Pokémon Go players booted up the mobile game today to find the world invaded by the franchise’s original baddies, Team Rocket. In addition to taking over Pokéstops and challenging trainers to fights, the dastardly villains have also disrupted the local ecology, changing the kinds of Pokémon that players are likely to find. The theming is great because, come on, who doesn’t love Team Rocket, but overall it’s a little too shallow to hold my attention for long. After a brief preview earlier this week, Pokémon Go’s Team Rocket event began in earnest this afternoon. The biggest change is the appearance of Team Rocket grunts, who have claimed the game’s ubiquitous Pokéstops as their own. As such, these landmarks now provide scant resources to trainers looking for more items, and the only way to return them to normal is with a good, old-fashioned Pokémon battle. These fights play out just like they do at a Gym or against another trainer, the real-time aspect necessitating frantic tapping and ...
