Heres How to Play Pokmon Go
The Pokmon franchise has already proven to be a smash hit on Nintendo's handheld consoles, and now it's dominating smartphones, too. Pokmon Go, which launched for iOS and Android on July 6, is already larger than Tinder and is on its way to surpassing Twitter's daily active user count. The game is unlike anything Pokmon fans have seen in the past. The app uses augmented reality to make it seem like Pokmon are actually in your surroundings, meaning you may see a Pikachu standing on the sidewalk or a Pidgey peeking out from behind a tree. While the faces may seem familiar to fans, the gameplay is actually very different from other Pokmon-themed games. Here's what you need to know to get started with Pokmon Go, which you can download here for iPhone and here for Android. What is Pokmon Go, and how do I play?, The goal in Pokmon Go is to catch as many Pokmon as possible, then battle them at gyms. The key factor that makes this smartphone game different than past Pokmon titles is the way in which this concept is executed. In Pokmon Go, you move your character by walking around in the physical world. The game uses your phone's GPS coordinates to move your in-game avatar, which means you need to explore different areas in the real world to find wild Pokmon and other goodies. If you want to catch a wild Pokmon that appears in your path, simply tap it. This will put the creature in your field of view, using the camera on your phone to make it look like the Pokmon is actually standing or hovering in front of you. From here, you can fling a Pokball at it to catch it by swiping up from the bottom of the screen. How do I get more Pokballs and other items?, Pokballs are easy to come by in Pokmon Go you can get them at nearly every Pokstop you visit. Pokstops are real-world locations that are marked on the game's map as a circle with a Pokball in the center. When approaching a Pokstop i.e. a park, a store, a street mural, etc., tap the aforementioned symbol on the map to visit it. This usually only works when you're present at the location specified on the map. While some nearby Pokstops may appear on your map, you can't actually check in and collect items unless you travel there. Once you tap the Pokstop symbol, spin the circle that appears on screen to gather items like Pokballs, potions, incense, and eggs. You can also buy Pokballs and other items through in-app purchases. Why do I need these items?, This gear make it easier to catch Pokmon and heal your Pokmon after a battle. Some of them will seem familiar to those who have played the Pokmon games for Nintendo's handheld consoles. Below is a brief description of some of the most common items you'll come across at Pokstops, Pokballs These are used to catch wild Pokmon. Potion This is a type of medicine that restores your Pokmon's health by 20 points. Potions come in handy for healing your Pokmon after gym battles. Revive As its name implies, this type of medicine revives a Pokmon that has fainted in battle. It also restores half of its health. Incense Incense can be used to lure wild Pokmon to your location. Eggs and Egg Incubators Eggs, which can sometimes be found at Pokstops, eventually hatch to become new Pokmon. If you come across an egg, be sure to use the Egg Incubator in your items list. An egg hatches after you've walked a certain distance. This distance varies for each egg. Some eggs, for example, will hatch after walking five kilometers, while some will hatch after two kilometers. The longer it takes for the egg to hatch, the rarer the Pokmon inside. How do gyms work in Pokemon Go?, Pokmon Go has two types of gym battles friendly battles and rival battles. In a friendly battle, you enter a match at a gym that's already claimed by your team. You can tell which team currently owns a gym by its color red, yellow, etc. Battling at a friendly gym gives you experience points, which helps you level up. But it benefits the gym as well the more you train, the more Prestige that gym earns. Prestige is a unit of measurement that determines the level of a gym the more Prestige a gym has, the higher the level. Gyms at higher levels are capable of holding more Pokmon to defend it from rival teams. During a rival battle, you challenge the various Pokmon currently housed there to claim that gym for your own team. This involves battling all of the Pokmon that rival team trainers have left at the gym to defend it. The higher the gym level, the more Pokmon you'll have to defeat to claim that gym. Gyms that are open for any team to claim will appear as gray on your map. To claim an open gym, enter the gym by tapping it and press the "Add Pokmon" button near the bottom of the screen. This Pokmon will remain at the gym to defend it, and will only be returned to your roster once it's been defeated. During any battle, you can tap your opponent to perform a quick attack, swipe to evade an attack, or hold down on the screen and release to perform a special attack. You can only inflict a special attack when the meter below your Pokmon's health bar is full. How do I level up and train my Pokmon?, To evolve your Pokmon or make them more powerful, you'll need to give them stardust or candy. These items are collected whenever a Pokmon is caught. Each type of Pokmon requires a specific amount of candy to evolve. A Squirtle, for example, might need 25 pieces of candy to evolve, while a Pidgey needs 12. Each Pokmon comes with a certain amount of candy when you catch it, but it's not typically enough to evolve a Pokmon or power it up significantly. Candy is specific to each species, so you can only evolve a Squirtle with candy obtained from capturing Squirtle. Stardust, however, is not specific to individual Pokmon., Candy or stardust can be used to increase a Pokemon's CP, or combat points. The more combat points a Pokmon has, the better it will perform in battle.