The latest and the hottest game now in our smartphones is not about zombies, clans trying to rule each empire, or any of those kinds of stuff; the hottest craze now of even adults like us includes our childhood addictive game played in our Gameboys – Pokémon. It was first released in the West and they are now working for our own people to have it. Unfortunately, unlike any other game, Pokémon Go does not have tutorials or sequences that teach users how to play it but we will be guiding you on what to do with the best game now.
What is Pokémon Go?
Developers wanted to make a reality game that would capture gamers all over the world because of its realistic nature combined with video games. It was developed by Niantic for both iOS and Android and it is a free-to-play game augmented reality style. The main goal of the game is to capture the best Pokémons that exist in the places you go to. So how do you play Pokémon Go?
Character Customization
When you’ve downloaded the game, you can customize your player to make it look like what you desire. There is not much about how you can customize it but just bear with it. After customizing it, you now then proceed to the…
Interface
Opening the game allows you to view a Google-like map interface with a bunch of icons and cartoon places you can look at. Walking around your city will lead you to different types of Poké places, Poké items, and even Pokémons. The map you will see will be filled by these three (3) main things: Gyms, Pokéstops, and Wild Pokémons.
Pokéstops are pretty much like pit stops where you can rest and find some items that can complement you in your journey. You just need to go to a place that indicates that it is a Pokéstop and voila, you’re already there.
See that big blue swirly-like icon? That is when you know you are near a Pokéstop and that you can get items from it to help you with your adventure.
To get items from the stop, you need to swipe from left to right across the big circle icon until you see items spill out just like this one:
There are other items you can find as well such as eggs, egg incubators, lure modules, incense, and a bunch of other stuff to help you in your journey. Eggs will hatch if they have incubated long enough so be prepared for that. Aside from getting items, you will level up also by visiting Pokéstops. The blue color changes to purple and that is an indication that you have already visited that stop.
The game is an augmented reality game so you will need to turn your data on and your GPS as well to have a record and surveillance of the live map if you want a realer and better experience; turning on your GPS and data are musts though in order to play this game. As you travel around the world of Pokémon, you will encounter different things and in the first article, we told you about Pokéstops and the items you can get from it.
Read: Top 5 best endless running games for Android and iOS devices
Aside from Pokéstops, you will also see wild Pokémon rambling around. Seeing a green patch of grass indicates that a Pokémon is nearby and if you walk over it, you can see what Pokémon they are by pulling up the menu on the bottom-right part of your screen. It will always have zero (0) to three (3) footprints underneath them; zero being so close and three indicates that is far from where you are.
You can also get experience from catching Pokémon so you better be ready.
Catching Pokémon is not as easy and as difficult as you may seem; all it takes is a little practice to master the art of catching. The Augmented Reality or simply, AR is the option wherein you can see the environment whenever you try to catch a Pokémon. Some people prefer to turn it on while some prefer to turn it off.
Some people want it turned off because of the advantage that everything you see on your screen is digital meaning, you know how far the Pokémon is to throw the ball at it – to catch it. Whilst having it on provides a cooler experience but with a little bit of difficulty because the Pokémon is digital and your environment is natural. Nevertheless, you still need to catch that Pokémon.
**You can turn the AR on and off whenever you want so it is not really a big deal.
So catching a Pokémon requires accuracy and precision; try imagining playing Basketball in messenger where you need to make an accurate decision to where to throw the ball for it to go through the hoop; it is the same case in capturing Pokémon. You need to hit the Pokémon you have encountered in order to capture it.
The left side of the picture is when the AR is turned on and the right side is when it is turned off; see the difference? Now in order to capture it, you need to hold the Pokéball at the bottom of the screen and flick your finger to the direction where the Pokémon is at. You need to hit the Pokémon in order to capture it; sounds simple, right?
Winning Gym Battles
So, being a master of Pokémon includes being a gym leader. First and foremost, you have to be at least level 5 before you can enter and be part of the gym. Once you reach that level, you will be asked to join one of three color-coded teams and these are:
- Mystic (Blue)
- Valor (Red)
- Instinct (Yellow)
Unlike the classic Pokémon games, the color you choose won’t affect the types of Pokémon you encounter and it surely does not matter in Gym battles as well. Once you’ve picked a team, you will come across Pokémon trainers from all around the globe with your team helping each other to become the best and most successful. You can play with your friends to have a team and make a mark on the world of Pokémon Go. You and your friends should take over gyms because taking over gyms will give you Stardust and Pokécoins which are the main resources in order to evolve your Pokémon.
How do I battle?
You will be redirected to an arena-like interface once you’ve stepped in battle and in order to win it, you have to be fully equipped with Pokémon knowledge; it’s just something that goes like rock, papers, scissors – you get my point.
Here are some tips and guidelines for battling:
- Clicking the screen will enable your Pokémon to use its primary attacks and after some clicking, you will have the option to use the special ability or to dodge.
- The bar under the health of your Pokémon is actually a bar of the special ability so when it becomes full, long press the screen to use it.
- Dodging can be done by swiping left and right; be sure to do this because you can actually win by it.
Battling is fun and is exciting so be sure to have everything covered. For now, this is what we know of Pokémon Go; we will give tips and tricks so that you won’t have to go to the longer way of being a successful Pokémon trainer.
Stay tuned for updates and for surprises regarding this brand new game.
Sources: TechInsider, iMore