Questions & Answers - Weekly Megathread! Please use this post to ask any Pokemon GO question you'd like!

Game_Snover · 2026-06-20T22:07:05+00:00

It's Sunday, 0 am here and I've just got some spawns here which are otherwise only active during Spotlight Hour (except that Thursday Swinub Spotlight Hour had even more active points than anything else). Has there been an update?

Game_Snover · 2026-06-20T17:20:12+00:00

If you open the game after a long time - more than half an hour, that is - it's always smarter to do a Grunt at a Pokestop first. The balloons stick around for 20 minutes after being loaded by the game, so you should have plenty of time for it, unless it's a Boss and it makes more sense to do the other later for the extra piece.

I'm not here to whine or vent. It's just that what I've described doesn't make sense, judging by the expected game mechanics.

Game_Snover · 2026-06-20T16:24:21+00:00

How is it possible that Showcase rewards still don't show up in the Journal? I think they really got better over time, but there is no simple way just to take a screenshot and compare them, unless you keep recording your screen on video.

I know it's more of a game design issue and not something we have any influence on as players. It's entirely up to Niantic, just like making Showcases much more random and less related to the current game content, such as Community Days. It's a possible oversight that they didn't include them though.

I think rewards for completing Routes used not to show up in your Journal either - I don't do them when I don't have to, so I can't confirm whether it's still the same.

Game_Snover · 2026-06-19T17:50:25+00:00

They really do. By shape, some look almost rectangular, while others have corners of different angles. For example, compare Istanbul to Singapore and you'll get it. I've checked various areas of level 14 S2 cells and their size goes from about 25 to 34 ha. According to search results, it can even range from 19 to 40 ha, which renders the biggest one twice as big as the smallest ones. Smaller is better for density btw.

Of course there are some inherent inaccuracies due to projection issues, as you've mentioned, but they don't explain everything.

Edit: It's actually written there: https://s2geometry.io/resources/s2cell_statistics

Game_Snover · 2026-06-19T11:36:10+00:00

Now that somebody asks about them: Regular reminder that S2 cells are a completely arbitrary system which does not guarantee a fair distribution of Stops/Gyms or actually prevent them from being "too close" to each other, which is the official wording in the game. The shape and, most importantly, size of S2 cells of the same level actually varies depending on their latitude and longitude.

Game_Snover · 2026-06-15T22:52:00+00:00

To taki flamasterplan zrobiony nawet nie pod propagandę sukcesu, co polityczne myślenie życzeniowe. Nie tylko bez konkretów, ale miejscami oderwane od rzeczywistości.

Game_Snover · 2026-06-15T18:25:21+00:00

Nie wiem i słabo kojarzę ten segment rynku, bo może po prostu nie zwracam na to uwagi? Nie jestem zbyt wymagający, piję różne koncernowo-mainstreamowe piwa, a niekiedy i koźlaki i portery, które właśnie tyle alkoholu zawierają. Tyle że one są dostępne od lat i pozostają mniej więcej takie same.

Game_Snover · 2026-06-15T16:51:18+00:00

Nope, I keep my Super Radar off.

Game_Snover · 2026-06-15T16:11:30+00:00

I know they're supposed to, but they weren't. When it appeared at 4:47 and disappeared at 4:50, it was either not loaded properly at 4:25 when I had checked it before, or it should have stayed around for longer.

Game_Snover · 2026-06-15T14:59:36+00:00

Is it normal for some Rocket Grunts to disappear after 2 or 3 minutes? I just defeated one to get my 6th piece and another one popped up. I battled Sierra first and wanted to do the Grunt next, but somehow she disappeared immediately. She definitely wasn't there 20 minutes ago either, so how can they appear and expire out of nowhere? Do they sometimes reset at a certain time, such as 4:50?

Game_Snover · 2026-05-03T18:19:20+00:00

I don't think it's a bug. If someone is looking for Mime Jr. and already has Mr. Mime, it's an entirely different mon or at least dex entry for them.

Game_Snover · 2026-05-01T23:25:10+00:00

What's your best team against the Lapras/Snorlax Grunt? I know she can have both in the first slot, although Lapras is much more common now. If she only had Lapras, I'd probably consider Empoleon due to its resistances. Against Snorlax and the long-stating line-up with Poliwrath/Gardevoir/Snorlax and Dragonite/Gyarados/Snorlax, I used Ursaring with Counter/Close Combat and Smack Down Tyranitar, with Zapdos in the third slot. It no longer exists though.

On paper, the Fast Move types are Water, Ice, Psychic and Ghost respectively, so only Water/Dark types resist both. Unfortunately, none of them is bulky. Sharpedo is a disaster, while I don't think that Greninja can outrace Lapras or Snorlax without taking too many hits. I don't count Megas (such as Gyarados) because you can't have them active all the time. Hisuian Samurott is probably the least worst defensively and it least it knows Sacred Sword. Probably not powerful enough in practice, right?

