Pokemon Go player searching for missing friend in Ukraine finally gets good news
NianticA Pokemon Go player who met a friend in Ukraine has been left terribly worried as Russia’s invasion coincided with the buddy appearing as inactive in the mobile game.
Pokemon Go players have had it rough in the last 18 months, with the global health crisis affecting the way the pro-exercise game operated, and lockdown measures leading to controversial changes to bonuses.
In eastern Europe, matters have been made worse in Ukraine following the invasion of Russian forces – as reported by the BBC.
The conflict, which started in February, has put lives at risk and caused the disappearance of some citizens, leading to many in other countries being on high alert about the safety of friends and family.
Players from around the globe can catch Pokemon from region-exclusive areas and trade with friends.Pokemon Go player from Ukraine comes online again
In Pokemon Go, one player who had previously become friends with somebody in Ukraine has been left wondering about their status, with no sign of them since the conflict began.
The story in question was shared on Reddit by a user called ‘Roosterboogers,’ who posted: “A few years ago I found a r/PG friend from eastern Ukraine. I’ve been checking their mileage daily since the invasion and they went offline.
“Today it changed 20k! Yay! Am so happy!”
After only a day, the post garnered nearly 3,000 upvotes, with over 50 comments from other members of the PoGo community sharing similar stories and expressing relief about the situation.
Since Pokemon Go is such a wide-reaching game, users have casually added others as friends from all across the globe to get region-exclusive benefits much easier. Therefore, the likelihood of many dedicated players having a connection with another user in the region is fairly high.
A Reddit user called ‘Professional-Hold-79’ shared a similar story, saying: “I had a remote friend that also went offline for quite a while after everything happened over there and she resurfaced a couple [of] weeks ago in a faraway place.”
In the post, Professional-Hold-79 goes on to express that while they were very happy to see good news about their friend, the fact that they couldn’t actively chat with them in any way left them sad.
NianticOthers have found clever workarounds to show support for faraway friends, with Reddit user LM0821″ saying, “gifts with heart-type stickers say a lot, I think.”
As fans of the Pokemon franchise will be aware, the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has affected countless lives across the globe in so many different ways.
In the gaming sphere, thousands of Ukrainian players have been affected as their favorite hobby has been engulfed in the conflict as well.
That said, it’s always nice to see the positive stories that gaming can bring about during difficult times such as these, as gamers find ways to show their support for one another.