Community lead Mary actually thinks cell phone games and going out are stupid. Now, thanks to Pokémon GO and her better half, she has been persuaded to give them both another chance.
I’m a big Pokémon fan. My mom still tells me, annoyed, that she had to read me the dialogue of every NPC in the blue edition because I couldn’t read yet, but I could already play Pokémon.
This love has lasted my entire life and really flared up again in 2016 with the release of Pokémon GO. The hype surrounding the app got me so carried away that I ran around the university campus all day long. Of course, as a student I had plenty of time for it.
At some point I ran out of steam and when I switched to working life in 2018, I was able to play less and less, so I stopped playing completely in 2019.
Until now.
Dynamax in Pokémon Go – This is how you compete in the gigantic battles
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Going out is stupid, but catching Pokémon with my partner is worth the effort
This time it wasn’t a new app or any update to blame, but my other half. We’ve been addicted to Pokémon trading cards for some time now and since then the love of pocket monsters has spread like wildfire in our hearts and hobbies.
I actually thought I would just stick with playing the old editions and crocheting Pokémon. But as is often the case in life, things turn out differently than you think. And after the third “Will you play Pokémon GO with me?” from my partner, I didn’t want to say no anymore.
I can rarely convince myself to voluntarily go out the door after my usually stressful days at work. Especially in winter, when icy winds find every square centimeter of free space in thick clothing and walking on the asphalt often becomes a slippery experience, I prefer to sit in bed with my cat and a book. But what don’t you do to spend time with your partner?
Walks are also said to be good for mental and physical health. And if I have something better to do than just wander around haphazardly trying to get enough steps on my smartwatch, I want to give it a chance.
I just want to catch Pokémon…
Through a flash of inspiration and the password reset function, I even got access to my old account in Pokémon GO again. Looking back, I probably should have started a new one, because information windows and hints popped up everywhere, which I clicked away in annoyance. That much can’t have changed.
Well, puff cake.
“Let’s try the Arktos over there,” my partner suggested. Sure, no problem. But where should the kingfisher be? Confused, I searched my map using the Where’s Walter principle. Unsuccessful.
It wasn’t until we were standing right in front of a strange purple structure on the virtual map that we realized: I can’t see Arktos at all. I was able to click on the strange thing, but there was just… nothing. A skimmed tool tip on the screen told me something about Max Pokémon and particles that I had to collect.
So no kingfisher then.
Raid carry
We continued through the city center and combined the practical with the useful: looking for the new Pokémon trading card set that was sold out everywhere. This went well until we entered the entrance to a department store.
“Oh look, they have this very expensive Hermés bag on display. “Did you know…” I started with my useless Tiktok knowledge. But my friend didn’t listen to me.
Instead all he said was “There are people in the raid! They can carrien us!” as he turned on his heel, left the store and sprinted down the street.
Mildly irritated, I followed him and prayed we wouldn’t have to talk to strangers. There was currently a Deoxys raid going on, for which both he and I were hopelessly underleveled. The legendary Pokémon just had to look at us and my 1780-point Gengar’s HP dwindled.
The advantage of the big city is that 13 people get together in no time, one of whom sent the beast to the boards with just 2 hits. You just have to be at the raid quickly enough – i.e. within two minutes. We managed the sprint and easily bagged Deoxys. Undeserved? Perhaps. But I’ll take what I can get.
It was fun – right? Yes.
After about two hours and various “Ah, don’t delete all your old Pokémon” and “Don’t spend your coins on clothes, you’ll need them for the larger bag and a larger Pokémon box!” we were back home.
I was cold, I had leveled up and I still didn’t understand a lot of things in Pokémon GO. I still lacked the MP for the Arktos (which I could now see!) and I was able to bag so many rewards in my field research that I lost track after just four seconds.
“That was fun, wasn’t it?” my partner asked me with a hint of hope in his voice.
At first I wanted to say a grumpy “Yeah, it was okay,” but then I looked at his happy face, slightly red from the cold.
If you were honest with me, I actually enjoyed the trip. From the joy of “oh look, there’s a Karnimani!” to the realization that getting outside is really good for your body and mind, I felt much better than if I had stayed at home. The fact that I also spent a fantastic time with the person who matters most to me is also a great bonus.
“Yes. It was!”, I answer honestly. “We can do it again.” But first I should read through some guides and explanations. Luckily, I know a fantastic site that has everything I need.