Some events in Pokémon GO may require you to wait a bit longer. A trainer demonstrates how long some things can take.
Time is undoubtedly an important factor in Pokémon GO. Whether it’s about time-limited events or raid bosses, or whether you finally have enough candies for an evolution or leveling up a monster.
A trainer demonstrates on Reddit that you may need to plan a bit more time for the return of your beloved little monsters. In this specific case, even several years.
“Like all good things, this too has come to an end”
What did the trainer do? As the trainer reports in his post on Reddit, he was out on a rainy day in the hills of southwestern Pennsylvania, USA. Here, he played Ingress, another game by Niantic, which is also considered a predecessor to Pokémon GO.
In Ingress, the trainer had to wait before he could continue with his current plan in the game. Since both games use the same data to generate interesting points in the game, he took advantage of the waiting time to open Pokémon GO. There, he discovered an empty gym.
He made his way to the gym and was able to place a shiny Turtwig in the gym despite some issues with his mobile data. And thus began a years-long mission for the little monster.
How long did he wait for his monster? As the trainer himself states, he is not very active in Pokémon GO, so he checked the game for the first time after several months. He discovered that his Turtwig was still bravely defending the gym.
He then checked back in the game several months later. And still, he saw the brave Turtwig staying in the gym. And that became a tradition. Every few months, he checked the game, found his monster in the gym, and closed the game again. As he reports, he only shared screenshots of the defender in his group chat and posted on Reddit.
On February 1, 2026, it finally happened: the Turtwig was defeated and returned to the trainer. This earned the trainer 50 coins, and the little brave turtle a record-breaking defender time of a whopping 2329 days. That corresponds to more than 6 years and 4 months.
The trainer himself comments on this with the following words: “Until yesterday. Like all good things, this too has come to an end. And so, after 2,329 days and 22 hours (just under six and a half years), his watch has ended. And I am 50 coins richer. So that’s the result, I think.”
What are your records for the longest defense of a gym? Feel free to let us know in the comments. If you want to know what events await you in the game this month, then feel free to check out our overview with all events in February 2026 in Pokémon GO.
