It’s been a long time since I could comfortably call myself a hardcore Pokemon Go player. I was that once, tearing through my city with a huge group in my wake in order to tackle a dozen Raids in a day, scooping up shinies and Stardust in equal measure. Then the pandemic happened. I moved house, out of a bustling city centre and into a quiet suburb.
As lockdowns lifted, Pokemon Go communities never recovered. I’d be lucky to get five dedicated Raiders on any given city centre excursion. However, I still play on holiday. Even in countries where the game is banned. Yes, I’m dedicated to overseas AR gaming for some reason, and this led me to finally get my first Zygarde cell, over 18 months after the mythical monster was released in the game.
Forgotten Research
Zygarde was released through a Special Research quest, which I followed up to a point. It involved following the new Routes feature in the game, which barely worked. In my suburban area, they were hard to come across. If I ventured into the city, I was usually accompanied by my young daughter, so couldn’t follow a random path to the opposite side of town.
None of the Routes I followed yielded a coveted Zygarde Cell, one of which I needed to access the next step of the research and 250 of which I needed to transform Zygarde into its final form. Tired, bored, and fed up, I threw in the towel. I don’t particularly care about Zygarde, I already have the little doggo version so my Pokedex is complete, and grinding 250 Cells from following roads to nowhere sounded like a fool’s folly.
However, Pokemon Go is different in Japan. The Showcases are full, the Raids are busy, and the Routes make sense. As a tourist wanting to explore the city of Sapporo, Routes were perfect for taking me off the beaten path or finding an alternative direction to a major sight.
The first Route I followed provided me with that green glow. My first Zygarde Cell. Perhaps Routes were bugged on release, I thought to myself. Perhaps I’d missed all the obvious signs. An NPC called Matteo, who I’d forgotten existed, traded me a Gift from Colombia, which was a thing that happened, and then I… Had a Zygarde Cell, I guess.
One down, 249 to go. I followed more Routes, as the next research step required me to follow five to completion. No more Cells. Perhaps my game wasn’t bugged back in 2023. Perhaps they’re just this rare.
Zygarde Is Pokemon Go’s Most Pointless Quest
Changing Zygarde’s form is just too Zyg-hard for me. I don’t want to do it. I won’t. I don’t care enough about turning this adorable little dog into a humanoid mech-thing that I can’t even put in Gyms.
I gave up hunting Zygarde Cells in Japan, a country where Pokemon Go is better than any other. I sure as h*ck am not going to grind out the remaining 249 Cells in my suburban situation back home.
I applaud anyone who has collected enough Cells to get an Origin Forme Zygarde in Pokemon Go. You have far more patience than I. But I must ask one thing: was it worth it? Was the reward worth all those Routes you followed? All those directionless paths that led you directly away from where you really wanted to go? I hope so, I really do.
