Since its launch in July 2016, Pokémon Go has used the same set of avatars to let players customize their own Trainer characters. That changed with a massive update in April, leaving thousands of people begging Niantic for a way to return to the original designs.
I want my OLD Avatar back!!!! #pokemongo #oldavatar #badavatar
On April 17, 2024, Niantic began rolling out its “Rediscover” update to Pokémon Go, which added several visual changes. This included a major overhaul of the game’s Trainer avatars for the first time, with the idea being that the update would allow players to make their character “look even more like YOU!” Instead, fans have widely criticized it for ruining their avatars, even though the patch added some fun customization options, and demand for a way to revert to the older models has skyrocketed.
As of the April 17th launch of the “Rediscover” update, there is no longer a way to change your Pokémon Go avatar back to its original design. There is also no way to prevent your avatar from being updated to the new model, as it was part of an actual update to the game.
In fact, now that these new avatars are in the game, you’re stuck using them instead of the original designs created by legendary Japanese character artist Yūsuke Kozaki. Even with the massive backlash to this updated look, Niantic has not acknowledged the negative reactions from the community or released a statement about a possible way to revert to the old avatars.
