Pokemon Go City Safari — where the real catch is making friends

Undaunted by the unrelenting heat and a spell of rain on March 29, thousands of Pokemon Go players in Singapore travelled across the land, searching far and wide for colourful critters to add to their collections.

- Ian Cheng

The first day of the March 29 and 30 Pokemon Go City Safari: Singapore event saw players visiting six themed areas, including the sunny shores of Sentosa and the Marina Bay area, as well as the heartland of Ang Mo Kio, Jurong East, Pasir Ris and Sembawang.

Some came alone, some in groups—the biggest being a 430-strong crowd that showed up near the Esplanade at about 10am with a single purpose: To catch 'em all.

Leading the pack was local YouTuber Brandon Tan, whose dedication to Pokemon Go since its launch in 2016 has turned him into one of the game's major global personalities.

The 33-year-old, who has been travelling the world for the past two years and hosts regular meetups with players, was accompanied by his partner, Princess Gee, whom he met while playing the game in Manila in 2019.

The Pokemon Go City Safari: Singapore is the latest iteration of the game's mass community events, a successor to the Safari Zones held previously in places such as Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, Sweden and Taiwan.

Such events allow players to encounter and capture Pokemon that are not usually found in these regions, accompanied by in-game bonuses that are otherwise rare or unavailable through regular gameplay.

The November 2022 Safari Zone event here saw more than 18,000 players over a weekend in and around Gardens by the Bay.

Ms Kimiko Kishutani, a 57-year-old junior high school English teacher, told The Straits Times on March 29 that she flew in from Japan to participate in the event and will leave on March 31.

As a solo player, this was her first time travelling overseas to play the game.