Pokémon Go’s recent Level 80 reveal is great if you live in the right place

As long as I can remember, I have been a Pokémon fan. One of my most vivid memories is sitting on the windowsill waiting for my mother to bring home a new Game Boy and Pokémon Red. On the flip side, walking sucks. So when Pokémon Go came out, I thought one would help the other.

It did not.

Honestly, it just got boring fast and I lost interest. Over the past few days, though, I have had reason to be optimistic. The level cap is raising to 80, with an XP Celebration event helping players grind to the current limit, and we will be getting increased storage of all types as level rewards, which have sorely been needed.

Add to this the Tales of Transformation season launching September 2nd, and things are looking up. Keldeo’s Resolute Form for those pony fans, as is Shadow Groundon and new Dynamax, Gigantmax, and Mega Pokémon. Although we already have Mega Lucario, do we need more?

So excited was I with these reveals that I went and downloaded Pokémon Go again... And immediately realised the main reason I stopped in the first place.

See, I live in one of those towns that when you say the name, no-one ever recognises it. There isn’t much here, including Pokéstops, and I am not seeing any updates for us rural players.

You can add all the new variants that you like, but when players in far-off locations can barely hold onto a decent supply of Poké Balls, it is worthless. Granted, the free item storage increases will help build up a reserve when we go to cities, but it is not enough. And the worst thing is, Niantic already has answers that can help.

Monster Hunter Now has things like Dimensional Links and simple Paintballs that help its rural community, so why can’t Pokémon Go add them? According to the Niantic staff member I asked during a press preview, it's because they aren’t the same team. As if Niantic doesn’t have Slack or Microsoft Teams to ask for assistance? 

The fact of the matter is Pokémon Go can do all the overhauls and updates it wants, but until it addresses the rural players, we can’t fully enjoy it. And that is a huge shame. I want to go on walks with Lucario and Eevee.

Let me live the dream, Niantic!