2025-05-30 13:45:10 EDT

M: Pokemon go: can you summarize the mechanics of the postcard storage system? Both how the cards you pin are stored – I would swear I had pinned more duplicates than I’m seeing, although that might just be faulty memory, so I’d like to know if there’s any redundancy prevention or anything – and how it applies to making Scatterbugs appear: like, if I delete a card that’s pinned up, and I receive the same one and pin it up again, does that count towards making a new Pokémon appear?

G: TL;DR:

Postcards you pin are stored in a 300-postcard limit.
Duplicate cards from the same Pokéstop only count once for Scatterbug/Vivillon progress.
Unpinning/deleting and repinning the same card does not count again toward progress.
You likely saw fewer duplicates because the game filters for unique origins, not total number of pins.

📌 Postcard Pinning Mechanics

You can pin up to 300 postcards at a time. New ones overwrite the oldest when full.
Cards include sender info, date, and Pokéstop location.
If you get multiple cards from the same stop (e.g. a friend sends you five gifts from Eiffel Tower), you can pin all five, but only one will count for Scatterbug/Vivillon.
Cards are not deduplicated in display, but Scatterbug tracking is based on unique Pokéstop regions.

🐛 Vivillon / Scatterbug Progression

Every new unique region postcard contributes progress toward the Vivillon medal for that region.
After receiving and pinning several unique region postcards, you’ll get a Scatterbug encounter from that region.
Repinning the same card (even after deletion) does not add new progress.
Only new, unique Pokéstops in that region count.
Once you've completed all possible stops in a region, you can't get more Scatterbugs from it unless Niantic adds new stops or the friend sends cards from other unique stops in the same region.

🧠 Memory vs System

If you're sure you pinned more cards but only see fewer:
- It could be due to the 300-card cap auto-deleting older ones.
- Or they may have been from the same Pokéstop, giving an illusion of variety while only one “counted.”

Let me know if you want a way to audit or track which region’s cards you’ve already logged.

G: TL;DR:
If you're in New York (EDT) and want to know when people in India are likely playing Pokémon GO, typical active windows in IST (Indian Standard Time) are:

Morning commute: ~7:00–9:00 AM IST → 9:30–11:30 PM (previous day) EDT
Evening peak: ~6:00–9:00 PM IST → 8:30–11:30 AM EDT
Community Days/events (usually 2:00–5:00 PM local time IST) → 4:30–7:30 AM EDT

Details:

India is +9.5 hours ahead of New York (EDT), so:

7:00 AM in India = 9:30 PM previous day in New York
7:00 PM in India = 9:30 AM same day in New York

Common Pokémon GO playtimes in India (due to heat, work hours, and traffic patterns):

Early morning (cooler, less crowded): 7:00–9:00 AM IST → 9:30–11:30 PM EDT (previous day)
Evening (post-work/school): 6:00–9:00 PM IST → 8:30–11:30 AM EDT
Weekends & events: Community Day or event windows usually follow Niantic’s standard of 2:00–5:00 PM local time → 4:30–7:30 AM EDT

If you’re coordinating gift exchanges or Scatterbug progress via postcards, your best overlap is morning in NY (8:30–11:30 AM) to catch India’s evening playtime.