Pokemon Go Review – What Keeps me Training on

Pokemon Go was released originally on July 6th 2016 allowing aspiring trainers the opportunity to become a Pokemon Master. Pokemon Go is a augmented reality location-based free to play game bringing the lovable pocket monsters to reality.

There are in game micro-transactions available and sometimes even special boxes which usually tend to offer useful items in bundles at a discounted price. This game is meant to be played by walking but it is possible to play the game while driving or on a bike but make sure to be careful and play responsibly!

As a Trainer in Pokemon Go you get to encounter and catch Pokemon while traveling in the real world. As you catch more Pokemon and fill your Pokédex you will Level up your character and unlock new features such as choosing a team there are three teams Team Valor (Red), Team Mystic (Blue), and Team Instinct (Yellow).

I am going to highlight what about this game keeps me playing in five different sections. The first reason will review Pokemon Go’s development from 2016 to 2018. The second describing why I even play. Then I explain how to play Pokemon Go. Next speculates the future of Pokemon Go from what we have already seen from Niantic. Then the last specifies why I continue to train on.

Pokemon Go’s Development From 2016 to 2018

Since the release of the game the objective has stayed the same. Travel about in the real world catch any Pokemon you happen upon and maybe battle at your local Gyms. The game itself however has been constantly updated adding all kinds of new features and fun to discover on your journey.

To be honest by the time the legendary birds arrived I had already put down the game and my quest to become the very best in augmented reality due to many reasons work, glitches, and little to no active player base around me. The early battle system also added its fair share of discouragement from playing the game. Mass evolving Pidgeys and Weedles came far from any comparison to the amount of fun I got from the main series.

That’s a thing of the past, Pokemon Go has evolved a lot from the days of being proud to be a level 20. So what exactly has changed one may ask? Well let’s review because there is a lot. For starters Trainers are able to reach the max level of 40 which at bare minimum takes 90 days and a lot of gift giving. A new friend system has been added. You can add a total of 200 friends to your friend list. Trade with them if your within 100m and bestow them with gifts obtained from Pokestops.

A new 7-day catch and spin streak has been implemented adding a wonderful incentive to play and method to gain some extra Exp, Stardust, and Items. Far from the days of farming 100 Exp. And 100 Stardust per single Pokemon regardless if it was evolved or not.

Spin at least one Pokestop every day as you will receive a streak for spinning Pokestops. Each day a Trainer is given slightly more items than usual with the seventh being the most generous possibly receiving an evolution item because as of now up to Generation 3 Pokemon have been introduced into Pokemon Go (excluding a couple Pokemon because of there oddities). Along with the Pokestop spin streak bonus there is also the catch streak bonus rewards granting you more Exp and Stardust per day up to seven days than it resets back down to one.

Gyms are interesting they have been entirely reworked from the release of the game. Instead of just having a team leave a total of six Pokemon they also function as a Pokestop now. Gyms also have the possibility of hosting raid battles where a total of 20 Trainers per battle group from all teams are able to partake in a battle against a powerful Pokemon from 5 different tiers. 5 star being the strongest and 1 star consisting of small fry Pokemon which can be soloed.

Once the Pokemon is defeated all participating trainers are given the opportunity to catch the Pokemon depending on certain variables you will individually receive a set amount of Premiere Balls to catch the Pokemon. It should be noted that normal Pokeballs cannot be used on Raid Pokemon only Premiere Balls are allowed. Upon completing a raid the player is also granted additional rewards which can include Golden Razz Berries, TMs, Potions, Revives, along with a guaranteed Stardust and Exp to help you on your journey.

Each Individual Gym has a Gym Badge which you can rank up from Bronze, Silver, to Gold the higher your Gym badge the more bonus items you will receive from spinning that Gym.

Why I Continue to Play?

You still playing Pokméon Go why? I have been asked on a number of occasions and I get it Pokemon Go has been in constant development since it was released. Then again nobody really ever thinks about the complexity that Niantic have to deal with. Individual preference plays a big factor in deciding what video games an individual will play. For me the answer is quite simple I love gaming.

Considering the lack of Pokestop and Gym dense area, low player base, and spread of local Pokestop oasis I am by all intents and purposes a rural Trainer. I understood this is a game where your local environment plays a big factor in the layout I recognized that very early on considering it was a location-based game. I never let the negativity that usually came from being a rural player affect my perspective. As if it were the worst thing in the world. As if Niantic is at fault because they only care about big cities. Mapping out a live 3 dimensional globe into a 2 dimensional cell grid is complex.

In the main series game I focused on IV hunting for the strongest Pokemon so my only expectation from the game was being able to not only catch the strongest Pokemon but also identify them from the weaker ones. Originally the game had no appraisal method but it was soon added. I have no idea just speculating but I figured this was because at the start of the game you have yet to pick a team so in turn no Team Leader to appraise your Pokemon. Still the appraisal is very vague not offering much help. Unless you memorize each Pokemon’s CP values you can only accurately identify perfect Pokemon by yourself.

Pokémon Go brings Pokemon as close to reality as it can be brought through AR gaming so naturally my love for Pokémon and wanting something to do while walking turned out a lot more fun than I expected. The biggest reason as to why I even play Pokémon Go is the development of the game is similar to a Larvitar evolving into Tyranitar it only gets better and better hopefully… just kidding it has been pretty fun so far despite being a rural player. My personal objectives and the people around me make the game fun.

