Summary
The latest addition of Zygarde toPokemon GOhas been met with a mixed reception after Niantic tethered this to its new Routes feature and ultimately missed the point of the Legendary Pokemon’s unique gimmick fromPokemon SunandMoon. While Zygarde first debuted in Gen 6 alongside Xerneas and Yveltal inPokemon XandY,it wasn’t until Gen 7 that the Legendary Pokemon would receive an all-new gimmick that grabbed players' interests. As Niantic is currently working through bringing Gen 7’s Pokemon toPokemon GO, it had the opportunity to capitalize on Zygarde’s cell-collecting gimmick thanks to the game’s real-world exploration.
Yet instead of directly liftingSunandMoon’s cell collection side quest and working it into thePokemon GOformat, Niantic has introduced its own all-new feature as its own method of acquiring Zygarde cells.Pokemon GO’s Routes were met with criticismfrom players even beyond its links to Zygarde, as many reported issues they’ve encountered from in-game navigation and rewards. Many are just as unhappy with how Routes have been tied to Zygarde, leaving players frustrated by the temperamental design and increasing inaccessibility of certain Pokemon, all of which ultimately fumbles the original gimmick of Zygarde from Gen 7.
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Despite all its faults,Pokemon GOhas always aimed to reward its players by getting them out and about in the real world. After all, beforePokemon GOthere wasIngress, a former game from Niantic that has the same basic premise of encouraging players to be active and get rewarded for it. It’s no surprise that it took the popularity and reputation ofPokemonfor Niantic’s odd game design to go mainstream, withPokemon GObecoming one of the most downloaded mobile games of all time. With this in mind,Pokemon GO’s new Routesare just another extension of Niantic’s goal for players.
However, the wayPokemon GO’s Routes work in-game and what they can offer players is just the latest in Niantic’s history of good intentions with poor execution. For example,Pokemon GOadapted to Covid-19and global lockdowns by adding new features like Remote Raid passes or Team GO Rocket balloons, but it received backlash when it attempted to remove these; many believed they improvedPokemon GO’s accessibility and engagement. Similarly, while Routes encourages players to physically explore the world, it does add new limitations to thePokemon GOexperience, such as how to complete Routes or who gets to create new ones.
Pokemon GO Should Have Stayed True to Sun and Moon
Zygarde cells only being obtainable via completingPokemon GORoutes, not only contends with the feature’s current issues, but it detracts from the original concept behind theSunandMoongimmick. When Zygarde’s new forms were introduced inSunandMoon, players could collect cells by finding them throughout the region in hidden locations and not as rewards for completing in-game tasks or challenges. As a result,Pokemon GOhas dismissed Zygarde’s previous treasure hunt of cell collection for a more complicated alternative that’s virtually identical to collecting Pokemon candy by walking with a trainer’s Buddy.
What compounds this for players who are frustrated withPokemon GO’s new Routes is that linking these to Zygarde was both unnecessary and more convoluted than it needed to be. Other options already exist withinPokemon GO’smechanics that Zygarde’s cell collectioncould have utilized, such as an adaptation of the Rocket Radar’s functionality that instead scans for nearby cells and directs the player towards them. Just like inSunandMoon,Pokemon GOcould have stayed true to the original Zygarde cell-collecting by letting players find cells as they explore the world naturally and still maintain accessibility for everyone.
Pokemon GOis available now for Android and iOS devices.
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