Who are the Kiwi superfans who still play Pokémon Go?
2016, in hindsight, was a simpler time.
Sure, it saw the beginning of the Trump Administration and Brexit, but there was one cultural phenomenon that, if only for a brief period in time, held the world together: Pokémon Go.
The augmented reality game you could download on your smartphone captured the hearts (and legs) of Pokémon fans and casual enjoyers across the globe – the game garnered so much craze that Stuff published a multitude of articles following the game’s sweep across the nation, chronicling every city that fell victim to Pokémon Go mania.
But, as the old proverb goes, all good things must come to an end: downloads declined, the gameplay quickly became stagnant and player complaints couldn’t be met, then the world (for the most part) seemed to move on.
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Six years on, Pokémon Go is but a distant memory for many of us, a fever dream we all lived through where for about 4-6 weeks we all understood the power of community and exercise – but where is the game at now?
As of November 2022, there are 905 Pokémon in the game’s Pokédex (a Pokémon registry), you can add and battle against friends or battle with them in “raids,” where you can fight to unlock the ability to catch uncommon, rare, and even legendary Pokémon.
Facebook group Pokémon Go Auckland is still going strong, boasting 12000 members with almost daily posts from keen collectors showing off their catches or organising meet-ups across the supercity.
Lyra Kees, from Auckland, doesn’t go a day with opening the Pokémon Go app on her
Read more on stuff.co.nz
