Last summer, PokémonGO! swept across the globe and dragged all the '90s kids out of hiding so they could finally embark on real Pokémon journeys. For a while, people speculated that it was the fad that would withstand the test of time. Considering how popular the app was at its launch and how completely it consumed our lives before school came back around, it seemed like these virtual Pokémon had become a permanent part of the real world.
As summer turned to autumn, however, PokémonGO! was destined to follow the same path as just about every big trend. Even the best of the best can't hold the spotlight forever, and players started to get bored with catching hundreds of Pidgeys and Rattatas. Many features that Niantic (aka the Pokémon Company) had promised its users, like a trading system between players, still haven't come to fruition seven months later. People simply don't like waiting and seeing nothing change. Even with some brief holiday events to try and drum up fresh excitement, PokémonGO! eventually phased out of the mainstream, lingering in the forgotten parts of our minds like some summer fever dream.
However, last week Niantic dropped a bomb on Pokémon fans that many had been hoping for this year-- a second generation of Pokemon to catch.
With their most recent update, Niantic added 80 new Pokemon to PokémonGO! all hailing from the Johto region. This includes the second group of starters, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, and Totodile, as well as some other fan favorites like Houndor and Houndoom. The news broke rather quietly, with many dormant Pokemon trainers only finding out through their friends or other word-of-mouth sources. Still, seeing some new, colorful faces out in the world has rekindled the Pokémon spirit in many players.
My roommates and I are among them. On Friday, shortly after we got back into the swing of Pokémon catching, we went out in the middle of a windy night to hunt down two starters who'd popped up on our campus. We've fallen into our old routine of yelling at one another across our apartment whenever something good shows up at the lures outside. I've even remembered to start walking with my app open whenever I go to class, something I did all the time at the start of fall semester but which I simply forgot about around winter break.
For now, our love for PokémonGO! is back with all the energy and competitiveness it once had. Even so, I can't help but wonder whether PokémonGO! will ever reach the same heights it did over summer. Even with the addition of dozens of Pokemon, how long can people remain entertained with the same quest? Is the drive to catch 'em all really enough for PokémonGO! to regain its place in the spotlight?
I get the feeling that this wave of excitement will be pretty short-lived. Personally, I'm already tired of seeing Sentrets and Spinaraks pop up everywhere when just a few days ago I was thrilled by their presence. Adding more generations is a valiant effort on Niantic's part, and it's something fans have wanted for a while, but the hype can only last so long. If PokémonGO! is going to be anything more than just a bundle of nostalgia for people who lived through its launch, then Niantic is going to have to step up their game.
