"My Dronpes is all grown up!"

#PokemonGO: ​My Dronpes​On September 24, 2017, another guy and I are were both waiting for a lobby to fill for a Raikou raid. I figured I'd introduce myself, as he looked normal enough and it seemed like we both might end up having to wait the entire raid window for a group to form.​A few minutes into chatting, he introduced himself, mentioning that he was u/Dronpes, and had been working on a project called the r/TheSilphRoad. This didn't change the conversation all that much (I was only somewhat familiar with the community at the time), except perhaps that I offered up some silly paranoid delusions around how I'm not convinced the game is as normal in statistical behavior as he wishes it to be.​We never did manage to form a large enough lobby to take on Raikou, but in response Dronpes created a local Discord group for the neighborhood, with me becoming member #2. We figured it would give us a chance to Duo Machamp raids and help us boost our rosters, even if it wouldn't be good enough to form legendary raid teams from the start (aside: "UWS Silph Road" has since become an active, large, and flourishing community, but that's a story for another day...).​Getting back to my apartment after Dronpes and I parted ways, I started sorting through my PoGo+ catches, and happened across a perfect IV Swinub. To mark the chance encounter, I decided to name her Dronpes.​Like her namesake, my Dronpes wasn't a very high level when we began our relationship. However, over the months I would find good excuses to power her up. "Power up a Pokemon 5 times" research was always a nice motivation. When the birds arrived onto the raid scene, it was a wonderful excuse to evolve Dronpes into a Piloswine and put in some non-forced work!​As Gen4 arrived though, a great FOMO dilemma surfaced... sure Mamoswine appears like it will be incredible right from the start, but what happens if in the future there is a Community Day featuring Swinub and my Dronpes has already been evolved to Mamoswine?!? This was actually a regular debate I had among some of PoGo peers, and ultimately I was convinced that once I could evolve Dronpes, I should just go for it, as it's ice attacks alone would surely mean I could use Dronpes without hesitation.​Well, as we all know by now, a few days after reaching the above conclusion Niantic did me a huge solid by announcing Mamoswine's release with the Swinub Community Day, hence erasing my FOMO. Getting the monster I want as soon as possible without FOMO is a true luxury, and it couldn't have happened to a better monster!​I don't see Dronpes' namesake as much these days (he moved out of town, though it was great to reconnect with him for a bit in Chicago at GoFest 2018!), but every time I see my even-more-new-and-improved Dronpes, I'm reminded of all of the great people I have met because of this game, and how much that is in thanks to the wonderful community that Niantic and Dronpes and all of you have created.​So kudos to all of you, and if you ever find yourself PvPing me in Master League, don't be shocked if my Dronpes sends her regards! via /r/TheSilphRoad http://bit.ly/2GNY9eD