Since July 2023, there is a new routes feature in Pokémon GO. Now a trainer has discovered a route that he cannot possibly complete.
On Reddit, trainers regularly share their experiences and discoveries while playing Pokémon GO, including the Reddit user “Affectionate_Pie”.
Affectionate_Pie has discovered a route that, according to his Reddit post, is eight kilometers long. Furthermore, a screenshot shows that the route does not follow any road or path. Instead, it passes through buildings, crosses a main road, and even cuts across a lake that can be seen at the edge of the image.
As he cannot complete the route as it is, he questions the new feature or the verification of recorded routes in his post and writes, “Who the hell verified this 8 km route?”
We embed the trainer’s Reddit post here:
How do other trainers react to the route? In the comments on Reddit, users primarily make fun of the route and its course.
One trainer jokes, “What’s the problem? Just go straight through the building and cross the highway, easy-peasy.” Another player adds, “Then you just have to walk over the bottom of a lake.”
Individual users also comment on speculations about how the route could have come about. Besides gameplay glitches and cheating, one player speculates that the route may have been recorded while the person was sitting on a plane. Or the phone was attached to a drone, writes another.
Creating routes and finding new pathways
What is the deal with the routes? Routes are a new feature that Niantic introduced in Pokémon GO in July 2023. The new feature allows players to record a route while walking and submit it for verification.
If Niantic releases a route after verification, it will be displayed in the game as a route. The goal is for players to help each other find new paths that they can use for walks and hikes—or to leave their cars for the first time in 7 years while playing:
By walking a route, trainers receive buddy candies and an XP bonus for the first route of the day. Additionally, you earn a buddy heart when you complete a route while out with your buddy Pokémon.
The routes feature can be a great way to discover beautiful paths, but it still has some issues. Shortly after the release of the feature, trainers reported various bugs:
Pokémon GO introduces a new feature “Routes,” but players complain about multiple bugs
