While battling often seems like an uphill battle for rural "Pokémon GO" enthusiasts, for city players, playing is a completely different story. They celebrate plentiful PokeStops and Raid battles with bustling communities.
In contrast, remote "Pokémon GO" gamers have a completely other life. They get limited Pokémon spawns, almost no Gyms within the vicinity, and not so many trading opportunities within their reach.
This means the biggest hurdle to overcome with rural players is active Gyms. Ever try leaving a Pokémon in a gym only to never go back there again and forget it's even sitting there for weeks, months, or years?
Ideally, you want them there for maybe about a day to collect that 50 coins that are good daily, but you have no one around that would knock out any of these guys.
'Pokémon GO's' Urban Bias: Why Cities Have the Advantage
A perfect example of this occurred during a 36-hour bus ride through the Australian outback. During a short stop at a ranch, The Gamer's Ben Sledge placed a Kangaskhan in a Gym, thinking it would last for several days. It stayed there for 237 days—a reminder of just how inactive rural Gyms are.
While "Pokémon GO" can be marketed and sold as being about exploration, it is highly evident that this game prefers areas of urban existence.
If one is hiking the remote mountainous regions or wandering through a park, do not expect to stumble upon many Pokémon. Then again, go walking through some city, expecting spawns, PokeStops, and Raids.
This isn't accidental-Niantic wants players in cities. Not only does urban data provide valuable analytics, but sponsored PokeStops and in-game advertisements are likely more profitable in populated areas. As a result, "Pokémon GO" is designed to encourage city exploration over rural adventures.
Cities also promote thriving communities, which naturally benefit "Pokémon GO." More players mean easier Raids, more trades, and local events. The game actively encourages this movement, making city gameplay significantly more rewarding.
For rural players, this means fewer Pokémon spawns. This makes Community Days less enjoyable. There are no Raid groups for them, and all they can do is watch a Legendary Pokémon from a distance.
Apart from that, there's a lack of trading opportunities, so they just skip "rare Pokémon" events. Finally, there's just minimum lure activity. This makes farming resources more tedious.
The One Perk Rural Players Enjoy: 'Pokémon GO' Showcases
Though these present disadvantages to playing "Pokémon GO" in the countryside, there is one hidden perk to playing in the countryside—Showcases.
Released at the same time as XXL and XS Pokémon, Showcases are a competition where large Pokémon are entered into competitions at PokeStops by players.
Unlike raids, which require large groups, Showcases is for individual play, making Showcases accessible to rural players.
In towns, Showcases are overcrowded, with hundreds of trainers queuing to win prizes. A personal experience in Japan pointed out the problem when Ben tried to enter an XXL Nymble into a Showcase—only to find that the 200-player limit had already been reached.
In contrast, in country areas, Showcases hugely favor rural trainers in the fact that with fewer players fighting for the prizes, there is a much better chance of winning. Winning multiple times is much easier because of the low competition. Rewards include XP, Stardust, and valuable items, which help players progress faster.
Yes, winning a Showcase won't replace catching a shiny Mewtwo or Dialga, but it's one of the few mechanics that gives rural players a real advantage. While city players burn through Raid Passes and incubators, rural trainers collect Showcase medals effortlessly.
The Harsh Reality: Rural Players Deserve Better
At the end of the day, "Pokémon GO" is still a far cry from a fair playing field. Even though rural players dominate Showcases, they miss too many core mechanics.
Niantic tried to bridge this gap with Remote Raids and several other features. However, the players think more changes need to be implemented to make rural gameplay exciting.
In Reddit, some players called out Niantic for being pro-urban in "PoGO." For instance, the original poster said he lives in Palmer, a town in Alaska. Since there was not enough foot traffic, he could not join in a raid.
However, some suggest that using the Pokegenie App can let you host nearby raids.
"To make up for lack of Pokestops, I just added a lot of friends and exchanged a lot of gifts. they are my main source of Pokeballs and berries and etc.," the Reddit user added.
Some Redditors think that moving to Tokyo is the best thing to avoid this mishap.
