Pokemon GO Adds More Pokemon to Rural Areas
By Boston Blake 18 December 2016
The Pokemon GO team reveals via Twitter that players of the augmented reality game will see more Pokemon in outdoor locations, both in rural and urban communities.
While it’s had some ups and downs since its release six months ago, Pokemon GO is undoubtedly a huge success for developer Niantic. The augmented reality game maintains a strong player base, and has been making fixes and adding new features to the game on a regular basis in an effort to keep players happy and engaged.
Despite its success, there are a few criticisms that still persist in the Pokemon GO community. One of the most common cited is the lack of Pokemon and Pokestops in rural areas, where people are more spread out and there aren’t as many Pokemon GO players. Fortunately for these players, it looks like there will now be more Pokemon available in these areas.
According to a new tweet by the Pokemon GO team, players should see an increase in the Pokemon population at parks and outdoor locations in both urban and rural areas, effective immediately.
Trainers, we've observed increased numbers of Pokémon sightings in parks and other outdoor locations in urban and rural areas.
— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) December 16, 2016
Of course, the timing is a bit discouraging for some Pokemon GO players, especially those in the northern half of the United States. It’s the heart of winter and will be for the next few months. While that won’t stop some of the most dedicated players, it will undoubtedly keep many players from searching out the increased number of Pokemon available in their communities.
For those wiling to handle the cold and head outside in search for Pokemon, there are currently a couple additional reasons to venture into the cold. Pokemon GO has announced new Pokemon that are available via hatching eggs, which means players will need to visit Pokestops and spend time walking around their neighborhoods. Additionally, players can find and catch Santa hat-wearing Pikachu that are scattered about the world.
Those Pokemon GO players with Starbucks around them can stop by one of the coffee shops to grab a hot drink to keep them warm and stock up on Pokeballs for the increased population of Pokemon, thanks to a new relationship between Niantic and Starbucks.
Concerning the increased number of Pokemon, the tweet by the Pokemon GO team is fairly simple and doesn’t provide any expanded details about how many more Pokemon players can expect to see, or what kind of Pokemon players will find. At this point, it’ll be up to players to visit their local parks and outdoor stops to see just how many more Pokemon there are to catch and train.
What do you think about Niantic’s move to increase the number of Pokemon in rural areas?
Pokemon GO is available now on iOS and Android devices.
