during his Twitch livestream on Jan 25, 2021. The stream started at 11:11 a.m. ET. According to a tweet from his profile page published almost immediately afterward, he had 5000 viewers at the exact moment he hit the new cap.
However, his journey was not without controversy. On Jan. 24, FleeceKing suffered a technological error within the game that wiped his trading and gift progress from level 48 to 49. He was quick to bring the problem to Niantic.
"I had sent over 100 gifts to friends today, and for absolutely no reason whatsoever you have reset my progress towards level 49. This is incredibly discouraging and completely unfair to have my progress taken away from me," he wrote.
Fortunately, Niantic fixed the error—gifting him the requirements he needed to hit the new level cap and boosting him directly to 49. This sparked ire from other trainers who cast doubt on his achievement, claiming it wasn't authentic due to the boost. FleeceKing affirmed that he would have preferred to have his original progress back, "but obviously Niantic felt this was the right decision to compensate. You can disagree with it all you like, but don’t get angry at me."
FleeceKing has 30.9k followers on Twitter and 11.6k watchers on Twitch at the time of writing.