"Routes have been a real disappointment so far": Frustrated Pokemon GO players complain about lack of access

Pokemon GO players have been excited about the Routes feature for a long time, and it was recently added to the game. Though it is nothing game-changing, a new mechanic is always nice to play around with. While it is unique to Pokemon GO, the new Routes have made the trainers hot under their collar as it is not quite working like Niantic advertised in their promo.

Besides Routes, a brand new legendary critter also debuted in the game. Zygarde was added to Pokemon GO through a Special Research task called “From A to Zygarde,” completing which will give you this legendary beast for free.

However, people are complaining because there is a mission in this Special Research questline that requires you to “Follow three Routes,” but a lot of the players have not been able to find these in the game to do so.

Routes has been a real disappointment so far :/ by u/devinh313 in pokemongo

It would be an understatement to say that people have been disappointed with how Routes was implemented in the game. While Niantic requested players to be patient, saying that they are slowly rolling out this feature to everyone, it would have been better to release this globally later so that no one would feel left out.

In this article, we will talk about why you are not being able to access the Routes feature. We will also guide you on how you can create Routes so that you can complete the third page of the “From A to Zygarde” Special Research to get the Zygarde.

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Why can players not find Routes in Pokemon GO?

My neighborhood should have atleast one by u/NegativeFux in pokemongo

Being hot out of the oven, you would expect the Routes feature to make a lot of splash in the Pokemon GO community, but that is not the case. We have come across a lot of complaints about people not being able to find routes or even access the feature at all.

According to Niantic, you are supposed to be able to create a Route, and once they verify it, you and people in your locality should have the option to "follow it."

However, that has not been the case so far. People are being driven up the wall due to the sheer dearth of available Routes to follow. Most of them don’t even care about catching exclusive regional critter spawns. They simply want to complete the third page of the “From A to Zygarde” Special Research task.

There is a task that requires you to “Follow three Routes.” With the feature being so broken, people are having a hard time, to say the least. This is what some of the trainers had to say:

Comment by u/diver_climber from discussion Routes has been a real disappointment so far :/ in pokemongo

Not being able to find any Routes is one thing. Submitting Routes to get them verified without any result is frustrating on another level.

Comment by u/GardenSquid1 from discussion Routes has been a real disappointment so far :/ in pokemongo

This is very true, considering that Zygarde is a great legendary, and seeing others post their catch, while you sit and wait for Routes, can be infuriating.

Comment by u/Ggeek738 from discussion Routes has been a real disappointment so far :/ in pokemongo

Another issue that players have been facing is that their application keeps crashing whenever they try to do anything with the Routes. While you might say this is better than not having access to any, it would be sadder if you could not use the feature while having it in front of you.

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Can you create Routes in Pokemon GO?

We have an exhaustive review process that evaluates the viability & safety of a Route before accepting or rejecting it. The duration may vary based on the number of entries received. It typically takes one week to go through the process or longer. by u/milotic03 in TheSilphRoad

Yes! You can create Routes in the game, but not everyone has the ability to do so. Niantic has been slow in handing out the “Create a New Route” feature to everyone, but we can assure you that it will be rolled out to everyone eventually.

Those who can create Routes in Pokemon GO must wait for the lengthy verification process. While you just need to submit and wait, the fact that Niantic might not approve your submission after a long waiting period can induce a lot of anxiety.

"We have an exhaustive review process that evaluates the viability & safety of a Route before accepting or rejecting it. The duration may vary based on the number of entries received. It typically takes one week to go through the process or longer. Thank you!"

This is what Niantic Support had to say to a Pokemon GO trainer who raised an inquiry about the time needed to get their Route verified. Given the number of Routes that get uploaded by people all around the world, Niantic made a fair point.