A few weeks before the virtual Pokemon Go Fest, I noticed that on August 4, 2020, I would have been playing Pokemon Go for exactly four years. I've played games for a year or two before losing interest but then the way the game has evolved has made it interesting for me and thousands of others to continue playing.
I haven't reached the last level yet, Level 40 and I figured that this would be the perfect time to reach the last level.
I had no regrets buying an e-pass for Pokemon Go Fest. (I actually bought my pass an hour before the event started.) Thanks to the virtual event, I was able to gain a lot of XP points. As much as it helped, I still lacked a few hundred thousand XP to boost me to the last level. I had a few days left and did some calculations, there were three ways I had to gain the remaining XP points: catch 300 Pokemons, gain 10 great friends or acquire 1 best friend status. Catching 300 Pokemon when I was very low on Pokeballs didn't seem to a feasible option and I couldn't possibly gain 10 great friends in such s short span of time.
On the day of my 4th anniversary, I was still short of XP points and I was about to give up when I noticed that I only needed 180K XP points to get to Level 40. I suddenly realized that the only instant way to gain this much is to have one of my Pokemon friends become a best friend. And that friendship level will only be unlocked if you've been friends with that person for at least 90 days and have been trading gifts with each other regularly. Once unlocked, you gain 100 XP points. Use a lucky egg and it doubles your XP. Instant 200 XP points! With an instant light of hope, I instantly scrolled through my Pokemon's friend list to see if anyone qualifies,
I found a few but I knew they wouldn't qualify as we haven't been friends for at least 90 days. I needed someone I knew I have been Pokemon friends with for a while. Almost losing all hope, I finally spotted a long time blogger friend who's on my list, DON! Don is an avid Pokemon Go player who our family as known for years as a fellow blogger. In fact, we've met with a couple of times to trade pokemons and talk about the game. Don and I were a gift away from becoming best friends and I immediately sent him a message to tell him that he is my one and only hope in advancing to Level 40.
Don happily agreed and after sending a virtual gift, we became best friends and just like that, I gained 200K XP points which increased my status Level 40! Thank you Don!
So on my 4th year anniversary playing Pokémon Go, after catching over 30,000 Pokémon, visiting more than 30,000 pokestops, walking over 3,000kms, and gaining 100+ friends from all over the world, I finally reached Level 40!
Pokemon Go has not only been a game for me. It's been a way of family bonding when we would all go out and catch Pokemon. It was a way of bonding between my son who knew a ton of knowledge of Pokemon Go, which became our go-to for any questions on Pokemon from evolutions, generations, strengths, battle strategies, and anything and everything about the game. It led me to gain over a hundred of friends from all over the world. It was a nice and exciting topic to share with friends online who also played the game. It's been a way to discover new places. It was a way of collecting Pokemons from all over the world associated with memorable places we've visited. It was a way to walk and exercise more when you didn't feel like exercising. Overall, it was a whole lot more than just another game. It's been a friendly companion for the past four years.
Thank you Niantic.
- Monday, August 10, 2020
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