Parzibal

My Pokémon Go story: The 10th anniversary of Pokémon Go came and went, and while I haven’t played seriously for almost 5 years now, I wanted to tell the world what Pokémon Go means to me, and how important and impactful it has been in my life. I started playing the game on July 22nd, 2016, and it was an absolute blast. I think we collectively agree that the summer of 2016 was one for the history books, and Pokémon Go was a major part of that feeling. Going out to roam the streets every single day. Pretty much everyone around you also playing. Hordes of people suddenly running because someone had spotted a Dragonite or a Snorlax on the other side of the park. Probably the closest we ever came to world peace. To understand my Pokémon Go story, however, you must first understand my father’s. My father loved Niantic games long before Pokémon Go was even announced. He was an avid Ingress player, Niantic’s first game, and had already spent countless days walking around the city or driving out to some random place I had never heard of to create the most optimized Control Field possible. After a couple of years of watching him play, I got curious and decided to give it a go myself. I had gotten my first smartphone less than a year earlier, and while Ingress wasn’t my first game, it was the first one I took seriously. It was the first game I used and IGN, Parzibal, based on Ready Player One, a book my father and I both absolutely loved. Soon, we were taking weekend trips together, capturing portals and going to Mission Days (the shirt I got at one of them was positively huge – it still fits me today). While I was never super invested in Ingress, Pokémon Go was another story entirely. My dad started playing extremely early, less than a week after the game officially released, and a couple of weeks later, I joined him, downloading the game that would become a huge part of my life. Despite never playing the main-series games, I was instantly hooked. I played every day that summer, and, well, for the next few years. I walked along my favorite track around my neighborhood with friends every day after school. When raids came out, I played even more, traveling all over my city and helping lead a local community of hundreds of players. But the part of the game that truly defined it for me was PvP. I finally had a use for all my low-CP Pokémon, and I could use many mons who were pretty much unusable and actually win with them. I battled during uni classes. Until the middle of the night. On every vacation. I started playing grassroots tournaments, going all over the country for Silph tournaments (shoutout to the Silph guys, you are truly special, and you were the number 1 reason I played for years). I grinded friendship levels with people on Discord so we could battle remotely. I even had a decent Silph career, with several notable tournament wins, including some at the global level. During COVID, I played dozens of tournaments a month. Eventually, around the time Silph shut down, and my studies and job started taking more of my time, I drifted away from Pokémon Go almost entirely. I still played Community Days, but I barely battled and became a very casual player. My dad, however, was an entirely different story. He never stopped. He played the game every single day, long after I stopped playing seriously. He was the most consistent player I knew, incredibly dedicated, and he loved the game like no other. He didn’t miss a single day, from July 11th, 2016, until September 29th, 2025. The day he died. It has been almost a year since that day, and I barely ever log into Go. Whenever I do, it’s too painful to bear. Because for me, Pokémon Go is time spent with my father. It’s the Safari Zone at CentrO in 2017, where we caught our first few Unown. It’s countless trades, Community Days, raids and trips together. It’s the final time we ever played together, when we spammed trades until he finished the Lucky Trade requirements for level 49 – the biggest roadblock on his way to level 50, the highest level at the time. And he did make it to 50, just a week before he died. I remember how happy the game made him. How much he loved it. How much it helped him. Because of his health, he needed to lose weight and stay active. We can never know this for sure, but I choose to believe that all the walking he did because of Go – more than 20,000 kilometers – gave us more time with him. For him, this game was life changing. Thank you @PokemonGoApp @NianticSpatial @NianticLabs for everything! I still have his phone and his account, but I haven’t been able to open Pokémon Go on his phone even once. For me, Pokémon Go will always be more than just a game. It was a huge part of the relationship I had with my father. Something we could discuss endlessly. Something we always connected over. It holds so many good memories that the absence of all the future ones hurts. I met so many incredible friends I still meet with to this day. I was part of one of the best communities in the world. It’s the game that influenced my life more than any other. Eventually, I know I’ll come back and play again. I’m still not there emotionally, but I am sure of it. Because for me, Pokémon Go is home. #PokemonGo #PokemonGo10 #PokemonGoCommunity #GoMemories #Pokemon #TheSilphRoad

Thank you for everything ❤️

Looking for some last minute spot in a Diamond/Emerald faction as a field specialist! Finished top 10 in EMEA platinum last cycle, 16/11 in matches! @EMEAFactions #Factions

I'm happy & proud to announce that going forward, I'll be competing for The Holy Worms of SBT!! I'm deeply grateful for my time with my friends in The Golden Diggersbies, where I ended with a 75% W/L, but I'm also super excited for what's to come!

Recapping the great cycle by The Golden diggersbies! At 105 wins, including a 19-1 result by MrMcCalvin, 18-2 by me, and 17-3 by our new recruit Trainer12308866, we finished the qualifiers cycle at number 3 (shared)! Can't wait for open next cycle @EMEAFactions @SilphGG #Factions

Loved #TheGoldDiggersbies metion on #FSPN this week by @EMEAFactions! Would like to point out that I do have the same winrate as @thenut93 (Byes are apparently considered a 2-0 win in the faction W/L ratio as well so couldn't get the 41 in 16 games like @JumpingLemurrr)

Fantastic bout for #TheGoldenDiggersbies, currently 6-0 in the qualifiers of @EMEAFactions, coming for that open tier! (There has been some problems with one game but still an overwhelming win) @SilphGG

So apparently Byes for winning teams is a thing in #ArenaFactions 😅 Rest week here for The Golden Diggersbies! @EMEAFactions

Ggs! Great battles all around, and another bout in the books! Good luck in the future ones! #EMAEFactions #SilphArena #Factions

Fantastic bout from The Golden Diggersbies, which puts us in 1st place tied in the entire @EMEAFactions qulifiers bracket! Let's go crash the rest of the cycle! #SilphFactions #SilphArena #Factions #EMEAFactions

King👑

My man!! Showing the world that the PvP scene in Israel is TIGHT! Go get them!!

TWO Israeli representatives! I didn't have the greatest season myself, but these guys came through BIG TIME! Good luck on the final 8, go make us proud @barthegamer & MrMcCalvin the twitterless.