I still play Pokemon Go when I can, make fun if you must. It's long become a game only played by a loyal group of adults, you don't see the adult/children dynamic anymore. I started pretty shortly after release, all the way back in 2016 (mind blown btw). Like with a lot of things, I quickly was obsessed. It helped that it was nostalgic, as I played and loved the original Blue/Red/Yellow games in childhood. Those were generation one, and my knowledge of the series was limited to that. Since PoGo naturally started with those same Pokemon, it was immediately fun.
The genius of the game is that it actually requires walking around and checking out new places. You literally cannot play just by sitting at home. Spinning PokeStops (generally local landmarks) gives you items, such as PokeBalls, needed to catch and fight with the Pokemon you find. The type of monsters is largely dictated by where you are. A neighborhood will have more normal types, a mountain rock types, the coast water types. There are also regionals only available in certain parts of the world (e.g. North America or Japan or Australia), at least initially. We've never traveled to play PoGo but traveling for other reasons has helped me in the game. I'll always be thankful for one aspect, it really helped me learn more about where we live. I was driven to find gyms and places to play, and as a result I learned Frederick, especially downtown, very well, something that hadn't happened in the first two years of being here.
That first summer was pretty crazy with the sheer number of people playing. The big downtown park (Baker) in Frederick was always overrun. I'll never forget going into DC and spending time at the FDR Memorial. That was PoGo Central for months and if you weren't there to play, it would've been incredibly weird and/or frustrating. Hundreds milled around staring at their phones, not paying attention, starting and stopping at random. The Park Ranger leaned against a rock bored, because no one was there to learn. The initial craze did fade and most stopped playing. My own interest has come in waves. Niantic at times did just enough to keep me in by releasing a new generation or feature.
If you played when the game came out and stopped, I'll run through some added features and updates, because it's an impressive list in retrospect.
Currently on Gen 5, out of 8 so far, ~600 Pokemon available
Gyms overhauled and raids added
Attack moves added/removed/updated several times
TMs (items to change attack moves) added, plus ability to add a second charge move
Weather (sunny/cloudy/rainy/snowy etc.) added, impacts spawns and attacks
Daily/weekly research tasks added, with various rewards
'Shiny Pokemon' added, rare color variants
'Buddy Pokemon' added, follows you around on the map and more
Adventure Sync added, tracks walking distance while game off, if enabled
Friends and trading added, with 'Lucky Pokemon'
PvP added
Team Rocket added, includes battles and 'shadow Pokemon'
Plus there are a near constant stream of events. Some are interesting, others really aren't.
As for how I'm doing, I've been at the max level for a while. Forever I doubted I'd get there then they just kept adding ways to generate XP. I've never spent any real money in game, a point of pride. You can get ahead in PoGo by throwing money at it and people do. It's funny actually, I buy video games for consoles and pay yearly for my Live subscription, but refuse any micro-transactions in a free mobile game, (shrug). Raiding for 'legendary' Pokemon was introduced while I was recovering from my knee surgery (probably something else to write about), and once able to drive and walk again I started doing them. I joined the local Discord and met up with people a couple times a week, staying pretty casual. However I did, you know, want to Catch Em All and the legendaries were only available in raids. After starting to watch Jack full time a year ago, I've done them very rarely. That's okay. After reaching max level, you need to figure out the endgame. Completing the Pokedex is a constantly changing and basically impossible task. Building solo raid teams was fun, but no longer all that interesting. I already maxed out a set of favorites. Why keep playing?
Over the past year especially my interest really waned. There'd be months at a time I'd play only while walking the dog. I didn't think about it. There were a couple weeks I stopped completely. It appeared over. When they initially launched the PvP feature last year, it was fun for like five minutes. You could only battle people in person or certain friends and the rewards weren't worth the effort. I didn't do it much.
(Some favorites)
Then just this year, starting about a month ago, they released 'Go Battle League.' It's a matchmaking version of PvP. After walking a certain distance (or paying of course) you can do five matches, then move up or down ranks and get rewards based on results. The rewards are very good, including strong rare Pokemon and items to level them up. The leagues ('Great' 'Ultra' and 'Master') are each interesting too. Due to strength caps that prioritize bulk and resistances instead of pure damage, the Pokemon that dominate the lower two leagues are entirely different from the best for raiding or attacking gyms. The very strongest Pokemon get their day in Master League, if you spend the resources. Since I've played a long time and maxed out certain Pokemon, I was set up pretty well and have risen through the ranks fairly high. What I really enjoy is the strategy. Nothing in PoGo up until now has involved real tactics, but this PvP battle system requires thinking about strengths and weaknesses when creating a three member team. In a battle itself, deciding when to use shields and when to switch is everything. It's been a lot of fun and I'm curious how the seasons will go when they start soon.
So once again Niantic, you've got me. Not my money, but my time at least. I don't know whether to be happy or mad.
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