After years of disappointment, Pokemon Go Fest has regained the magic

It was also dated my boxmy journey pokemon go There was one of them Started 2 years ago inside Happy because of lockdownAnd then Go down slowly inside disappointment later, later disappointment. But this weekend, despite what it seems Best effort NianticFinally I gave the test pokemon go At its best: a fun day with a group of cool people chasing after the famous and working together to get things done.

Last Saturday marked the end of the 2022 final pokemon go The festival where the fateful story of Professor Willow’s disappearance is finally resolved and we finally get the long-promised Ultra Monsters Veromosa, Pozol, Jurkitree and Nihilego, and the final reward for Shaymin Sky. But for the first time in my experience, it wasn’t just me and my son playing. It changed everything.

My biggest sticking point is with Niantic’s recent unwanted changes POGObehind him Determined to ignore Covid advice It limits enthusiasm, the company’s surprising belief is that if they do Makes it difficult to attend eventsSomehow more people will end up playing together. This Saturday, however, no such absurdity was present. Instead, the closing event of the festival runs from 10am to 6pm, with a new quest and raid every two hours. As has become the norm in in-game events, Toby – now Seven – heads to the local park, where there are many gyms and stopovers to make completing challenges easier.

Best place to band. Three gyms are available at the same time and this is our only location is I’ve watched others play, even if it’s just to acknowledge a snarky, slightly awkward mutual nod. Toby’s swimming lesson was at 11:30 I’m often like a big sad person. Other than that, something else happened. Next to the band was a circle of people, all holding phones, all holding hands and looking down.

As we walked down the hill, instead of a protective shutdown, they looked up and realized that our phone had expanded in this unique way. POGO Player, we call more! Three adults, three children, that’s a lot pokemon shirt; We did eight. They were the cutest of the group, a couple with their 10-year-olds and a mother with her 9- and 13-year-olds. We were immediately invited to capture Feromosa, and for the first time in two years of playing this silly game, I experienced a real, actual, and personal heist.

It’s not out of a willingness to try, but the result of what Niantic can’t accept: 2016 isn’t the year anymore, and there aren’t hordes of passionate gamers around every gym. complete POGO In my career, I had to use apps like Poke Genie to be able to do a five-star raid, which meant I mysteriously collected legendaries from around the world, but not from home.

We chatted far away, exchanged thoughts pokemon Testimonials, Toby has his favorite TCG card covers and this one was the most timely of them all. But it was time to go swimming, so — after exchanging friend codes — we said goodbye to our trans friends.

Determined to try to hold on to it pokemon go Follow up a bit longer after class because yes obviously I’m the one who wants to play more than that now, I suggested we go away from the house to get something to eat. At 1:45 p.m., with Matchop still missing the challenge of collecting the second portion, I left him to have fun with the leftover ice and catch Blue Blighter, who refused to show up at the restaurant. He was just out, but the third part of the day was supposed to start catching new Pokemon and most importantly, catching Xurkitree’s Electric Fire Risk. I suggested walking through the park again, just in case.

And they all were! Our team! They’ve since moved on, but they’re also back on the bandstand, and once again we’re cordially invited to join them. It turns out that the two families met in the same place a few months ago, even though they both live in other cities on the opposite side of our small town. They were all thirsty pokemon Fans have been the couple since their early days in the late ’90s, with the other mother taking her kids with her partner and then quickly becoming the most obsessed member of the family. It is something familiar. Cough.

As tasks approached, we all completed them as a team and worked together to help each other. When Toby found Hondo Swirlix, everyone rushed to catch him, including the ones that were Anders Players who were quietly nearby. When this badass (one) other helmeted guy told us we had to walk a kilometer and hatch an egg, we set off in two groups through the park. There were friendly ribbings, happy banter and even deep and purposeful conversations between adults.

We spent the rest of the afternoon with these wonderful people until about 5:30pm and I’m happy to report that we exchanged numbers and plan to meet at future community days and events. It is golden pokemon go An experience I’ve heard so far, often in comments among others POGO Essays I’ve written out of long-time gamers’ nostalgia laments. Finally I came across it myself.

I can well understand why Niantic is so focused on this. Although the billion-dollar company is primarily driven by making huge amounts of money, its rhetoric is almost entirely wrapped up in a desperation to recapture the runaway soul of 2016. It will annoy and alienate entire planets of players with bone-breaking bad decisions because he’s got the idea in his head, he’ll make people find community again. The company halved the length of its Community Days this year, simply because it thinks people will be more likely to meet when time limits are set. The obvious fact is that this means no one else can join, and you might run into someone if they’re there no one If you make it harder to share, other things won’t go well.

But on Saturday, at the biggest gaming event of the year, I felt it. I can understand why people who saw the excitement of the game would want it to happen again. It makes a huge difference and I imagine most people (like me) have never played the game beforeEver known I can’t wait to see them all again, come and play the game next chance.