Community lead Mary actually finds mobile games and going out boring. However, thanks to Pokémon GO and her better half, she was convinced to give both another chance.
I am a huge Pokémon fan. My mom still tells me annoyed today that she had to read me the dialogue of every NPC in the blue edition back then because I could play Pokémon but couldn’t read yet.
This love has lasted my entire life and flared up again in 2016 with the release of Pokémon GO. The hype around the app completely took me along, so I was running around the university campus all day. Of course, as a student, I had plenty of time for that.
At some point, however, the air was out a bit, and with my entry into working life in 2018, I simply had less and less time to play, so I completely stopped in 2019.
Until now.
Going out is boring, but catching Pokémon with my partner is worth the effort
This time, it wasn’t a new app or any update that was to blame, but my better half. For some time now, we’ve been back into collecting Pokémon cards, and since then, the love for pocket monsters has spread like wildfire in our hearts and hobbies.
I actually thought it would just be about playing the old editions and crocheting Pokémon. But as so often in life, things turn out differently than expected. And after my partner’s third “Will you play Pokémon GO with me?” I didn’t want to say no anymore.
I rarely manage to convince myself to move voluntarily outside after my usually stressful workdays. Especially in winter, when icy winds find every square inch of free space in thick clothing and walking on the asphalt often turns into a slip and slide, I prefer to sit with my cat and a book in bed. But what wouldn’t one do to spend time with their partner?
Furthermore, walks are said to be good for mental and physical health. And if I have something better to do than just wandering around aimlessly to get enough steps on my smartwatch, I want to give it a chance.
I just want to catch Pokémon…
Thanks to a brainwave and the password reset function, I even regained access to my old account in Pokémon GO. In hindsight, I probably should have started a new one, because pop-up info windows and various hints appeared everywhere that I impatiently clicked away. So much couldn’t have changed.
Well, tough luck.
“Let’s try to find Articuno over there,” my partner suggested. Sure, no problem. But where is the ice bird? Confused, I searched my map according to the where-is-Walter principle. Unsuccessfully.
It was only when we stood right in front of a strange purple structure on the virtual map that we realized: I can’t see Articuno at all. I could click on the strange thing, but there was just… nothing. An overflown tooltip on the screen told me something about max Pokémon and particles that I had to collect.
So no ice bird.
Raid Carry
We continued through the city center, combining the practical with the useful: looking for the new and sold-out Pokémon card set. It went well until we entered a department store.
“Oh look, they have a super expensive Hermès bag displayed. Did you know…”, I started with my useless TikTok knowledge. But my boyfriend wasn’t listening to me.
Instead, he just said, “There are people in the raid! They can carry us!” as he turned on his heel, left the store, and sprinted down the street.
Somewhat confused, I followed him and prayed that we didn’t have to talk to strangers. Currently, a Deoxys raid was going on, for which both of us 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 can gather in no time, one of whom knocked the creature out with just 2 hits. You just have to be quick enough – within two minutes – to make it to the raid. We made the sprint and easily captured Deoxys. Undeserved? Maybe. But I’ll take what I can get.
It was actually 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 need them for a bigger bag and a bigger Pokémon box!” we were back home.
I was cold, I had leveled up, and there were still many things in Pokémon GO that I didn’t understand. For the Articuno (which I could now see!) I still lacked the MP, and in my field research, I could collect so many rewards that I already lost track after four seconds.
“Didn’t that have fun?” my partner asked me with a hint of hope in his voice.
I initially wanted to grumble a “Yes, it was okay,” but then looked into his slightly flushed and happy face from the cold.
To be honest, the trip was actually fun. From joy over “oh look, there’s a Croconaw!” to the realization that going out is really good for body and mind, I felt much better than if I had stayed at home. That I also spent a fantastic time with the person who means the most to me is also a great bonus.
“Yes. It was!” I honestly replied. “We can do it again anytime.” But first, I should read some guides and explanations. Fortunately, I know of a fantastic site that has everything I need for that.
