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This is the first of a non-regular series I dub as Fool's Errands. Why? Because it will chronicle, or at least, tell about an act or attempt I have or had taken, could be small or big, that was... well, presumably pointless, unnecessary, or even crazy to some. 😁
It would not always be the case, of course. Maybe it was merely a mundane thing I just never really got around to doing before. You get the picture. 😏
My goal is to learn something from it. Whether I intend to continue doing the action is up for grabs. But, hey, life is all about learning, right? Maybe such an action will lead to a fun discovery... 😉
*****
Driven by the hype of Pokémon Day (February 27), I started something that contradicted my inner desire. As the title of this piece suggests, that action was starting a new gameplay of Pokémon GO from scratch. Despite my increasing irritability for the game (I actually wanted to wrap my run once I reached Level 46), my curiosity got the best of me. 🙄
The question that came to my mind was:
"How would a new player feel and what would the experience be like if they start playing Pokémon GO this year?" 🤔
After all, it's almost 9 years since the game became a global sensation, only to have a gradual drop in players due to the developer's questionable and insensitive decisions. 🤷🏻♂️
(Source: Pokémon GO, developed by Niantic and The Pokémon Company)
Without further ado, here's what I have learned since then...
Continuous Imperfection
One of my biggest qualms about Pokémon GO is the lack of quality control from Niantic, its developer. Guess what? 8 years and 8 months later, that baffling issue has continuously plagued the gameplay. 😑
If you do not believe me, check out Niantic Support's social media accounts. The most recent "incident" (I admit, I enjoy seeing those Futurama "N Days Since Last Incident" meme, though 😏) happened during the "Catch Mastery" event.
During the event, players were tasked to complete Timed Researches by catching two Fossil Pokémon who debuted in Pokémon Red/Blue; Omanyte and Kabuto. The promise was their rare, Shiny (unique colored) variants would appear at a higher probability rate.
Yet, a few hours after it started, a PSA came out, implying the developer FORGOT to activate that higher rate. 🤦🏻♂️
This was, far and away, NOT the first time it happened. 😅
Considering Niantic is based in San Francisco, maybe the staff in charge was fast asleep when the first time zone started in New Zealand? 🥱
Alas, that is just the obvious issue spotted and experienced worldwide. Here are some other examples I experienced. 🤨
In early February, a visual update to the Pokédex page's design went live. If you catch a new Pokémon, you will see a quick animation showing how that species gets registered. I figured that, since I am playing from zero, I could record the cute animation sequence for EVERY monster! 😀
Before I knew it, the catch screen froze repeatedly in my gameplay. The Pokémon WAS registered, but I was robbed of the animation. 😤
Routes are a mini-feature added in July 2023. Players can record the path they walk through, and others can follow in their footsteps.
I admit the concept was thrilling. Until I submitted my Route(s)...
Some were only approved many months later. 🐌🙄
That was almost two years ago. Things have changed. But while the submission process has gotten faster, I cannot say the same about the feature itself. It still contains the same ridiculous bug.
Somehow, as soon as I start walking through a Route, the tracker suddenly pauses my progress for no reason. I honestly thought that only applied to my original account which had built up 8-year worth of data. Nope! It still happened in my new account. That means, players must pay attention to the Route if it is active. Otherwise, you might be wasting your energy. ⏸🙅🏻♂️
On two separate occasions, I actually had to walk back and retrace my steps upon realizing the tracker stopped when I took on a Raid along the pathway. 😑🚶♂️
Overwhelming Freebies?
Special Research has been a staple of the Pokémon GO gameplay since March 2018, debuting less than two years after the game officially launched. It is basically a series of Quests/Tasks you must complete to obtain a special reward. 👀
The first ever Special Research was titled "A Mythical Discovery" and rewarded the Mythical Mew. Every new player WILL get this, too! FOR FREE! Yay!!! 😆
Once you reach Level 15, that is. 😐
But fret not, besides how easy it is to reach that player level, you will automatically receive not one or two, but more of those Special Research not long after you start playing. A new Special Research called "To the Next Level" (available since November 2024), in particular, will act as a handholding guide for you to play the game. 👬
As of this writing, I have more than 10 Special Researches running in parallel. These include the new Special Research added after new gimmicks like Mega Evolution and Dynamax were added to the game. 4 will eventually reward a Mythical Pokémon each. If I'm not wrong, 3 more will follow once I reach a certain level or finish the one for Mew. 😳
There's more! Since I started playing before "Pokémon GO Tour Unova", I also got some new Special Research (seasonal "Dual Destiny," "Pokémon Presents '25"). Currently, the new Research for the season of "Might and Mastery" is also active. 😐
And then there is the Referral Bonus! Seriously, I was always curious about this feature. Now I know what that is. Any new players who create an account using our referral code will get another list of Progression Tasks that reward items or cool Pokémon.
I'm not gonna lie. The Special Research concept is, and sounds like, a good thing, considering Mythical Pokémon are rare to obtain in console titles. Not to mention these ones will come in your OT (Original Trainer ID). The giveaways in the mainline games usually stamp a Mythical with the source's name as the owner.
However, once you experience it, you will also realize one thing:
Having that long list of Special Research IS overwhelming! 😩
The good thing is some of the tasks DO overlap. For example, "Catch X Pokémon" and "Power up Pokémon X times". So, you can clear several of those in one go. This is convenient, as in the past, I needed to do that task all over again when a new Special Research was released. 🙄
The confusing part is keeping track of which one you have cleared, as the progress varies on each one.
But is that still not enough for you? Perhaps, you desperately need a financial excuse to push yourself to keep playing the game? Then you can BUY additional Special Research during specific events. ☝🏻😅💸
Have I mentioned there are Timed Researches, too? ⏳📆
Fast and Furious
As stated above, you WILL level up fast. Those Special Research usually reward XP (Experience Points) that range from small to abundant. Every time you clear a Step, your chance of jumping straight toward the next level is high. Also, some of the tasks include "Evolving X Pokémon" or "Battle in X Raids." Those actions also reward XP. 🧗♂️
Even without deliberately finishing the Special Research, you will surely rack up XP quickly. How so? This game now consists of 9 regions, which means roughly 800-something monsters to catch on the overworld. Registering a new entry rewards a bonus of 1,000 XP. 👀
That completion progress is bafflingly fast for a new account. In the early years of the game, you must catch plenty of Pokémon to gather candies. Those candies are necessary to evolve the Pokémon and register the evolved form. But now, you don't even need to evolve them all. Many of the evolved forms are available and catchable around you. All you need to do is walk toward where their Silhouettes appear on the map!
Sometimes, they may include the rare Shiny color I mentioned earlier. ✨
Do you know I already got 6 Shinies by March 15? It did NOT take this fast when I started playing in 2016. And, no, the list didn't include any from the monthly Community Day (this month featured Fuecoco on March 8). Otherwise, the total might be double since the event always had a boosted chance of encountering a Shiny. I couldn't play that day because I had ZERO empty space in my Pokémon Storage. 😐
That brings me to the next point! 😨
***
But just like walking on a Route, let me abruptly put a "Pause" for now. ⏸😅
This is getting too long already. So, I will detail the rest in Part 2... 😪
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