MeinMMO editor Caro was there from day 1 when Pokémon GO launched 10 years ago. In her village, where she grew up, there were only a few players and even less competition … except for a daily danger that the existing player base feared.
I fondly remember the summer of 2016, when nothing could have been more important to me than Pokémon GO. The game was a hit like nothing else, and I finally got to talk about Pokémon with friends who otherwise couldn’t have cared less about my favorite monsters.
At that time, I was still living in the village where I had grown up as a child. As the game was getting hot, it often happened that my friends and I – to the shock of my parents – willingly went outside to catch Pokémon, spin PokéStops, and take over gyms.
Since I lived pretty far away from everything, there wasn’t much competition. Most of the players were my age, so we mostly worked together. Team Red was fortunately a popular choice.
Still, my village shone almost constantly in yellow in the app. Because there was one group that no one could compete with: the highly motivated, walk-loving, and Pokémon-enthusiast extended family.
No one had a chance against them
While there was hardly any stress among us teenagers, almost even an unspoken balance of red and blue gyms, our efforts were easy prey for the large family that set out daily with power banks and in step to take everything that didn’t shine in gruesome yellow.
The family was known for reclaiming all gyms in the entire village within a day, which we had fought hard and fair for hand in hand. When you saw them from a distance, you knew: If we go any further, it will lead to nothing. No chance.
Father, mother, children, and even a grandmother belonged to the 9- or 10-member team that spread fear and terror. We were astonished every time how the family army had to pause for maybe 30 seconds to empty and reoccupy an entire gym. We would have been amazed if we hadn’t been so annoyed.
We could get worked up. Speaking up? Less so
However, we were also all too anxious and shy to even talk to one of them. We preferred to complain quietly and secretly and then didn’t show any reaction if our paths crossed.
I sometimes wonder if the family is still playing today, a full 10 years later. I will have to check on my next visit to the family.
Pokémon GO was an absolute phenomenon back then, bringing together young and old to catch small digital monsters and scream loudly when a Charizard spawned somewhere. One player says, however, based on an anniversary event in New York: Today, it is completely different: While influencers get a fierce Mewtwo for the anniversary of Pokémon GO, the common folk are left out – and they are angry
Your opinion is important to us!
Do you like the article? Then let us know!