Will Pokemon Go Return To Its Prime?

Last summer, Pokemon Go practically defined the season. Once given the chance to turn everyday life into the world of Pokemon, so many fans and newcomers alike fell into a habit of opening the app whenever they went outside. However, the game became stale to many trainers as the summer went on, and the cold weather put an end to most people walking around outside for fun. However, over the past year -- and also very recently -- the app has added a decent number of features that set up a potential return of Pokemon Go to the glory it knew last summer.

And the high insurance rates for players.

Some of the tweaks that impacted the app since release include messing with the "Nearby" feature multiple times, implementing buddy Pokemon and being able to select multiple Pokemon to sacrifice/transfer to the candy-making machine at once. The tweaks were received with mixed reviews, with the latter change saving practically hours of time, and messing with the "Nearby" feature being one of the worst things to happen to some people in their entire lives.

One of the biggest steps the app took, though, was adding the long-awaited Second Generation to the available Pokemon in the game. This was considered the most important update in Pokemon Go's history because it really started molding the app into a mature form. It also brought in a generation of Pokemon that a lot of people probably consider their favorite, just as a ton of people consider the first their favorite and others fight tooth and nail for the generation of Pokemon they started with. The new generation also brought with them features like new berries and additional evolutionary items to bring some additional content to the stale gameplay. By doing all of this, Pokemon Go was trying to regain the attention of some long-gone trainers.

And I'm not just talking about Ash.

And recently, with the revamping of gyms and starting to implement raids, Pokemon Go is trying to keep the trainers that returned and they're trying to pique the interests of everyone else. The "motivation" system allows formidable Pokemon to be worn down in battles; gym badges have been added to earn rewards when interacting with the same gym repeatedly; and Raid battles (which were featured in the trailer) with up to 20 trainers fighting a single, incredibly powerful Pokemon that they may be given the chance to catch.

All of this culminates into an entirely new arena for Pokemon Go players. By changing the way that people interact with gyms, Niantic introduced legitimate gameplay that people felt was missing from the game up to this point. Plus, the Raids provide a cooperative element that has the potential to really bring players back together beyond walking to the nearest Pokestop together. With the return of summer and some real progress for Pokemon Go, the app might be able to return to the prime it knew a year ago, pushing millions of people out into the world to share one passion: Pokemon.