Summary
- Losing access to a Pokemon GO account after seven years of play can be devastating, as it means losing rare shiny Pokemon, Legendary pocket monsters, and money spent on research tickets.
- This happened to one gamer after they lost access to their school email after graduating.
- The grind of starting over in the game can be discouraging, especially for dedicated fans who have invested countless hours and memories into the game, potentially leading them to consider deleting the app altogether.
One Pokemon GO player has, unfortunately, lost access to their account after seven years of playing the game. The hit mobile title has had players walking around and searching for new Pokemon to capture since 2016. While Pokemon GO isn't quite the cultural phenomenon it was the summer it first launched, the game remains immensely popular around the world with millions of gamers logging in each day.
Updates and events have made Pokemon GO a daily check-in for many players. Just recently, developer Niantic launched a Pokemon GO party play feature that allows for multiplayer with up to three other players. Between all the Community Days and shiny Pokemon just waiting to be captured, there are virtually countless hours of content packed into the game.
Unfortunately, one Reddit user going by the name nxxptune lost access to their seven-year-old Pokemon GO account that they've had since the game first launched. After the better part of a decade playing the game, the player lost all of their rare shiny Pokemon, all their Legendary pocket monsters, and the money they spent on research tickets. According to nxxptune, they were locked out of their school email address after they graduated – the same email they used to sign in to the game. When this happened, they contacted Niantic to regain access to their Pokemon GO account, but that still didn't solve the issue.
According to the player, they were asked ten different security questions to verify their identity. They got every question correct except for one, and that was enough for Niantic to deny access to the account. The community proved to be helpful, however, as they suggested contacting the school's IT department to gain temporary access to the account. This way, the gamer could switch the email on the account, or, at the very least, they can transfer some of their Pokemon from GO to the Home app.
Anyone who has had to restart a game like this will understand what a grind it can be. Simply leveling up in Pokemon GO can become quite time-consuming in the later stages. Not to mention, there are rare event Pokemon that might be near-impossible to encounter again. Between all the hours and memories tied to a seven-year campaign like this, the idea of starting over might be enough to make even a dedicated fan want to delete the app altogether.
The player states that they live in a more rural area, so advancing in the game can be quite difficult. Hopefully, the gamer can somehow figure out a way to regain access to their account to avoid having to restart.
Pokemon GO is available for Android and iOS.