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Pokemon Go players living in rural areas need more gyms and PokeStops

Having trouble stocking up on poke-balls in the boonies? You're not alone. (Actually, you are. That's kinda the problem.)

David Craddock

July 11, 2016 4:25 PM

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Pokémon Go players living in rural areas are feeling left out of the poke-fun. Thousands of players converging in areas populated and bizarre, but those away from cities are having trouble finding Gyms and PokeStops to progress.

According to a report published on GameSpot, Reddit user XplayGamesPL lives in a small village in Poland with a population of approximately 1,000. There are only two PokeStops within range, zero gyms within 15 kilometers, and he doesn't have a car or bicycle to venture outside of town.

"It's a huge problem, it's hard to play and I think I'm not the only one. Saw alot of empty map posts on this sub, while people in Washington, Los Angeles have so many stops they don't even check them all."

Based on the response to his Reddit post, he's not the only one lonely for action in Pokémon Go. Another user, Saebirol, has noticed that pocket monsters don't spawn nearby often enough. "The only things I've caught have been through incense and that seems RNG, sometimes 5 show up, sometimes 3. Not worth playing to have to constantly spend money for things others get for free easily."

In an effort to get Niantic to take measures to address their problems, players have created aFacebook group andpetition on Change.org in the hopes of receiving an official response. Research into the problem has revealed that Ingress, Niantic's previous AR game, is partly to blame.

"With a few exceptions, every portal in Ingress became a Pokéstop or Gym in Pokémon Go. This idea, while ingenious, impacts the functionality of Pokémon Go in an even greater way than it did Ingress. Without the ability to submit new requests for landmarks, players in geographically isolated regions or even places where no one HAPPENED to play Ingress have a limited or essentially nonexistent Pokémon Go experience."

The petition goes on suggest that Niantic implement a system to let players submit requests for PokeStops and gym locations, and to spawn Pokémon based on those locations.

David Craddock

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.