Pokémon GO in North Holland

Pokémon GO first launched in 2016 and has always had mixed reviews. Created by Niantic for both Androids and IOS, the ride has not once been smooth for anyone. Countless times the company has received backlash from fans for one issue or another.

The event this past weekend was no different.

Sander and I have played Pokemon Go since launch. We’ve also got dedicated goals when we play. Sander’s long term goal is to collect one of everything with top stats. Mine is to complete the Pokédex. Back when gyms were always populated with strong Pokémon, we would often sigh and walk away. With the new updates, we’ve been a battling power team. We’re both level 25 and finding it much easier to take gyms. We work in tandem together to take down players that have levels much higher than we do.

So if we play every day and dedicate at least 2 hours to playing, why aren’t we higher levels? We skipped playing in the winter because the weather was so bad. It gets dark around 5 o’clock here in The Netherlands. Biking at night isn’t the most fun, especially when it’s close to the low 40s. While we took time off from playing, other players in the area had a chance to grow. Many would drive around in cars to get stops and gyms. Sander works all day and I won’t play without him. We’re a team and that’s my final say on the matter.

When Niantic announced their plans for the anniversary event for Pokémon GO, we were so excited. The event was happening in Chicago and a lot of complaints but also received positive notes. We knew the legendary Pokémon Lugia and Articuno would soon enough so we went to bed excited.

How did the Sunday play out?
The participation was overwhelming. The events popped up all over North Holland. But trainers came in so fast and defeated the Pokémon within minutes. Sander and I had to time our arrivals to be able to get into a group.

Our first group consisted of 18 kids and adults alike. Unfortunately, Sander didn’t catch this Lugia so we set off to find another one. We were in the car for only about ten minutes before we stumbled onto another level five raid with a Lugia on top. We parked and walked over to greet the other players waiting there.

Sander caught his Lugia this time around. We spent the rest of the evening hunting for an Articuno but failed to find one.

The second day of the event, Monday, was also frustrating. We drove for around 20 minutes before we found a group willing to fight together. Sander got his Articuno, I did not. I’m keeping myself steeled in case I fail again. The Reddit has reports of people farming and failing.

My advice is to bring a portable charger with you. We use this one. We couldn’t go out hunting again after our 2nd Lugia since my phone was at 7%. It’s difficult to play if you don’t have a group of friends to play with. Try setting up camp at a PokéStop and applying a lot of buffs to rake in the experience points. This is a perfect time to level, so take advantage of it!

We also use both The Silph Road and Gymhuntr to plan our routes but be warned that they are experiencing high traffic numbers and may not respond. This has been the most fun we’ve had in a long time though!