Remembering Past and Present Sponsored Locations

It was a long time ago that I discussed Sponsored Locations in Pokémon Go, as in certain places that (commercial) entities pay to have represented as a PokéStop or Gym. The keyword here is "pay", for it implies that without payment, they wouldn't be present in the game... and more specifically, if the payment represents a certain timeframe for them and that timeframe is up, the in-game locations disappear. That is exactly what (has) happened in my local area, so I have to take a post to discuss the matter, precisely the "remembrance" of the locations.

Many Sponsored Locations of the past - and some of the present - have truly come and gone in my area. The "coffee shop" locations, which were the first to appear in my local area, indeed were also the first ones to disappear. This was followed by a certain "tea bar" joint, which uniquely also had many Gyms. More recently, the "golden arches" had many locations as well, and now they're also gone. Finally and most regrettably, the numerous locations of the "convenience store" chain have also disappeared, the largest loss to date. All of them are still major commercial entities that had a presence in Pokémon Go, and that presence (and its loss) are to be remembered.

Certainly, this does not mean their physical locations are about to disappear as well; it's just that their agreements of representation (and thus their timeframe) have expired, which is what I had indicated in the beginning. Even so, right before or just after their agreements had expired, some of the physical locations had already disappeared or began to as such: one outlet of the convenience store had folded, and two outlets of the tea bar joint were closed for relocation or other reasons not known to me. The situation is just as unfortunate as the loss of in-game representation regardless of timing.

As for actually remembering them, it may be possible that one has pinned the Gift postcards obtained from the PokéStop or Gym for the Sponsored Locations in the Postcard Book, in which case they'll stay there for pretty much forever and can be remembered as such. If a Gift was sent containing one of these postcards, then it is wise to pin them for the purpose of remembering, but if the Gift is still in the item bag, then their identification will have been lost along with the PokéStop or Gym. This is a good way of remembering any PokéStop or Gym regardless, but given the above, it's particularly effective for Sponsored Locations.

The sad truth is that Sponsored Locations are not permanent, whether in my local area or any other area for that matter. Like sponsorship in general, once the payment and/or associated terms come to an end, the locations disappear. Fortunately, this doesn't affect remembering them as they once were there, and the game even provides a facility for it. In any case, that seems to be all that can be done as certain Sponsored Locations in my area have disappeared, leaving behind only small traces in the vestige of Pokémon Go.

One year ago: Holowear of Interest, Revisited

Two years ago: The Summer Cup of GBL

Three years ago: My Personal TCG Equipment Wishlist

Four years ago: On the Mining of Data

Five years ago: Mementos of...

Six years ago: Cosplay Events, Wherefore Art Thou?

Seven years ago: Connection Issues?