One Pokémon Go player used pure spite to revive their local community

Pokémon Go is a game built to bring communities together—which makes it tough when many people stop playing. So when a player used their competitive side to reignite an inactive community’s love for the game, we (and the fandom) were naturally impressed.

In a Reddit post on Sept. 6, a player named Fabulous-Ring-6389 shared an inspiring story where they awakened an entire community of Pokémon Go players by “waging a war” of gym control. The player was determined to capture every gym in the area, to the point that every time a gym was claimed, they’d snatch it back immediately.    

Apparently, their community was full of Team Mystic, while Fabulous-Ring-6389 belonged to Team Instinct. “My village is basically a blue fortress, and as the only instinct player, it was an uphill battle,” they said.

But the hardship wasn’t enough for the player to give up—mostly because they had two unique weapons. “But I had something the others did not: Lots of free time and caffeine,” they said. “And so I waged war against the blue faction, and for every Chansey, I retaliated with a Snorlax and 10 golden raspberries.”

As you can imagine, the fights were exhausting, but the player’s efforts led to a wonderful positive effect. They had apparently “pissed everyone off so much” that players in the community convinced each other to return to Pokémon Go. “At least, I think that’s what happened because the number of active players about doubled,” they said.

The upside came with a downside, too, unfortunately, because the community banded up against the player. “I pissed everyone off so much that they memorized my sleep schedule, triangulated my house through my response time, and therefore hard countered me through the power of friendship,” they shared, concluding the incredibly fun story.

As a reaction to the popular post, the Pokémon Go gang on Reddit also shared multiple similar stories, where players attempted to bring their communities together, and some even led to real rivalries.

Pokémon Go’s nature to reward players for exploring is truly a boon in today’s “Work From Home” culture. Not only does it help build active communities, but it also nurtures real-life relationships. Although fans haven’t been happy with the game’s stagnant Gym feature, regardless of the unattractive rewards, it’s still worth connecting with your groups for such challenges.

If your community is sleeping, try messing with their coins, just like Fabulous-Ring-6389 did.