Pokémon Go stuns fans by releasing legendary Pokémon in the wild for the first time

In a surprise move, Pokémon Go has released three legendary creatures into the wild - a first for the game.

Up until now, all legendary beasties have debuted via top level raids. But today, Sinnoh's legendary lake trio - Azelf, Mesprit, Uxie - have been released into the wild, leaving fans stunned.

So far, players have only reported each beast in one of the game's three main regions. Azelf has been found in the Americas, Mesprit in Europe and Uxie in Asia-Pacific.

Fitting their nature, the trio appear to be spawning only around bodies of water. If you're a nerd like me, there's already a fan-made OSM map tool to find eligible spots where you are.

Even then, though, spawns of each creature appear to be incredibly rare (think: Unown rare). Keep an eye on your radar for one of these silhouettes:

Both forms of unreleased Sinnoh Pokémon Shellos were also available earlier today - but only for a brief window of time. Niantic has yet to comment on this - it appears to have been a mistake.

The Lake Trio had been prime candidates for release over the summer at Pokémon Go's three big Go Fest events, set for Chicago, Dortmund in Germany and a to-be-announced location in Asia. Perhaps this is a way to release the trio first, which does not require event attendance? Or perhaps something else (eg. the next Mythical Pokémon set for release, Jirachi) is being saved for then?

Either way, it's a genuine surprise for the three to be released this way. Good luck to those out hunting.

If you want any more details, our dedicated lake trio Azelf, Uxie, Mesprit page can help.