What are Pokemon GO Routes? Exploring exclusive early access feature

Despite a rocky start to the year, Pokemon GO has received a fair share of exciting updates. Shadow Raids were an interesting inclusion (with Shadow Mewtwo being featured for the first time in the history of Pokemon GO). Apart from this, the Lake Trio raids, Shadow Shards and Purified Gems, lots of events, and more were added to the game in the past few months. Although some of Niantic’s decisions have been extremely controversial, many argue that the game is now as enjoyable as it was in its heyday.

Niantic’s focus in the past few updates has been on making players go outside to play Pokemon GO, and they have implemented a lot of changes that incentivize this behavior. While some of these changes have made trainers hot under the collar, others have had a more welcome reception. One such well-received feature has been the addition of Routes to Pokemon GO.

In this article, you will learn everything you need to know about Routes and how to use them.

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What are Routes in Pokemon GO?

Exclusive New Pokémon GO Feature Comes to Explorers - Routes Creation by u/Amiibofan101 in TheSilphRoad

This new feature in the game allows you to map out your daily paths and share them with the community. Players have been requesting that Niantic add this feature to the game for ages, and it appears that the developers have finally listened to the community.

You can record any path that you take while playing the game, whether it involves having a leisurely evening stroll in the park or hiking up a mountain while doing various tasks in the game, like spinning Pokestops, catching Pokemon, fighting grunts, and many more.

However, this feature will prevent you from recording your paths if:

• You go through restricted areas. Areas that are off-limits for common people are not something you should try to pass through while recording your path. This could get your account suspended in Pokemon GO.
• You map a route that is inappropriate or offensive. For instance, if your path looks like a certain body part, you could get banned from Pokemon GO.

This is what the Senior Product Manager at Niantic, Chad Jones, had to say about Routes in an interview with Dot Esports:

"If you're walking around a new area, there's a huge difference between exploring on your own and having somebody there for you, like a guide that can take you to areas you may not know about. Magical moments, secret gardens, hidden staircases, cool art murals that are in back alleys—stuff you wouldn't know about unless somebody showed you With Routes, you're going to be able to share that knowledge and access it by following the footsteps of fellow Trainers."

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How to create Routes in Pokemon GO

Creating a Route is as simple as opening the game, selecting the Routes feature, and marking your destination. Then, you just have to start walking, and the game will automatically map your path. After that, you can share your recorded Route with the community online.

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What activities can you do along Routes in Pokemon GO?

So far, the following Route activities can be done in the game:

• Trade a Pokemon with your friend
• Compare a Pokemon
• Send and receive gifts

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What badges are associated with Routes in Pokemon GO?

Data miners have found out that the badges will be in line with existing ones. According to them, Routes are expected to provide the following badges in the game:

• Route’s Name, description, and image
• Starting point of the Route
• The trainer who created the Route
• Time taken to cover the Route
• The latest point of interest (POI) you interacted with
• The total number of stamps you earned

In the interview with Dot Esports, Chad also said:

"The idea is that there are Pokémon you're able to catch along Routes, so there's that benefit, and you're actually getting the buffs that are applied to you as well. It actually becomes a very good source of XP. So again, like you're in a rural area, walking around, and you need better sources of XP, Routes become something that can hopefully become fundamental to the gameplay in a way that really elevates it for various communities."

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When is the Route feature coming to Pokemon GO?

Niantic has not mentioned a tentative release date for Routes in the game, but it is speculated that this feature might be available to players by the end of the current season.