The new Pokemon GO application from Nintendo literally conquered the world, millions of people are so carried away by this unusual game that they do not stop talking about it in the news. In news feeds, on television and on social networks, every now and then they discuss where and how to catch the next Pokemon.
Who are Pokemon?
“Pokemon” is a word borrowed from the English language, derived from the phrase Pocket Monster (translated into Russian it means “pocket monster”). These amazing creatures were invented in Japan back in 1996, when Pokemon Blue and Pokemon Red were released for Nintendo's Game Boy handheld game console. The player acted as a trainer for Pokémon to be caught while traveling the world. Pokémon could fight other Pokémon, while the trainers themselves never got into a fight, using their pupils for these purposes.
Over the 20 years of its existence, the world of pocket monsters has become so diverse that today there are 721 species (in the first version of the game there were 151 species) of various Pokemon, each of which has unique fighting qualities. At one time, a whole series of once mega-popular cartoons, comics and toys was dedicated to Pokemon.
What is Pokemon GO and why is it so popular?
Nintendo's Pokemon GO went viral right after its release, breaking all records for the number of downloads. This popularity of the game is due to augmented reality technology, implemented using a camera on a smartphone, as well as by tracking the location of the player in terms of his geolocation. The Pokemon GO app calculates the player's geolocation and scatters the Pokemon over the surrounding area in such a way that he has to make some effort to find and catch them. The main feature of this game is that the players must be physically active. Moreover, the more kilometers a gamer travels, the more success he will achieve in the virtual world of Pokemon GO. Most Pokémon are located in large cities and closer to the center, while rare species tend to live in remote areas (in mountainous areas, in a forest belt, near water bodies, etc.).
How do I start playing Pokemon GO?
To install the Pokemon GO app on Android, you need to download it from the Google Play market (the link to the app is located under the article). To install the game on iOS, you need to download the game from the App Store. For the installation to succeed, you need an Apple ID registered in the United States, New Zealand, or Australia. This need is due to the fact that the game has not yet been officially presented in Russia, after its appearance in the Russian Google Play and App Store stores, this procedure will no longer be necessary. To register such an ID, you must first log out of your existing Apple ID in the App Store, then create a new account using a non-existent phone number and a valid US address in the Language and Region section.
When the Pokemon GO application is successfully installed on your smartphone, you can safely go to the fascinating world of Pokemon. To start playing, you need to create a trainer by choosing your favorite gender, clothing, skin and hair color. Next, you should come up with a name for the created character. The app will then take you to a virtual map that matches your city map. Three starting Pokémon (Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander) will appear in the immediate vicinity of the trainer, one of which can be caught. The game started…
How to find and catch Pokémon
By taming your first Pokemon, you have complete freedom of action and can go anywhere. You can hunt pocket monsters in the Pokemon GO app almost anywhere: on busy streets, in the center and on the outskirts of the city, in the forest, cafes, near water bodies, etc. The most common types of Pokemon are found at almost every entrance, while for rare specimens you will have to arrange excursions to remote areas of the city, to industrial zones, to water bodies or out of town.
There are two ways to search for virtual pets: you can just wander around the area until someone, by a lucky chance, is near you, or you can hunt down Pokemon in the tracks. The more footprints shown on the map, the farther away the desired Pokemon is from you.
When you see a Pokemon on the screen of your smartphone, you just need to tap on it with your finger, thereby activating the catching process. To catch a Pokemon, you need to shower it with Pokeballs. To make the process of catching pocket monsters more productive, you can use special Lure lures and Lure Modules lures for PokéStops. They are sometimes given for reaching a new level, but, as a rule, they will have to be purchased for gold coins. Gold in the game can be obtained either for defending Stadiums, or purchase it for real money.
