10 Reasons why you should be playing Pokémon GO

It’s hard to believe that about two and a half years ago, Pokémon GO was released and it took not only the video gaming industry but the entire world by storm. The premise of catching your very own Pokémon in the real world was very promising and it was everywhere. Parks, Museums, Malls, everywhere you could see people of all ages engaged in their phones, swirling their fingers to try to land the perfect throw. Although the player base saw a substantial decrease in quantity, the game still holds a niche in the mobile gaming market. A big reason for this decline was the game’s content being repetitive and unintuitive, however, Niantic has made major changes and I’d dare say the game is better than ever. Here are 10 reasons why you should get back into Pokémon GO.

Community Day

Niantic decided to give back to its players so once every month there is a Community Day. For 3 hours, 1 day or perhaps even an entire weekend we get in-game bonuses and special Pokémon appear in the wild. It is a common day where all community players gather around and play the game.

Fitness

Hard to grasp at first but Pokémon GO is an exceptional travel and fitness buddy. The game tracks your footsteps, distance and even calories burned. And with the new AR sync update, one does not even need to keep the app open to do so. Plus walking distance allows you to hatch Eggs with rare Pokémon and the game grants you bonuses for weekly walk distance as well.

Friendship

The new friendship system allows you to make friends in the game. This way you get to meet lots of new people and have fun. Engaging in multiple activities together allows the friendship meter to increase and grants in-game discounts and bonuses.

PVP

A trademark of the Pokémon franchise is the Player versus Player battles. The PVP in Pokémon GO although is different from the rest of the series but is still quite intuitive and strategic. There are three leagues and are distinguished with CP. There’s the Great League (<1500), Ultra League (<2500) and Master League (No Limit).

Trading

Another feature of the friendship system allows you to trade Pokémon with your friends. These can range from normal to even Legendary Pokémon. Plus as an added bonus there’s a chance of obtaining a Shiny Pokémon which requires even less Stardust to power up.

Raids

Raid battles allow you to fight strong Pokémon and if defeated gives the player the opportunity to catch it. Legendary raids are quite common and are a great way to catch Legendary Pokémon.

Gyms

When the game was introduced the gym system was quite difficult to tackle as the players would often stack up Blisseys and many bulky Pokémon’s and kept gyms occupied for very long. However, that is no longer the case. A Pokémon can earn Pokécoins for the first 8 hours after which the CP of the Pokémon substantially decreases and is easier to defeat.

Shiny

With the introduction of the shiny Pokémon, the incentive of catching those Pocket Monster is even stronger. There is a small chance of a Pokémon turning out to be a Shiny and that makes catching mons even sweeter.

4^th Gen

Recently the 4^th Generation Pokémon or the Pokémon from Sinnoh region were introduced thus increasing more in-game content and more new Pokémon to capture.

Events

There are weekly and even daily events in the game that keep the gameplay fresh and crisp. Events bring in-game bonuses and make the players more engaged.