‘Pokémon Go’ adds stops to Antarctic scientists base

Two scientists working in Anarctica learned of their shared love for Pokémon Go when their pleas to have their remote base added as a Pokéstop were answered by Niantic.

Raimon Hennessy and Pete Rizzo both work at Davis Research Station, Australia’s southernmost Antarctic station. They discovered their love for Pokémon Go when Hennessy’s partner Alexandra successfully asked Niantic via Reddit to add the station to the game.

Speaking to The Independent, Hennessey said, “My partner had asked a question on the official Reddit page – it was more of a shock when I found out our Doc, Rizzo, had requested a Pokestop too!”

While Hennessey has been playing Pokémon Go since its launch in 2016, Rizzo is much more new to the game, and discovered it through his son. “I do share a few of the images from Pokemon to others who aren’t Pokemon players, but I have a few friends that love getting postcards from here,” he told The Independent.

A desire for more in-game postcards is also what spurred Alexandra on to ask Niantic to add a way for players at Davis Research Station to engage with Pokémon Go more.

In case you were thinking that the scientists can just play from their bedrooms, think again. While it’s not the first Pokéstop in Antarctica, it is the most southern and remote, and sometimes the extreme weather on the continent can affect their ability to play.

“The stops and gym (in the game) are within the station limits, however, we have 2G without data so we are limited to going to the different buildings that may have Wi-Fi next to the two stops,” Rizzo said.

“Raimon works in the yellow operations building so he has the opportunity to go between the two stops nearly every day. The gym is a bit more challenging though. It’s further away and in the ‘Pineapple’ building,” Rizzo added.

In other news, dashcam footage revealed police ignoring a robbery in favour of playing Pokémon Go.