<center><img src="http://ivory-tower.net.au/img/pokemon_go_logo.png"/></center><p>Almost an entire year ago, Pokémon Go launched and it was the world's new yoyo. Adults, children, and everyone appeared to be obsessed with the phenomenon that it created. I was one of those people, head down, into the phone; with that catch phrase mentality, “Gotta Catch ‘em all.”</p>

<p>For the first few weeks I was obsessed with catching everything possible, not really understanding the more in depth game mechanics that I would come to learn, things like “don’t hatch eggs in bulk until you are level 20”, and “these Pokémon all have individual values, like the full-fledged games, that can impact their effectiveness in combat”.</p>
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At that point, I didn’t care. I was having fun.  Lots of people were. We had a few special events in my city, where we had Poke-walks, and the local stadium, Adelaide oval, even had an all-day Pokémon themed event with cocktails, cos-players, and free charging stations. </p>

<p>Shortly after this event the gym-game meta started to define my gameplay loop. I wanted to dominate my neighbourhood with the most powerful Pokémon I could find. I did this for a while, going on morning walks each and every day to kick out the pesky members of the opposing team who had invaded. (Or, to the well-known complaints of several sub-reddits about the game, ‘spoofers’ who used bots to do this while they slept)</p>


<p>At night, I was doing mass evolutions of all the tripe that I’d caught throughout my transit to and from work, using all the lucky eggs that I could. Every moment of spare time that I had was devoted to Pokémon Go for a good six months. But with time, like a lot of things, the lustre faded. I went from most engaged in the game (The Halloween event that was held in October); to someone that was starting to grow out of Pokémon… then the Pokémon Go Plus launched.</p>


<p><div class="pull-left"><img src="http://ivory-tower.net.au/img/pogoplus.jpg" /></div>I pre-ordered. I got mine on release day. I was hooked again. I went on longer walks. (In one day, I did over 20 kilometres just so I could play Pokémon Go. I got several battery packs and portable chargers to deal with the excessive battery drain. I ordered bulk button-cell batteries to replace that of the Pokémon-Go plus when it failed. The only thing I really didn’t do was wear out any pairs of shoes… (quality footwear helps with that)</p>

<p>Then Generation 2 came out. That’s about when I started to lose interest. It became a chore. I’d get up, go on my morning walk, sync the Pokémon Go plus, and that night-time evolution spam to go up in levels ceased. I had other things to do, I needed to move house, I needed to pack, and for a bit, I needed to spend time apart from Pokémon Go. </p>

<p>I did, don’t miss it. I’m back in a position where I have the time to play the game if I want to, but I find that time being dedicated now instead to self-improvement, learning and fitness. The game did teach me some good habits. It also made me spend a pretty significant sum of money from my entertainment budget, because it was good at what it was doing at the time, keeping me entertained and engaged, but, I lost interest, like many people. </p>

<p>The game is still installed on my phone, the stats, the Pokémon are all still there, but what did I really achieve? The in-game stats tell me that since starting to play the game, 307 days ago, I:</p>
<p>* Walked 1166 kilometres (an average of 3.79 kilometres a day)<br /> 
* Caught 12670 Pokémon (41 Pokémon a day!)<br /> 
* Hatched 596 Eggs (Nearly 2 a day)<br /> 
* Visited 15563 Pokéstops (50 a day)</p>

<p>Looking at these numbers in this context sets me some personal benchmarks for the future, but they’re not Pokémon Go benchmarks. If I can take 91 moments each and every day to catch a Pokémon or spin a Pokéstop, for 10 months, and walk 3.8 kilometers while doing so; what have I missed while I’ve been looking down at my phone? </p>
http://ivory-tower.net.au/img/uninstall_pokemongo.jpg
<p>During the last few months, I’ve barely touched the game, which makes the above, calculated averages even more disturbing. As of this sentence, I’ve uninstalled. </p>

<p>With Pokémon Go no longer installed on my phone, I can instead use ninety-one moments in a twenty-four-hour period to daydream, smile and say hello at a passer-by and probably, most importantly, reduce the risk of being hit by a car while crossing the road significantly.</p>

<p>Does anyone on Steemit still play? Are you more or less engaged with the game now?</p>