Why Are There So Few Pokémon In 'Pokémon Go'?

My squad loves Pokémon Go . Ever since the game’s release just a few short days ago, all my friends have wanted to do is roam the gothic streets of New York in search of rare treasures and Pokémon. The game has turned a group of mid-twenties men into a bunch of kids; throwing Pokeballs in the middle of the street, chilling near Lure Modules or even jumping for joy when we manage to beat a nearby gym.

Last night, two of my best dudes got together to go for some Pokémon Go hunting throughout Manhattan. We tried going during the day, but every time we’d leave my friends apartment the servers would go down. We’d get two blocks and then have to turn around. Eventually, the great Arceus god in the sky decided we were worthy enough to play and kept those servers running.

We were totally ready for this: We had two external charges (the game demolishes your battery), charger cables and enough snacks to last at least twenty minutes. It was a bad night for Pokémon hunting, as there wasn’t anything out in the streets. We would stumble on a Zubat every few blocks, or a Weedle near a Halal stand, but compared to my experiences in other places, Manhattan had the fewest Pokémon.

On the beach, I couldn’t go ten feet without a Magikarp blocking my way. In Manhattan, I went hours without seeing anything besides Pokestops. I’ve maxed out the amount of items I can hold, having 222 Pokeballs is great if you have something to throw them at.

My biggest gripe with Pokémon Go , besides the massive server shutdowns, is the lack of Pokémon actually out there. Whatever determines when Pokémon show up is completely random – you can be swimming in Poliwags one minute and then go a half hour with only a Pidgey in sight. Once you run out of Incense and Lure Modules, finding Pokémon can sometimes be a real challenge.

Pokémon Go might be a fun game, but we have to remember not to wipe these precious species out. For years, every ‘90s kid dreamed and wondered, “What would it be like to live in a world with Pokémon?” This game is the closest we are going to get to that reality without getting into some terrible Jurassic Park science.

If you already have 187 Zubats, it might be cool just to let one go. Wouldn’t you be devastated if your kids weren’t able to catch Pokémon because we wiped them all out? Pokémon Go is so fun, you might not realize what could happen if you took all the Exeggcutes away from their homes.

Please, don’t catch them all.