I'm a "General"!

Over a year ago, I discussed the term or title of "general" as it might apply in a particular context related to Pokémon Go and specifically my raid group. It's a term and title referring to those who have (currently) maxed out at Level 40 in the game. To reach this point, it may take a long time, and the struggle may be hard. And after nearly two years of (re)playing the game...

I've done it. Today, I'm a "general"!

I earned the necessary XP to level up to Level 40 today by way of a well-timed friend cascade. Two friends were waiting to become Ultra Friends with me and I only needed less than 100000 XP to go up. So we agreed to open gifts on this day, and when the cascade occurred, I leveled up. Technically, I could have done without a Lucky Egg, but I still chose to activate one, for a reason that I will detail shortly. With that, it seems most of the XP I gained during my time at Level 39 were earned by way of increased Friendship degrees.

Now that I have reached Level 40, there are a few freedoms that are available to me. If major new features were to be introduced into the game, such as friends or the improved camera, I would be one of the first to experience them if gradual rollouts were to happen, as with those features. Most importantly, because I reside in Indonesia, I can take advantage of PokéStop nominations to expand the overworld where I am. This latter feature has been something that I've awaited eagerly, and it seems some of the others in my raid group have too.

At this point, I've gained all the XP I need for full progress through the level tiers. Even so, XP will continue to be important; I don't stop collecting XP just because I've reached Level 40 - the game continues to track my accumulated XP, something that I've mentioned two months ago regarding the level cap. If at some point the level cap is raised, then I may already have a head start on that. Therefore, I'll still be using Lucky Eggs during very important moments, especially during friend cascades; I get four of them upon leveling up to 40, so that affirms that in a way.

It has been said that Level 40 is only a beginning, despite it being the end of the current level tiers. It alludes to the adage of "life begins at 40", only here in regard to level tiers. I'll believe that, with all the things I can do now and still do as the game continues to expand. For this newly inducted "general", the experience of playing Pokémon Go can only go onward and upward from here.

One year ago: Viewpoints and Preferences
Two years ago: Hounds and Hyenas, Canines of the Dark