Line #48 Heartwarming/PokemonGo


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_2020_08_08_go_fest_2020_promo_jpg_jpeg_image_1248_727_pixels_6.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Even Team GO Rocket can play nice once in awhile.]]
3	-> ''"Maybe the most beautiful part about Pokémon GO is how broadly appealing it is - it's not closed off to a select group of hardcore fans, it's being appreciated by people from every walk of life. And in times fraught with division and in-fighting, it's a thing that seems to be beaming with positivity and inclusiveness. Whether it's friendly jostling about team allegiances, friendly reminders from local authorities, or kids setting up lemonade stands at [=PokeStops=], '''it's something that's becoming universally-recognized as common ground.'''"''
4	-->-- '''Dorkly''', ''[[http://web.archive.org/web/20191220155206/http://www.dorkly.com/post/79564/8-reasons-why-pokemon-go-is-the-most-important-game-of-the-decade "8 Reasons Why Pokémon Go is the Greatest Game Ever/Most Important Game of the Decade"]]''
5	----
6	* Seeing a father and daughter looking for wild Pokémon together was a very cute thing to witness in the trailer; the older generation sharing their experiences with up and coming Pokémon trainers.
7	** "You'll teach me and I'll teach you."
8	* Just everyone dropping their shit and working together to catch Mewtwo. There's something to be said for people working together so flawlessly to achieve a goal, even if it's something like this.
9	** The Times Square climax perfectly encapsulates the core message of the entire ''Pokémon'' franchise: We are stronger together.
10	* The concept and creation for this game in general counts: going out into the real world and capturing Pokémon? This is fulfilling the dreams of ''so'' many people around the world, which really hit them hard in the nostalgia and feels.
11	** The fact that they used adults for the trailer, and the original 151 Pokémon really hammers this point home; longtime fans who have never left can finally realize their dreams.
12	* After the release of the game, you can find pictures and videos of ''Pokémon'' fans from all over the world joyously channeling their inner child as they go off on Pokémon training journeys of their own!
13	** [=YouTube=] and Twitter are filled with pics and videos of people from 5 to 50 meeting up and having fun.
14	* [[http://theawesomeadventurer.tumblr.com/post/147055509293/theawesomeadventurer-theawesomeadventurer One Tumblr user]] noted that ''Pokémon Go'' could help people with depression by encouraging them to get out of bed. Cue hundreds, if not thousands of people with a variety of disabilities giving their own stories about how the game has motivated them, helped them smile and have fun when things are bleak, and gotten them out of the house, exercising, and socializing.
15	* [[https://twitter.com/echospherics/status/752554460212174848/photo/1 A player]] happened to find a Pikachu on his brother's grave. Pikachu was his late brother's favorite Pokémon.
16	* Creator/VeronicaTaylor is in on the game, too. And it was so busy[[note]]and she had trouble signing in at first[[/note]] that she couldn't get on! She also had plenty of sage advice for players:
17	-->'''Veronica''': Ash didn't drive a car to catch Pokémon; neither should you. Ash never traveled alone to catch Pokémon; neither should you.
18	* One mother made a blog post saying that ''Pokémon Go'' has started encouraging her autistic son to be more outgoing to the point that he is learning to make eye contact with people, socialize, and has made a good number of friends from playing Pokémon Go.
19	* A group of players in Massachusetts discovered a man dying of a drug overdose, and promptly dropped everything to resuscitate him, ultimately succeeding.
20	** In March 2018, another player [[https://www.nowtolove.com.au/news/real-life/a-pokemon-saved-my-life-45885?fbclid=IwAR3_uGqiwgPsGdRXEXK_PgIfpzWy0ngV3UDgOOuu4vNkBHFQKZfhYguHiG0 saved the life of a woman in a violent attempted carjacking]]. Said woman is also grateful towards the player and the game in general.
21	* Several people coming up with ''Pokémon Go''-related ways to give back. One person suggested to drop lures at hospitals for children who want to go out to catch Pokémon but can't. Others have suggested using walk-based charity apps to play and donate at the same time (Charity Miles is one such app).
22	** It is unofficial ''Pokémon Go'' etiquette in Toronto to drop a lure at Sick Kids hospital for the kids.
23	* A minor example, but an update to the game made it so that you can't transfer Pokémon you've marked as favorites--meaning that if you're ever doing a mass transfer of those twenty Pidgeys you caught, you ''won't'' accidentally transfer your favorite Pikachu (however, this only works if you've downloaded the update).
24	* The appraisal system--your team leaders talking about how strong your Pokémon are, and often ending it with a SoProudOfYou type message. That is, if the Pokémon is sufficiently strong. Pokémon with weaker potential may instead be DamnedByFaintPraise.
25	* On the fanart side of things, [[http://surfacage.tumblr.com/post/148884792904/some-guy-instinct-just-memes-around-uselessly-i this comic]], in which Spark helps Candela and Blanche face off against a Team Rocket grunt. Most of it is just awesome, but the heartwarming part is Candela and Blanche defending Spark (who is a bit of a MemeticLoser in the fandom) when the grunt insults him.
26	-->'''Candela:''' I think you forget that Spark is every inch the team leader that Blanche and I are.\
27	'''Blanche:''' And when all else fails, everyone trusts in their ''instincts''.
