Is Pokemon Go Fair?

An old debate has recently resurfaced among the Pokemon Go fanbase. Earlier this week, a Pokemon Go YouTube account called Trainer Tips posted a 20 minute asking whether the game was “fair” to all trainers.

This isn’t exactly a new debate, but Nick (the guy who runs Trainer Tips) brought up the argument after participating in the Pikachu Outbreak Festival in Yokohama, Japan. Not only did the event have special spawns, including Shiny Pikachu, people who attended had the first chance to capture Mewtwo, weeks before anyone else could.

So, is Pokemon Go “fair”? Let’s take a look at both sides of the argument:

No, Pokemon Go is NOT Fair

If you live in a rural area, you already know the answer to whether Pokemon Go is fair to all players. The game is skewed towards players who live in dense urban areas with large concentrations of PokeStops, Gyms, and other players. 

Rural players have always gotten the short end of the stick in Pokemon Go, but those problems were recently highlighted by the inclusion of Raid Battles, special events that require multiple players to work together to beat high-level Pokemon. While most large cities have some sort of Pokemon Go Facebook group or Discord that players use to coordinate raid times, rural players don’t necessarily have those same sort of resources. Basically, if rural players don’t know 5-6 other Pokemon Go players, they might not be able to participate in Raids at all…even if they find one. 

There’s also the issue of Pokemon Go live events. When regional-exclusive Pokemon were limited to just one continent, you could argue that the playing field was at least somewhat even. But with the rise of events like Pokemon Go Fest, the Pikachu Outbreak Festival, or even the Pokemon World Championships in Anaheim, the game is rewarding those with the ability to travel, especially when those events have stuff like 100% catch rates for Legendary Pokemon.

Pokemon Go IS Fair

But on the flip side, Pokemon Go has never really shied away from what it is. When the game first came out, the game made it clear that players would be rewarded for “exploration” and “cooperation.” While some players can play the game simply by exploring their immediate surroundings, Pokemon Go never really put a qualifier on how much travel people would need to put in to find enjoyment in the game.

There’s also the fact that Pokemon Go really is a free to play game. Unlike Clash of Clans or other “freemium” games, players can easily become high level players without spending a single dime. While attending events or spending money on extra raid passes will help players achieve their goals more quickly, there’s nothing that players can’t achieve in the game that can’t be done for free. That’s even more true with the changes to gyms, which have made it so that any player can clear out a gym in just a few minutes.

In a way, the special live events and even the large urban Facebook groups to organize players are really just perks. The actual core of the game is the same for every single players, even if it doesn’t always feel fair at times. 

Maybe We’re Looking at It Wrong

Our thoughts on the whole Pokemon Go “fair” debate is this: no, Pokemon Go isn’t fair, but it’s hard to see how it could be better. This is a game that has very specific goals and has limitations tied to the real world. While there’s a few ways that Pokemon Go could improve its experience for rural players, the reality is that its developers has limited resources and a large userbase to try to please.

Given the slow rate that Pokemon Go has improved over the last year, we’re not sure if Pokemon Go could do much else to make the game better for all players…at least, not without detrimentally impacting progress towards other features that would benefit a larger portion of the fanbase. 

As for live events, there is nothing we’ve seen at any live event that couldn’t be caught elsewhere. Yes, it’s a lot easier to catch a Unown at a live event than it is in the wild, but that’s how Pokemon Go incentivizes players for attending. Until Pokemon Go makes a Pokemon exclusive to a live event, we can’t really say that attending one is mandatory for players.

So what do you think? Is Pokemon Go fair? Let us know in the poll below!