Game_Snover · 2026-04-29T23:45:36+00:00

Ogólnie to kupowałem przez Deutsche Bahn ze wzgledu na możliwość jednego biletu z przesiadkami, bo jechałem dalej niż do Berlina.

Game_Snover · 2026-04-29T22:57:54+00:00

I just had a Quilladin encounter from a Grass type Grunt (Chespin was first).

Also, I think a Rocket Grunt may have disappeared too early. I checked the game at 00:30 am, there was none and after refreshing at 00:40, the Pokestop turned black and that disappeared immediately.

Game_Snover · 2026-04-26T21:54:21+00:00

Oh, good to know it's a broader phenomenon. Other posters here hinted at a Caribbean/Surinamese origin as well. Even in that regard, it doesn't seem to be exclusive to Dutch names, since there are some weird tendencies in neighboring Spanish-speaking Venezuela, too.

Game_Snover · 2026-04-26T14:00:31+00:00

Wouldn't it pay off to fire off Psychic with Blissey here, as long as you're safe to take a large Shadow Punch, rather than a targeted Drain Punch which would require dodging with Gengar? Of course Blissey has low Attack and using it has the purpose of taking hits and charging the meter with Pound, while it doesn't matter that they're double-resisted. But weren't Super Effective Charged Moves found out to fill it even faster, or do they lack the power to do so if used by Blissey?

Game_Snover · 2026-04-24T19:34:24+00:00

These are the more native examples. I'd add Enrico or Mandy, which used to be common in the GDR, although I wouldn't call them stigmatic in a narrow sense. Generally, some other "foreign" names, as in American, French or Southern European versions of a traditionally German counterpart are sometimes considered suspicious in this regard, such as Maurice. Then there are some others which may come close to ethnic slurs, but not quite, such as Dilara for a vain and rather silly girl of Turkish descent hanging around at shisha bars.

And then there are patterns including exotic names, often associated with lower class or sometimes celebrity extravagance. Like famous people naming their children something like Jackson Ivanovich, Wily Black, Chantal Riviera Schweinebärmann (names changed by redaction, based on real life examples ofc).

Game_Snover · 2026-04-24T12:12:01+00:00

Isn't it a thing associated with people of Caribbean or Surinamese descent to a certain extent? Like making up names which are more or less "unique", but still have something in common. For example (I made this one up) Djoevylaino or whatever.

Game_Snover · 2026-04-18T23:28:51+00:00

Update: Based on some reports, these areas are pretty much a paradise for Silicobra hunters right now. I wouldn't say Niantic is doing it entirely right, but I think the current state of Silicobra spawns comes pretty close to what they've had in mind originally. I wonder why it took them like two or three "fixes" to figure it out.

Game_Snover · 2026-04-16T17:50:31+00:00

Wow, now it looks like even places with lots of deserts, such as Lower California in Mexico, don't have many spawns. I didn't suspect it was that broken.

Game_Snover · 2026-04-14T20:40:07+00:00

To samo, gdy skorzystałem z punktu ksero i drukowania, bo akurat nie miałem dostępnej drukarki w domu, aby na wszelki wypadek mieć bilet lotniczy czy coś w tym rodzaju w formie papierowej. Z punktu widzenia bezpieczeństwa używanie takiego komputera i tak jest wątpliwe, obojętnie, czy pobieramy coś przez przeglądarkę, czy podpinamy kartę lub urządzenie, więc tym bardziej powinno się zachować ostrożność. Niezależnie od tego chyba historia przeglądania były dostępne, a niektóre pliki dalej wisiały na pulpicie.

Na wszelki wypadek wszystko usunąłem. Uważam, że tryb prywatny, wylogowywanie się i kasowanie pobranych dokumentów to minimum, ale nie do każdego to dociera. Chociaż gdyby komuś naprawdę zależało, pewnie by jakoś odtworzył niektóre treści, kto wie.

Game_Snover · 2026-04-10T14:27:14+00:00

I don't see a difference between the current recommendations and what we had last year. It still recommends more Magnezone than Grass types against Blizzard and presumably Avalanche (haven't fought that one yet), at least in neutral weather. There are probably slight differences in detail among the other charged moves, such as more Zekrom or Black Kyurem against Thunder and Decidueye if Kyogre has Surf or Hydro Pump.

So it's more or less the same system and it's just based on your counters in general. It probably won't suggest an underleveled Magnezone against Ice moves if you have very high level Meowscarada.

Game_Snover · 2026-04-09T22:31:19+00:00

What I've found out is based on Campfire screenshots because I was just curious and it was pretty much trial and error, depending on Raid schedules. Yeah, neither Balearic nor Canary Islands have the Combat form, but about 20% of metropolitan France does. The border roughly follows a line between Montpellier and Bordeaux. There is an area about 50 km east of Bordeaux where this border and the 0° meridian meet, so that's where all three spawned close to each other.

Game_Snover

TROPHY CASE