'Pokémon GO' Has Had The Same Problem For Six Months: No Endgame

But Pokémon GO has a core problem that still has not been addressed in the six months since launch. Player interest is fading because after a certain point in the game, there simply isn’t that much to do. Despite all its updates,Pokémon GO fundamentally does not have an endgame.

The gym scene is not an endgame, because it’s just a constantly rotating cycle of kicking people out and getting kicked out yourself, likely using one of six-to-seven Pokémon that are drastically more powerful than any of the others, fighting those same six-to-seven Pokémon in almost every gym. Since gyms are only temporary, while this might be a fine “activity” there’s nothing at all “endgame” about it, no matter your Pokémon or your level.

Leveling up your character and Pokémon isn’t really an endgame activity either. It’s nearly impossible for the vast, vast majority of players to reach the highest levels in the game because of a huge XP wall that’s insurmountable for any “normal” player to breach. But even if you do? The rewards are paltry. Random items, and the ability to level your maxed out Pokémon a few more times, increasing their CP for the pointless gym scene.

The only true “endgame” GO has right now is catching them all, but it’s easy to reach a breaking point in this regard, where diminishing returns making hunting down those final monsters either a chore or next to impossible. I only have a couple more Pokémon I can 2nd or 3rd stage evolve into new Pokédex entries, but it will take my hundreds of kilometers to do so using the buddy system. Some Pokémon I simply have to get extremely lucky to find, as in I have never once seen or hatched a Porygon or Grimer, and there’s really nothing I can do to increase those odds other than driving like a madman all around the country hunting for them or walking until my legs break to hatch another thousand eggs. And even if I get all those, well, I’m certainly not going to plan an international vacation to catch the region-specific Pokémon that will forever be burning holes in my Pokédex unless Niantic lets them spawn everywhere.