Can you use Routes during Party Play in Pokemon GO?

Pokemon GO has rolled out several new features lately, including the Routes function and Party Play, which debuted just a few days ago this October. While it's certainly admirable for Niantic to introduce new ways to play its landmark title, trainers naturally wondered if it was possible to team up in Party Play and adventure through different Routes together.

Unfortunately, according to player reports, Party Play and Routes simply cannot work together at the moment. If trainers team up in a party, they won't be able to access Routes like they would in singleplayer.

But why is this the case? Is there a specific reason why Pokemon GO's two latest functions can't mesh well?

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Theorizing why Routes and Party Play don't work together in Pokemon GO

You can't do routes in a party... byu/Turndizzy inpokemongo

Overall, Pokemon GO players haven't exactly been pleased with the current state of Routes. One would think that making it enjoyable with up to three other friends via Party Play would make walking through a Route improve the feature's prospects, but it appears that if players want to follow a Route, they can't be in a party beforehand.

Why is this the case? It may come down to a programming standpoint. Perhaps placing multiple players into a party would cause issues with tracking or reward distribution, as many of Pokemon GO's gameplay features weren't exactly developed with party multiplayer in mind. Maybe crashes occurred during testing, or other technical issues arose that Niantic couldn't work around.

Pokemon GO fans discuss why Routes and Party Play are mutually exclusive. (Image via Reddit)

Even though it's true that most aspects of the game weren't built for Party Play, trainers in a party together can still take on tasks like raids, so making it possible to follow Routes should evidently be just as straightforward. Many players certainly expected this and have resultingly ended up a bit disappointed that this wasn't the case.

Many fans have speculated across social media that although Routes and Party Play don't work together right now, Niantic may have plans to integrate the two later. This has some plausibility to it, as Party Play is a brand-new feature, and Routes are fairly young in their development as well. However, Niantic hasn't said anything on the subject so far.

Trainers discuss the current state of Routes, Party Play, and social features in general. (Image via Reddit)

Could Party Play have been introduced in a limited capacity before it expands later on in the game's future? One can't exactly rule it out, as Routes have also been considered pretty barebones since their debut. Perhaps Niantic introduced these two features so players could get familiar with them before building on the foundation? It's anybody's guess at this point.

Hopefully, Niantic has bigger plans in store for both Routes and Party Play, and they ultimately come to coexist, as it's fairly puzzling why they don't already work together as the Pokemon GO community expected. Some players may not be holding their breaths, but the only way to know for sure is to keep an eye on Niantic's upcoming announcements.