One fan of Pokemon GO has managed to pull off an astonishing feat in the microtransaction-heavy mobile title by reaching level 50 without spending any real-world money on the game. As fans of developer Niantic’s hit mobile game enjoy the last few days of the Pokemon GO New Year’s Event, this impressive accomplishment could provide some motivation to get back out and find new battles in the augmented reality title.
Released for iOS and Android in 2016 following the success of its location-based game Ingress, developer Niantic’s Pokemon GO became an overnight hit with players worldwide. Using the GPS functionality built into nearly every modern smartphone, Pokemon GO encourages players to get out and explore the world around them as they catch and evolve the adorable creatures, viewable in the real world through players’ phone cameras via augmented reality, and take place in PvE and PvP battles. While the mobile game is no longer the cultural phenomenon it was at launch, ongoing Community Days in Pokemon GO along with other time-limited events and special updates have managed to keep many players coming back to the unique title.
In a new post on the r/Pokemongo subreddit, user JediMontgomery proudly shared photos of the Pokemon trainer that they managed to raise to level 50 without spending a single dime of real-world money. Although Pokemon GO is ostensibly free to play, limits on daily activities and the urge to quickly rise through the ranks lead many players to fork over cash to purchase additional Poke Balls and other items. Impressively avoiding the temptation to open their wallet and pay to win over the 6 years since the game’s release, JediMontgomery states that they used Google Rewards and a Gotcha wearable to help them advance through ranks in Pokemon GO.
Several fans of Pokemon GO responding to the impressive accomplishment expressed amazement that JediMontgomery had been able to avoid the temptation to spend even a single dollar on the mobile game in the years since it was released. Responding to one such post, JediMontgomery stated that they were tempted to spend money on a few occasions on their quest to catch all of the new Pokemon available in Pokemon GO, but continued “stubbornly refusing to pay for bundles.” Other users praised the time-consuming feat but expressed confusion as to why a Lucky Egg, which doubles players’ experience points, was included in the prizes for doing so since 50 is currently the max level.
Spending over half a decade grinding in Pokemon GO may not be every gamer’s idea of fun, but it’s clear that JediMontgomery got a lot of enjoyment on their way to Pokemon GO's level cap. And with all that money saved on microtransactions, now they can afford to treat themselves to a pink gold Magikarp necklace.
Pokemon GO is available on Android and iOS.
Source: Reddit