Pokemon has been in the mainstream for twenty years, but
Pokemon Go just made the monster-catching craze as crazy-hot as during its initial release. And how could it not? After all, it’s making every Pokemon fans' childhood dream come true: to catch 'em all in real life. Yes, this spinoff game makes use of the real world as the game map through geolocation, and you catch Pokemon in actual places! And yes, if you use the app's viewfinder, you'll find them playing in the real world too, as if you've crossed some weird inter-dimensional boundary.
But don't think that it's just about going around town, tossing Pokeballs at every Pokemon you meet, as the game has a lot of features that make it a rich and enjoyable experience with great replayability. To get the best out of it, you need to know a few things, and some of them aren't general game knowledge. To make sure you’re not left behind, I'm going to let you in on a few tricks so that you can build a truly great
Pokemon Go account.
How Close Is Close
You've been walking for quite some time now and you’re starting to get impatient because you haven’t seen a Pokemon for the past five blocks. So, how do you know if you’re about to catch one? By checking on the in-game map. If there are leaves being blown, then you’re getting warmer. You can also use the tool on the bottom of the map, which indicates all the nearby Pokemon in the area. The more tracks there are, the closer that particular Pokemon is.
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Throw, Not Throw Away
The first few times you caught a Pokemon, it was completely straightforward: you just threw a Pokeball at it, and voila, it’s now your loyal subject that will fight its own kind. But as you go further and meet more powerful Pokemon, the same mindless aim-and-swipe will no longer work. Therefore, you have to take note of the ring around the Pokemon, which is color-coded to indicate how difficult it is to catch.
Green is easy, orange is intermediate, and red means difficult. In addition, the ring also changes in size. So, when is the best time to throw your Pokeball? Strangely enough, it’s when the ring is at its smallest. Time it right and you’re more likely to bag the Pokemon you’re eyeing.
More Than One Of A Kind/Powering Up
Much like in the mainstream games, there are lots of Pokemon that are common. And like in the main games, as long as you already have a sample of one kind, that’s already enough, right? Wrong. This is Pokemon Go, and in this game you catch as many Pokemon as possible, including those that you’ve already caught before. This is because unlike in the main games, your character levels up as well, and it does so by catching Pokemon. In addition, by catching a lot of Pokemon, you can make your main Pokemon more powerful.
But how would catching any Pokemon on sight help the Pokemon you’ll be maining for? By transferring them to Professor Willow. If you do this, you’ll receive candies and stardust. But before I discuss these items, first check your Pokemon summary. At the bottom you’ll see Power Up and Evolve. To perform these functions, you need to pay the required amount of Stardust and Candies, which is indicated beside them.
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Legendary Birds Of The Same Feather
Other than choosing your starter, you also have to choose which of the three teams you will join, all of which are based on the Three Legendary Birds. Team Mystic, represented by Articuno, is made up of those who use intellectual approaches towards Pokemon; Team Instinct, whose symbol is Zapdos, is a team of skilled trainers led by intuition; and Team Valor, with the insignia of Moltres, is a group of brave, battle-hardened trainers.
Choose depending on your preferred color, the virtues they represent, your friends’ choices, or which team is currently the most powerful – remember that you can’t switch teams later.
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Gym Buff
So, what’s the point of choosing teams and making your Pokemon stronger? For battles, of course. After all, that’s what Pokemon mostly do: fight each other for the sake of their trainers. And as of now, the only battles trainers can engage in are in those gyms.
Located at important landmarks, gyms are the only places in Pokemon GO where players can fight each other. Gyms, be it rival or friendly, are challenged by trainers, either to power-up for their Pokemon, or to occupy the gym. Doing the latter not only wins you bragging rights, but also gives rewards such as EXP and PokeCoins.
The game has been out for a while now, so it’s safe to assume that all gyms are already occupied. That leaves you with only one way to take control of a gym: beat a rival gym leader over and over until his or her prestige points drop down to 0. Once that’s done, you can claim that gym and leave a Pokemon there, which will battle those who will challenge it. Then the same rules will apply on you: stay and you’ll be rewarded; keep losing until your Prestige Points go down to 0 and you’ll be booted out.
PokeStop Right Now
Other than gyms, the game world (which is also the real world) is also littered with PokeStops. Think of them as supply depots where players can pick up PokeBalls, other goodies, and even Pokemon eggs. You’re going to have to walk for them though, and a lot of them can be quite far apart from each other, but they’re very much worth the travel, so get up and use your legs, like a real Pokemon trainer.
Egg-cited
And speaking of walking and Pokemon eggs, you should know that just like in the main games, you’re going to have to walk in order to hatch eggs. The necessary kilometers are indicated in the egg. So if you want to know what’s in it, you’re going to have to literally take thousands of steps. Some people, however, have found a few hacks – strapping their phones to dogs, or putting them on anything that performs repetitive motion – to trick the system into thinking that you’re walking. While you can also do those things to make your trainer life a lot more convenient, they do take the fun out of the game, as well as your opportunity to go out, see the light of day, and catch Pokemon.
With these tips, you can be a master like no one else. So, what are you waiting for? Go out there, catch some Pokemon, compete with fellow trainers, and hopefully, discover new tips and tricks in this brave new Pokemon world.
