Dynamax Battles are all but unplayable for Pokemon Go’s forgotten players

Pokemon Go has introduced Dynamax Battles as part of a new season celebrating the Galar region, but rural players will have a tough time participating unless they are willing to travel.

The Max Out Season in Pokemon Go has introduced a new mechanic in the form of Dynamax Battles. Like other special encounters, these battles appear on the GPS map at existing Gyms. They are also locked to in-person encounters only.

Unfortunately, this has made participating in Dynamax Battles challenging, especially for trainers who don’t live in big cities.

The topic has already surfaced in conversations on Reddit, with players discussing the disadvantage rural players are at when trying to join in on current events like Go Big. It is also impacting Pokemon Go players here at Dexerto.

Players in rural areas can open their maps to find nothing for blocks. In these images, a Dexerto Pokemon Go trainer displays their local maps, which show a single Power Spot a good distance away. Outside of that spot and a few distant Gyms, the area is devoid of PokeStops or any other important locations required to play the game.

This is a stark contrast to players in cities or more urban locations, where PokeStops and Gyms crowd GPS maps and ensure access to everything needed to be successful in the game.

The lack of Power Spots creates two major problems for rural trainers: Limited access to Max Particles and poor opportunities to take on Dynamax Battles.

Without enough Max Particles, trainers can’t engage in Dynamax Battles. This means that even if something spawns in one of the few rural Gyms available, there may not be enough currency to engage in the fight.

Additionally, the spacing of Gyms makes it difficult to find enough players to join in-person battles. Rural trainers have experienced this before with in-person exclusive Raids following Community Days or during large events. It generally makes playing Pokemon Go feel pointless – especially for those who have to drive potentially over an hour to a more populated location in hopes they can meet with strangers who also play the game.

Niantic needs to think of a new way to spawn Raids and Dynamax Battles on the maps. This could be via temporary raid spots, or through better remote pass accessibility. Otherwise, hundreds of thousands of players will be left out of new events.

In the meantime, rural Pokemon Go players will just have to hope Power Spots spawn nearby, and that they won’t have to walk miles just to try and engage with them.