Pokelid stamp rally – Pokémon Go’s stamp rally is a challenge
Pokémon Go has featured a few times on this blog; I started playing a few days after the game launched, as launch day was the same day as the Euro Cosplay Gathering finals. I wanted to direct all my attention and focus on doing my very best. But all the while, people around me were catching rare Pokémon and the itch was growing. Once the finals were over that very night, I launched the app and the fun began. The game has evolved over the 10 years it has been out and I have always had it in my life in some form even if it’s just to catch things on the walk to work, hatching eggs to reward myself for walking or visiting a new country to collect a rare regional.
I have written many blogs on the in-person events I have attended since coming to Japan and written blogs about support Pokémon, briefly touching upon the Pokelid stamp rally. Today the new Pokémon centre stamp rally launched; I am a little sad it happened now and not a year ago. Over my travels to 36 prefectures, I have visited many of the Pokémon centres. Sadly, the stamps are not retroactive; this is the same for the Pokelid rally. I have seen many lids over two years and enjoyed adding them to a photo collection, but the rally isn’t retroactive and went live earlier in the year.
So, what is the Pokelid stamp rally? Japan is known for having fun manhole covers often featuring local symbols, anime characters and of course Pokémon. There have been many cute viral videos and posts showing the wide variety that can be found. Pokémon Go introduced the Stamp rally to reward players for visiting these locations; the lids are often placed in places of importance within prefectures. The move was to promote learning and exploring off the beaten locations whilst catching background Pikachu’s. There are over 400 stamps to collect and sadly an encounter with Pikachu is only guaranteed after two stamps meaning prefectures with an odd number will never grant you that final encounter.
The stamp rally is not meant to be completed quicky and in some prefectures Lids are unreachable without a car or spending a lot on a taxi just to return minutes later after stamping the stop. Some lids are very remote, and it can be difficult to collect them if your signal is as bad as mine. There is also the fact that they are adding new lids to the game; Nagasaki received 6 new lids, and this came after I had collected most of the original ones. The rally is fun but those wanting to complete the whole thing should be aware it is a massive undertaking if you don’t break rules and spoof. The rally has been fun but knowing I won’t ever fully complete it, is something I must accept as the timer on my Japan story starts to run out. I also had the unfortunate experience of spinning a stop and never receiving the encounter due to network issues and support telling me they could do nothing. Some prefectures currently have no lids, but I would wager this will change. The current total to collect is 460-ish, but this will grow.
With the inclusion of the new Pokémon centre rally, my list of things to revisit has increased. Players who visit Japan can find a map location of all the lids in a prefecture which can be very helpful when planning. You can even see the lid location in Google Maps, which is convenient. My best advice is to locate two lids which are walkable or at least in the direction you are planning to explore. For me having a Pikachu from every prefecture with lids is the goal, they are fun ways to remember my travels. The backgrounds also show beautiful local scenery or famous locations within the prefecture. Some lids have led me to discover hidden gems such as an iris garden in Nagasaki and a beautiful sandy beach in Miyazaki, which had barely any people on it. The lids are a challenge and sometimes the location of them will make little sense unless you google the places importance. But this too is a fun way to experience Japan and gain a different kind of souvenir. Happy hunting and may the Pikachus be ever in your favour!