So why get a late start I returned to the game in April 2018 just in time to benefit from the Kanto event which was helpful for filling up my Pokedex! Despite the game’s shortcomings I have always made the most of Pokemon Go hunting for the next perfect Pokemon. It really depends on your perspective because believe me I sometimes understand due to game’s mechanics it is better suited for certain players and it turns away other players.

For me I just genuinely love to play video games of all kinds and I also like to walk it is very relaxing which even has been proven to be beneficial to one’s health. So the thought of playing a video game while walking in the real world and getting strange looks as I stand and swipe to catch does not seem unpleasant to me rather the opposite.

How to Play Pokemon Go.

Want to unlock the Pokemon Master in you. No worries Pokemon Go is easy to pick up. Pokemon Go is a AR location based game in real time. The objective is pretty straightforward travel around in the real world catch any Pokemon, place your best defenders in the gym and participate in raid battles.

For any Trainer setting on there journey learning to capture Pokemon is going to be a vital skill. My best recommendation is work on getting those nice and great curveball throws. Once you are consistently throwing Nice and Great Curveball Throws move on to mastering Excellent Curveballs. One may be wonder why focus on getting Nice, Great, Excellent Throws, along with Curveballs? With how the mechanics work in the game the better your throws are they will increase the catch rate for the Pokemon but also grants you an Exp. bonus by 10XP.

For nice throws you get 10XP, great throws 50XP, excellent throws 100XP. Manage to catch the Pokemon on the first throw you get an additional 50XP. All this XP adds up quickly especially if you include the first catch of the day and a lucky egg. Mastering those curve throws should be your first priority in Pokemon Go!

Aside from getting those curveball throws visiting Pokestops and interacting with Gyms are going to be another essential for any Trainer unfortunately. This is another reason of why a lot of the player base put down the game in rural areas around globe.

The Future of Pokemon Go.

The future of Pokemon Go is looking bright all things considered. To date Pokemon from Generation 1, Generation 2, and Generation 3 have been released into the game.

The Alonan forms for Kanto Pokemon have already been added into the game. This is big because Alonan Pokemon are a part of Generation 7 Pokemon! So it is safe to speculate that eventually Niantic Labs will go on to releasing Gen 7 Pokemon but not before releasing the Gens that came before.

Note a few Pokemon from Gens 2 and 3 have not been released yet because of evolution, forms, moves, and abilities. Nothing to fear Ditto at one point was unreleased but was than released into the game through an interesting mechanic. It appears out of a select pool of Pokemon and only is revealed when caught. Pokemon are going to be continuously added to the game eventually totaling to a whopping 807 Pokemon. Think you can search far and wide to catch’em all?

Of course this is only speculation but also keep in mind I speculated that shiny Pokemon would be introduced and also speculated the upcoming Community Day Pokemon and the special move correctly. That’s how I got almost all the shiny Eevee Evolutions through naming because I figured it is a Pokemon game shinies would add more incentive to play. All but my Flareon because of my desperation for a fire type early into my journey. Sticking to my choice worked out for the most part.

I also have a perfect Beldum and a lot of Beldum candy waiting for the day to be the strongest Metagross accompanied by its signature move Metor Mash a steel type move. Before it was discovered that Metor Mash is being developed and parts of its visual assets have been coded into the game.

I do not bother evolving any of the starters beyond Gen 1 because they have yet to have their inevitable Community Day and Community Day move which usually does not necessarily make them significantly stronger than some Pokemon it just makes it stronger of that species this is the case for Charizard and Blastoise. They are not stronger than other Pokemon just a little but stronger than their Non-Community Day move wielding counter parts.

Playing Pokemon for the amount of time I have you can really understand how these companies develop, market, promote, and draw in a huge player base and how will they keep them coming back to play their game.

Train On.

Pokemon Go is a decent game and it is most likely going to be continuously updated until all 807 Pokemon are added to the game. From 2016 to 2018 the game has really changed to benefit Trainers all around the globe.

For rural players the changes have yet to make up for desolate areas with little to no Pokestops and Gyms with no submission system in place there is only one way to mitigate this problem. Some hardcore players love Pokemon Go so much they are willing to play Ingress and reach Level 10 just to submit new Pokestops and Gyms. Pokemon Go is unique in that it is a game where the downsides can be overlooked by your own personal play style.

I only have 5 gyms and 16 Pokestops in my town and the next towns over are not much better off either. In my surrounding area there are not many Pokestop and Gym dense areas. The few existing oasis of Pokestops and Gyms are spread out to sparsely. Low player base also limits the ability to conduct Raids of some 3 tiers, 4 tiers, and 5 tiers. I put the game down back in 2016 a little after its release and again after a playing a little in 2017.

Now 2018 and Pokemon is certainly a lot better off with features such as field research, special research, first catch of the day streak system, first spin of the day streak system, the weather system, the buddy system, and above all else the research breakthroughs leading to legendary encounters with the encounter being changed monthly. Pokemon Go also has been consistently hosting in game events increasing the frequency at which you see certain Pokemon.

Heck trading and a friend system have been added too with PvP and a Pokestop Submissions feature were confirmed to be in the works by the CEO John Hanke our Lord Helix.

I for one will continue my journey searching far and wide perfect IV hunting for the strongest Pokemon of each species. Happy hunting Trainers! Smell ya later!