Two weeks ago, I logged into PoGo, and was surprised with an EX-Raid invite. The initial surprise, was the fact that I had no idea what it was, or why I had one. Despite leveling at a faster than average speed, I still consider myself a casual player. I don’t look things up, I’ve only recently really started concerning myself with IVs, and I barely read the announcements in app, let alone go looking for additional information.
The invite came from a Lugia raid that I did with my boyfriend and a friend. While the boyfriend is probably more casual than I am, he is a researcher, and the friend is a seasoned vet at the game. I ended up in the middle of a couple of their brainstorming sessions, and I’ll be honest, I zoned most of it out. They were developing a strategy, which Pokemon would be best to evolve and power up, what raids/bosses would be prioritized if found, which Pokemon would be best to walk for candy purposes, first line, second line, defense and offence and dodging strategies, and how best to catch Mewtwo, and, maybe I didn’t quite zone it all out, but I’ll tell you, none of the information stuck.
Anna and I got a few good laughs, as they tried to corral me into their planning. As a seasoned gamer, and no stranger to raids or boss fights, the whole thing was really beyond me. My method was a little less than orthodox. I read up on Mewtwo, how he fights, weaknesses, what kind of weather boosts him, and was done. I was level 30, no where near maxed, and my Pokemon roster is a set of monsters whom I love and have cultivated, more out of personal reasons, than IV or move sets. While my little pixelated friends are becoming stronger, and more battle worthy, the only 100% IV pokemon I have is a stray summer event Raichu, and I was not bringing him to the Mewtwo table.
The big day came, and my boyfriend was unable to get out of work, but my friend was there. As asked by our trusty WhatsApp group, we were there nice and early. Spare phone and wifi hot spot ready, I was ready to make the best of trying to duel it out on two devices. Our group came together and as we all punched in for the raid, I couldn’t help but laugh. For whatever reason, the battle teams my love had so carefully cultivated didn’t save correctly, and were unavailable to me. I was left using what the game recommended, aside from a few changes I made, based on the Pokemon he had talked about. With seconds to spare, I locked his team in, and hoped for the best.
Rather expectedly, by me at least, the battle was easier than the fight against Lugia that had won me the pass. While fighting Lugia, I lost a total of nine Pokemon to fainting, and my love lost two full lines. To Mewtwo, we both lost three Pokemon each. As expected, again, by me at least, our group was full of level 40 players, with full line and rosters ready for their EX-raid passes. These are people who were fighting Mewtwo with Mewtwo, with smiles, joy, and genuine thanks and congratulations to everyone when it was complete.
I was able to catch my own Mewtwo rather easily. His stats aren’t the best, or perfect, but I think he’s lovely. I was able to catch one for my boyfriend, which he was extremely excited for. I got to spend a wonderful afternoon with a friend in the sunshine and fresh air, pretending that work wasn’t going to catch up to me (oh boy, it has!).
All in all, a great experience, and a lot of fun, and always a subtle remind to just take it easy, and let things happen. Life’s too short to take things too seriously, even a Mewtwo fight, if you’re so lucky to be invited.
Until next!
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