Ever since Pokemon Go was announced, the mobile game has strived to make players feel as if they're living in the spectacular world of Pokemon. With things like the reveal trailer showcasing Raids as a Mewtwo emerged from an egg in real-time, it certainly set up the feeling that this was the future for loyal fans. While the fact that Pokemon Go is done through AR keeps most older players from being too focused on the wonderful creatures possibly surrounding them, some kids are blown away by what the game offers, just like a video from Go Fest 2021 shows.
Pokemon Go has hosted a special yearly event with Pokemon Go Fest since 2017. While the pandemic hit the event hard, Niantic revealed that the event would start returning to being in-person with Go Fest 2021 in a limited capacity. Even if the event was smaller than before in-person, they still offered some great moments to remember.
At the end of Day 1, a Rayquaza Raid started to give attendees the chance to catch the Sky High Pokemon for themselves. In-person, the Raid was started off with a projection of the legendary beast's egg on top of a statue, letting it shake and hatch properly. As knowledgeable players may have recognized the egg in advance and known what they were getting into, one boy at the event had no idea, and was surprised that the Raid featured it.
The youngster proceeded to yell excitedly that Rayquaza was what was inside the egg, giggling and jumping around as he prepared his Pokemon Go party for the Raid. The person recording the video, @VeronicaSaron on Twitter, says in the description that after talking to the boy, or perhaps overhearing him excitedly talk more later on, that it was his first Rayquaza. The Raid allowed him to register it to his dex, and that it "made his day."
Moments like these capture exactly what makes games like Pokemon Go important. Not only was this kid excited and happy to catch such a rare Pokemon with the help of everyone around him, but even before the egg hatches, the crowd can be heard counting down the seconds before the Raid began as well. It seems that what the mobile AR title promised to be when it was announced is very much real with this sense of unity seen at Go Fest 2021.
The Pokemon Go wasn't quite as big as these events typically become in non-pandemic years, but as long as the game can bring people together, that same sense of togetherness still lives on. At the end of the day, those kinds of bonds and friendship are exactly what Pokemon in itself is all about.
Pokemon Go is available now on both Android and iOS.