28	** The tags for it are pretty cute, too, as well as comedic. I'm only guessing Candela is the one speaking there, since there's no indicator:
29	--->'''Spark''': Blanche, drink this.\
30	'''Blanche''': Spark, this is a Potion. I'm not a Pokemon, stop.\
31	'''Spark''': It's not a Potion, it's a Max Potion.\
32	'''Blanche''': [[VisibleSilence ...]]\
33	'''Spark''': Oy, I tested it, OK? What's good enough for my kids is good enough for me.\
34	'''Candela''': Did you just call your Pokémon your kids?\
35	'''Spark''': Damn straight.
36	* A little boy made and sold glow-in-the-dark buttons for safe game playing.
37	* You can now assign a specific Pokémon to be your "buddy." Aside from being a useful gameplay mechanic (walking with an active buddy Pokémon allows you to collect candy for that Pokémon's evolutionary line, making it easier to evolve and power up), you also see your buddy's face beside yours on the map's HUD, and it will show up beside you on the player screen. Small Pokémon may even be shown perching on your shoulder!
38	** If you chose a baby Pokemon as your buddy, on the player screen it will show you holding the Pokémon in your arms.
39	** Even if you're not using them as Buddy, the [[ArtEvolution uprated rendition]] of certain cute Pokémon made them look like adorably animated plush dolls, ranging from [[UglyCute Spinarak]] to Skitty. [[BadAssAdorable Some fully-evolved ones]] like [[NiceGirl Blissey]] and [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Altaria]] also count.
40	* The number of suicides in Tojinbo has been [[http://www.vg247.com/2016/10/01/pokemon-go-is-preventing-suicides-at-infamous-japanese-cliffs/amp/ greatly reduced]] [[InterruptedSuicide after becoming a popular hotspot for Pokémon GO players]]. Doubles as SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment\|s}} and HilariousInHindsight. [[SocializationBonus Turns out]], Pokémon GO prevented Japanese players (and the public in general) from being DrivenToSuicide, which is a major problem in Pokémon's homeland of Japan.
41	* [[https://www.reddit.com/r/TheSilphRoad/comments/8kkv8u/new_statue_in_suzano_brazil/ An unidentified person in Brazil has been making sculptures of several Pokémon, often the feature of a Community Day]].
42	* The Friendship system allows people to trade, as well as give gifts to each other.
43	* Save for a one-time Special Research, Meltan isn't generally obtainable by players who don't have access to Let's Go! Pikachu or Eevee. Unlocking Meltan's evolution also requires farming Meltan to the tune of 400 Meltan Candies. Some players have taken to helping friends, family and colleagues unlock their Mystery Boxes. Others even bring Switches around for raids, and will gladly let other players send a Rattata to their games so fellow players can unlock their boxes.
44	* After a GO player from Australia was killed in the White Island volcano eruption in December 2019, [[https://m.facebook.com/groups/SEQPokemonGo/permalink/2462243147377081/ her community named their Buddy Pokémon after her in remembrance]]. Other players around the world also renamed their buddies in tribute, along with several cases of Surprise Traded Pokémon in ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' bearing her username.
45	* As of December 18, 2019, many players have obtained the "Buddy Adventure" feature, in which you can bond with your Buddy Pokémon, play with it, feed it berries, etc. Not to mention your Buddy Pokémon will now follow you around on the overworld and often run or fly around your avatar. If you tap on it, it'll sometimes give you a little smiley face speech bubble!
46	** [[https://youtu.be/4tU_D0e2auE The ad]] promoting the feature is sweet as well. It shows a little boy getting a Squirtle plush from his parents, and he loves it to bits, carrying it with him everywhere he goes. Years later, the little boy is all grown up...and, thanks to the game, he ''still'' has a little Squirtle buddy he takes everywhere he goes. The ad closes out on a shot of him and several other people walking with their Pokémon pals. D'aaaaw.
47	* As of February 2020, [[https://twitter.com/TheAlicePika/status/1232157226904825856 one new Pokestop]] is the mural dedicated to Etika, a famous Nintendo-focused streamer who committed suicide in June 2019.
48	* In March 2020 during [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic the COVID-19 pandemic,]] since most people were either going outside less or staying in altogether, the game gave the option to buy 30 incense for 1 [=PokeCoin=], and halved the walking distance for eggs. In the weeks that followed, they did the same with 100 Poke Balls and 50 Great Balls. They also made it so that players could access Gyms (and later stops) from slightly further away than usual, so they didn't have to get too close to other players, and removed the "walk 2km for five battles" restriction in the Go Battle League, meaning players got 25 battles for free. Team Rocket Balloons were also introduced, meaning you didn't have to go to Pokestops to find them. Remote Raid Passes were also introduced so players could raid from gyms in range of their homes, albeit at only half of the power they would've had at present raids.
49	** As of December 2021, most of these measures remain in place, and doubled interaction for stops/gyms was made ''permanent''. Niantic takes its players' health seriously.
50	* The promotional artwork for GO Fest 2020 shows the GO Rocket leaders casually hanging out with the team leaders. Cliff, Blanche and Spark are feeding their Pokémon while Candela is seen directing Sierra to something she'd presumably enjoy. Arlo's the only one not socialising, but the fact that he doesn't seem to be making any effort to disrupt the fun implies he's enjoying himself as well.
51	* Due to an error preventing some players from finding Shiny Shadow Pokémon from Rocket encounters, Niantic assembled a ''"Rocket Compensation Box"'' on the 27th October, 2020 [[AuthorsSavingThrow as an apology to said players]] ''(and making it easier to collect Strange Eggs as well.)''

Context Heartwarming / PokemonGo