According to the difficulty of catching, Pokémon are divided into three groups, it can be identified by the color of the circle in which the pocket monster is displayed. If the creature is in the green frame, then it is rather weak and only one Poké Ball is needed to capture it. The hunt for a monster in a yellow frame is much more difficult: you can't catch it with one Pokeball, and the Pokemon itself will periodically break free. The most difficult thing is to defeat the Pokémon in the red frame, additional funds are required to capture them.
In addition, how the player throws the Pokeball is of great importance in hunting Pokémon. If you throw the pokeball at the most opportune moment, when the ring of the tapering target is reduced to its minimum size, then the chances of success will increase significantly. When hitting a moving monster, the likelihood of its capture also increases. In addition, you can launch "twisted" pokeballs, for this you need to spin the ball, simulating circular movements with your finger on the sensor, then aim and launch. Catching a Pokemon in this way will give you additional experience.
Pokéballs for catching wild monsters can be obtained on PokéStops marked with a special sign on the map. There are quite a few of them and they, as a rule, designate any significant places: cultural monuments, metro stations, playgrounds and other noteworthy objects. By approaching PokéStop, you can turn it on and get the necessary consumables (pokeballs, health potions, eggs, etc.).
How to level up in the game Pokemon GO
For each captured Pokemon, the player is awarded experience (100 points for the capture and another 500 points for a new species), dust and candy. With the help of dust and candies, you can pump the Pokémon available in your collection. For more candies, monsters can be evolved - this will increase their combat potential and add a significant amount of experience. Trainings and battles in the Stadiums will also allow you to increase your personal level in the game, however, they become available only after reaching the 5th level.
Eggs obtained from Poké Balls need to be "incubated". To do this, the egg is placed in an incubator, which is in the inventory, after which the counter of the kilometers traveled will be activated. The more kilometers you have to overcome, the more powerful and rare the hatched Pokemon will be.
How to fight other players
The gameplay in Pokemon GO is built not only on collecting wild monsters, but also on exciting battles with other players. Upon reaching level 5, each coach must join one of three teams (blue, red or yellow). The team is selected only once, you cannot go to the other side. Players from different teams are constantly fighting for control of the Stadiums, which are present in sufficient numbers on the map.
One Stadium can be controlled by only one team, whose representatives place their Pokémon in it so that they repel the attacks of rival teams. The owners of the monsters who are on guard are awarded gold coins as a reward for every day that they managed to keep control of the Stadium. With the coins you earn, you can purchase useful inventory: health, incubators for incubating eggs, bait for Pokémon, and much more. The Pokémon left at the Stadium cannot be taken back, you will receive it back only after the enemy captures the point.
To arrange an attack on the Stadium, you need to assemble a team (from 2 to 6 people) and fight with all the Pokémon guarding the Stadium. With each victory, the opponent's defense will weaken, and when the defense level reaches zero, it will be possible to occupy the vacant point, resorting to the help of friends from your team to protect it.
Law and Pokemon GO
Despite the fact that the game has not yet been presented on the territory of the Russian Federation (Nintendo explains this by server overload), many install the Pokemon GO application by workarounds and are actively hunting virtual pets in the real world. That is why the government hastened to pass a number of laws prohibiting catching Pokémon in the wrong places.
So, you can not engage in catching Pokemon on a territory that is privately owned (for example, in someone else's house or apartment). A simple and innocent excuse "I just wanted to catch Pikachu" will not relieve you of criminal liability, which is punishable by a fine of up to 40 thousand rubles and possible serving time in places not so distant.
It is also forbidden to look for pets at polling stations, otherwise you risk getting a fine of up to 80 thousand rubles. In order not to offend the feelings of believers, in no case should you look for Pokémon on the territory of the temples, otherwise you may receive a half-million fine or, even worse, go to jail for 3 years to reflect on your behavior.
Of course, you need to hunt for wild monsters within the territory of the Russian Federation, without going to the border with another state. In the best case, you will get off with a large fine of 200 thousand rubles, in the worst case, you will go to serve a real prison term (up to 3 years).
