As I mentioned in last month's Pokémon Go event rollup, one of the events involved the launch of a new feature, and now is the time to explain that. The new feature, called Routes, is to provide new perspectives on adventuring by following set paths on the overworld and thus the real world, taking Trainers wherever the set paths take them. That's the "groundbreaking" part, but it also has a "controversial" part about it, also as I've mentioned. Both need to be explained along with how the feature works and what it provides to adventuring Trainers.
The feature is accessed by popping out the Nearby tab and going to the Routes section. By then tapping "See Nearby Routes", one can see a list of Routes that can be followed in the area. Selecting one of the Routes shows its details, most importantly the start and end points as well as the path between them; tapping "Follow" then lets the Trainer follow the path, which starts when the Trainer is at the starting point. As the path is followed, the path turns blue, and once the end point is reached by following the path, the Trainer is rewarded with XP and items. Some Routes may be followed in reverse (the start point becomes the end point and vice versa), which can be opted by tapping "Reverse Direction" before following.
Routes are tracked like Gyms (accessed from the Trainer profile), with badges for each individual one and records of how many times the Route has been followed by a Trainer and others. Following Routes has additional perks: quicker earning of Buddy Candy, more Pokémon with Incense (on new Routes), and differently appearing Pokémon, including Zygarde Cells that rarely appear and may be collected. Routes can be approximately as short as 500 meters, the absolute minimum, or as long as 20 kilometers, a stupendous maximum. Given such extremes, the feature allows the following of a Route to be paused - such as when one needs to go out of the way for dealing with a Gym, for example - or stopped entirely as a last resort, forcing progress erasure in doing so and affording a Trainer the chance to start over or even to choose other Routes to follow.
How are Routes created? Well, for now, some specially tasked Trainers have the capability of doing so by tapping "Create New Route" in the Nearby tab section or the profile Route tracker, specifying a start point (and end point if already decided), tracking the path between the two points, and giving specifications to the new Route, much like PokéStop nominations. In fact, these also have to be reviewed by Niantic much like those same nominations, and they have to be accepted before appearing and may possibly be rejected if they're dubious. The Route list also contains an "Official" section, which suggests that certain special parties can propose their own Routes like they do for Sponsored PokéStops - though nothing has yet to come out of this, and this will likely have to wait for some time.
It is this issue and others that bring about its "controversy". Route creation is apparently still rather limited even though the feature has launched, and it still depends on those special Trainers even as of this writing. The recorded paths may also drift due to GPS issues and may not reflect the intended path accurately. Some approved Routes may have quirks about them - particularly, hallmarks of "automated creation" - that make them impossible to follow accurately, although it becomes recommended to report the Route if that happens. The user interfaces for Routes also have parts that don't seem to work (appropriately) at present. Finally, even starting, following, pausing (also during Route creation), and ending Routes may be somewhat finicky, again due to GPS issues, although workarounds do exist for them. All these represent the "perpetual beta" aspect of Pokémon Go as I've discussed a real long time ago, and this feature may still be considered as such.
Nevertheless, the feature of Routes (and its prospects) is an attractive one for exploring paths that one may not be aware of, or even if one doesn't know where to go and what paths to take. Its "groundbreaking" came with some "controversy" as above, but that has room to be mitigated in the times ahead. At that point, the adventure in Pokémon Go can take new paths, even on ones that are specifically set for that purpose.
One year ago: The Pokémon Unite Phone-Switch Transition
Two years ago: Nostalgic "Coins" of Pokémon
Three years ago: Remote Raids and Invitations
Four years ago: Pokémon Go Community Day, 8/3/2019
Five years ago: Divergent Anime?
Six years ago: A Hobbled Pikachu... 3DS XL
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