MeinMMO author Johanna started her journey in Pokémon GO in 2016 and then took a very long break. Now she has found her old account again, and it’s not as bad as she thought.
When Pokémon GO released in 2016, I was just as excited as many others. I mean, hello??? Pokémon in real life – even if only through the smartphone camera – how cool is that???
Not so cool were the still quite mediocre performance of the game and the constant near-draining of my phone battery. Power banks were a rarity at that time, and they were traded in my friend circle because everyone wanted to maximize their playtime in the game.
At that time, I lived with my girlfriend in our small hometown, which meant we unfortunately couldn’t visit too many Pokémon, Pokéstops, and gyms, but what we had, we used well during our many walks.
However, after only a short time, I lost interest. I wasn’t really having much success with the Pokémon or the battles and lost the desire to continue playing after just 2 months. In the following years, I logged in very sporadically to play for a day or two, but no more than that. I didn’t delete my account; I just stopped using it.
This benefits me, the 2026 Johanna, as I actually found my account from back then and had to realize: In that short time, I could achieve more successes than I was aware of back then.
How old is your Pokémon GO account? When did you start? Let me know in the comments below!
You can watch the trailer for the Pokémon GO Fest 2026 here:
Surprised by myself
A few days ago, I downloaded the Pokémon GO app again and actually found my old account. I didn’t expect much from my past self. Maybe a few captured Pokémon, but nothing special. But then the surprise: My account has some gems to show:
- A Groudon
- A Deoxys
- More 7 km eggs than I could have ever imagined
- AND a shiny Kyogre!
I even remember the situation when I caught the Deoxys: together with my girlfriend. We were at a raid by a monument, where we fought alongside two random guys.
With the shiny Kyogre, I unfortunately have no idea how that happened. The Pokémon is so valuable to me because 1. it is pink (!) and 2. I am quite sure that I never really farmed Pokémon. So I got the Kyogre on the first attempt as the shiny version!
I also don’t know exactly where I caught the Groudon, but I’m equally happy about it. Additionally, I have two more shiny Pokémon: an Arbok and a Nebulak. With the Nebulak, I will definitely try to evolve it into a shiny Gengar.
I am very happy that I found my old account again and can continue playing with it. It was a small trip to the past, which I now want to continue in the present. I don’t think I would be having as much fun with Pokémon GO at the moment if I had to start all over again. Let’s see where I take this account in the next 10 years!
What do you think about Pokémon GO? Will you also take a look at the game again after a long time? Let me know in the comments! Currently, the birthday event for Pokémon GO is running, in line with the 10th anniversary. You can find all the information here on MeinMMO: Pokémon GO: The weak birthday event suddenly becomes really good, distributing completely crazy bonuses
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