I, like many other people, have quickly become addicted to Pokémon GO. Within 24 hours it became the biggest mobile game app in the United States, and on average 21 million people play each day. And yet, there is no introduction or instructional video, so here is my intro to Pokémon GO for all of you unsure gamers just starting out.
1. You can pick Pikachu as your starter Pokémon!
When you start the game Professor Oak will pop up and tell you to select one of three Pokémon, Squirtle, Charmander, or Bulbasaur. But, if you physically get up and walk away from the three Pokémon that have appeared on your screen (I believe you need to do this anywhere between 3 and 5 times) a Pikachu will appear on your screen as an option. Go ahead and click on her, or any of the other three, to engage them in a battle where you capture the Pokémon by throwing a Pokéball at them. And voilà, you have your first Pokémon!
Recommended for you
2. Catching Pokémon
Following your first capture you will then move on to catching Pokémon in the wild. To do this you walk around your area until a Pokémon appears on the map near you. To attempt to catch it all you have to do is click on the Pokémon which will then take you to a new screen where you can throw Pokéballs. In order for your throw to 'hit' the Pokémon, therein allowing for an attempt at catching the creature, you must land your Pokéball somewhere within the white circle that appears on top of the Pokémon.
However, just like in the series and previous games, not every throw will guarantee that you catch the Pokémon. To increase the chances of you successfully containing it within the Pokéball try to aim for your Pokéball to land within the shrinking circle (this will also give you extra experience points (XP) ranging from 10 for when the circle is still fairly large, to 100 for when the circle is very small). Once you've made your throw the Pokéball will then shake up to 3 times, once it reaches the third shake, congratulations, you've caught a wild Pokémon!!
3. Tracking Pokémon
In the bottom right side of the screen you can find an index of 9 Pokémon that are relatively close to your current position.
Unfortunately, the tracking system is fairly vague, using a series of 0-3 footprints to indicate distance, 3 feet mean you are a few blocks from the Pokémon and 0 means you should see it immediately. If you want to use the index to track Pokémon the best way to do so is to leave the window open as you walk. The Pokémon in the top left corner is closest to you and the creature in the bottom right corner is furthest away, thus, as you walk the Pokémon will shift position. To focus on a specific Pokémon pick any direction to walk in and then move that way until the Pokémon shifts in the index panel: if it moves towards the top left keep walking in that direction and if it moves to the bottom right turn around and walk the other way. Keep walking in that direction until the Pokémon starts moving towards the bottom right again and then turn 90 degrees and walk following the same instructions as before (if it moves up keep going and if it moves down turn around). Eventually this should lead you to your desired Pokémon, but in my opinion, it's a lot less fun than walking around and seeing what comes up.
4. Items
Pokémon GO offers a variety of items to help you on your journey. Each time you level up you are gifted with a series of items that will help you capture the Pokémon most relevant to your level. Pokéballs are the item you will carry the most of in your bag- without them how will you catch your Pokémon? You are also likely to begin to collect potions and revives, these items will help restore your Pokémon's health once you reach level 5 and begin fighting at gyms.
Another item you can collect are eggs: a Pokémon waiting to be hatched. At the start of the game you are gifted with an infinity incubator where you can place eggs that you gather from Pokéstops in order to hatch new Pokémon- you must place your eggs into an incubator in order for them to hatch. Eggs come in three distances: 2km, 5km, and 10km, and hatch as you walk around town. To view your eggs navigate to the Pokémon screen by selecting the Pokéball at the bottom of the monitor and clicking the Pokémon circle, then swipe left to view your eggs. To place an egg in an incubator select the specific egg you want to hatch, press start incubation, and select the incubator you want to use to hatch the egg.
As you level up you are likely to encounter different items such as Razberries (a food item you can give to wild Pokémon to increase your chances of catching them), or varying types of Pokéballs (these are to help you catch stronger Pokémon whose shrinking ring may be a yellow, orange, or red colour rather than green). In order to utilize these items you will have to select the bag button once in the Pokémon capture screen, and select the items from the list that appears.
Your bag can reach a maximum capacity but you can choose to throw away items you do not use at any time. To do so navigate to the items list and then select the trash can icon next to the item you wish to get rid of. Unless you are fighting at gyms, your best items to chuck are any potions or revives you have collected.
5. Pokéstops
So, where can you collect these items? You can either purchase them from the store, using real cash money or visit the Pokéstops near you. Pokéstops are interesting places around your area that the game makers have placed rewards on. As you pass them an animation will appear on your map, tap on that animation to check into the Pokéstop and then spin the circular picture that appears on screen to collect the items it holds.
These items (which can be anything from Pokéballs, lure modules, eggs, potions, etc) will be collected by the game whether you tap on them or not, you don't have to pop the bubbles to collect each of the items, so don't worry if you accidentally miss one before closing the Pokéstop.
6. Gyms
Once you reach level 5 you can choose a team (Red, Yellow, or Blue- I know they have names, but honestly I remember them by colour) for which you can fight and hold gyms. This means that you can go to a gym (as indicated on the map) and fight the Pokémon that are holding the gym (or defending it). To fight you simply tap on your opponent's Pokémon to attack and swipe left or right to dodge oncoming attacks. As you attack you build up energy towards your Pokémon's special attack (which should do more damage than the normal attacks)- to use the special move watch the blue bar underneath your Pokémon's health bar, when it's fully charged and flashing hold your finger on your screen to let your Pokémon know to use that special attack.
Every battle you win gives you an XP boost, whether you beat every Pokémon at the gym or not. Should you find an empty gym, or defeat one, you can claim the gym for your team by placing one of your Pokémon at the gym. Although this is tempting I recommend not doing this until you have a Pokémon that has reached at least level 800CP because any Pokémon at a lower level will quickly be defeated and replaced by the other players in the area, no matter how much you love your 500CP Raticate.
7. CP, XP- what does it all mean?
These terms are ways of measuring your progress within the game. XP, or experience points, are a way of measuring what level your Pokémon trainer is at. There are many ways to gain XP in Pokémon GO, for example, you can gain XP by collecting Pokémon, winning gym battles, visiting Pokéstops, and evolving your Pokémon, just to name a few. CP is an acronym for Combat Power, a measure of how strong your Pokémon is. This is really only important if you choose to battle at, or hold, gyms as it does not influence normal game play.
So what now?
Pokémon GO can be played in a multitude of ways: to explore, to catch 'em all, to be the very best like no one ever was. But, however, you decide to play, have fun! Remember to slap on some sunscreen, carry a water bottle, and always stay alert to your surroundings and most importantly, go have fun!
