I’ve talked countless times about how rubbish Pokemon Go is for rural players. It’s a game intended to be played in large groups, and events have recently been catering to those large groups even more. Take Gigantamax Raids, for example, which often require 20 or more players to be crowded around one battle in order to take it down. They’re simply impossible if you live in a rural community.
I don’t live in a rural setting, I just empathise with the players. I’m somewhere between rural and urban, in the outskirts of a city. Suburbia. I have plenty of PokeStops, a handful of Gyms, and enough green spaces to house some Pokemon nests. It’s not a bad place to play Pokemon Go, but there’s no community. There are clearly people here who play – my Pokemon are knocked out of Gyms after a couple of days and so on – but there’s no dedicated group smashing out Raid days or gathering for Community Day events.
That’s fine. As I’ve moved away from city centre living to start a family, my Pokemon Go playtime has changed, too. I’m far more casual now. I don’t pay for any event tickets, I don’t worry about FOMO if I miss a new shiny, and I am content in just catching my favourite Pokemon and playing when I’m on holiday.
Playing Pokemon Go In Japan Is Like Playing A Different Game
Then I arrived in Japan. A city where I know no-one, and no-one knows me. There are language barriers and physical barriers alike. But still, Pokemon Go is on another level here.
Note: It’s been hella snowing here in Sapporo, making routes away from the beaten paths treacherous. But needs must, so I ventured through snowdrifts and across icy roads to get my regional exclusives.
But Pokemon Go is massive here. I’m over a thousand kilometres from Tokyo, the game’s most densely populated area, and yet the city is still a hum of activity. If I put a Pokemon in a Gym, it is knocked out within the hour. If I tentatively click on a Raid, there’s invariably a party already waiting to take it down. It’s prime tourist season right now, so the streets are packed and I can’t make out who my Gym partners are, but I know they’re here. And it’s invigorating.
Pokemon Go feels like a different game in Japan. The streets are more densely packed with Pokemon and players alike. There’s always something going down, always players engaging with the game’s core mechanics, and it feels exciting. It makes you want to play. If you do end up seeing someone tackling a Gym or fighting a Dynamax battle, you can approach them, make friends, and trade regionals or other exclusives. Finally my horde of Mr. Mime has some use, finally I’ve used this game as intended: to forge friendships and explore the world.
Playing Pokemon Go in Japan – in the cities, at least – feels like what the game was always intended to be. It feels like that first summer when it was released. It feels better than playing at home, and not just because of the excitement of foreign exclusives. There’s a proper community here. They might not walk from Raid to Raid together, but this community is big enough that they don’t need to. There are always players nearby to help out with whatever challenge you’re tackling, and that co-operation feels great.
I’ll Be Sad To Go Back
When I return home, Pokemon Go just won’t feel the same. I’d grown accustomed to the slow going of suburban play, but now I’ve tasted the other extreme. I want to Raid again, I want to play with other people again. That’s what this game is about, after all. All of my favourite Pokemon Go experiences have been shared with others, whether at Go Fests or just wandering my local park with my brother on a particularly exciting Community Day.
I know exactly what will happen. I’ll keep my Pokemon Go momentum up when I get home – after the jet lag has settled, at least. It’ll last a week, maybe two, maybe even until the next major global event. But my enthusiasm will dwindle. I’ll log in once a week. Then once a month. Before I know it, I will only turn the game on for something major. You know, Shadow Rayquaza or a foreign holiday or something. Because there’s nothing like playing Pokemon Go on holiday, and there’s even less like playing Pokemon Go in Japan.
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