Pokémon Go

[ExedExes]

I saw some discussion in another thread about the just-released mobile game Pokémon Go on Android and iOS, and I decided to give it a try.

My Pokémon history is simply 1st and 2nd gen. I have Yellow and Crystal. I have not played any Pokémon game in years. But this game, WOW! I was able to go out today so I downloaded it to my Android phone and right away I was able to do lots of stuff!

I have Pokéstops (places where you can get extra items/supplies) about a half mile north and south of me. You just have to walk/drive to the locations, and when you're close, you tap the area on your map and spin the photo disc that appears to receive your items (Pokéballs, eggs, revives, etc.).

There are also gyms available one you reach level 5. These are also in real world locations, and you can study under another team trainer and also leave your Pokemon there to battle.

The best part of the game is just by walking around, wild Pokémon are everywhere. I have caught many so far. There is also an Incense item that attracts Pokémon to your current area for 30 minutes.

Please note that this is a new game and I don't know everything about what it has to offer yet, but for absolutely free I have not yet had to make any purchases, I visited around 10-15 Pokéstops and was able to get over 100 Pokéballs from those and from leveling up. Plus, it uses VERY little data, if you have a limited amount per month. It's a lot of fun and you should try it!

Below are some screenshots from my phone of some of the most unusual Pokéstops you may find around your area. Many of them are in certain landmarks.

Please share your Pokéstops and game experiences here!

The famous "Pink Dinosaur" of Spring Hill, FL on US Highway 19.



The arcade I visited today, Stop N Play is a Pokéstop! How awesome!



Yes, even a BENCH outside a banquet hall can be a spot to get supplies.



Our cultural landmarks aren't exactly highbrow.



Even the local self-service ice machine spits out Pokéballs!



This clock at a strip mall on top of a Subway was also a Pokéstop. Even an Elvis statue at a Texas Roadhouse, which I ALSO was able to get outside!



This is what a gym is going to look like. Even at a hospice, you can still LIVE IT UP!

[noiseredux]

I installed it and loaded it up while waiting for an oil change today. I found a Pokemon at the gas station but couldn't figure out how to catch it. Then my phone got really hot. And when I closed the app it stayed hot. Then I rebooted and my phone wouldn't turn back on. I had to take the battery out 3 times before it would come back on. I uninstalled Pokemon Go.

[ExedExes]

My phone got a little warm but not terribly hot.

The Pokéstop near me had a Lure Module (an item that someone can leave at a Pokéstop that brings Pokémon towards that point for all who visit for 30 minutes) but I couldn't make it in time. It turns pink with cherry blossoms when one is installed there.

I caught 15 Pokémon today.

Bulbasaur (started with)
Weedle
Rattata
Pidgey
Slowpoke
Krabby
Goldeen
Nidoran Female
Nidorina
Oddish
Venonat
Eevee
Doduo
Zubat
Exeggcute

I also visited 16 unique Pokéstops. I also have 5 eggs, one in the incubator right now that gets hatched after I walk 2km.

I'm also on Gym Team Valor (Red), so any Pokémon I leave at Red Gyms will get me a defensive bonus for more items.

One more thing, Pokéstops replenish every 5 minutes, so if you can stay in one for a period of time you'll clean up on items!

[emwearz]

I have been using this daily while walking my dogs, I see a lot of people in the park (I live near a near a large multi block park) playing. Damn Gyms are doing my head in.

[Michi]

I'm having fun with it when it's working. It seems to work better in town than it does in my neighborhood, but then again there were also server issues this afternoon so that might be a continuing factor in the lack of nearby pokemon around my house. Haven't had any heating issues with the phone, but it's definitely a battery hog, so anyone who's interesting in the app should probably bring a nice big battery with them if they plan on being out for more than an hour. Hell, even then, bring a battery.

I've got a good little collection I picked up just by driving through town, shopping, eating and doing errands. Caught 25, including:

Squirtle (starter)
Ekans
Pidgey
Rattata x4
Horsea
Goldeen
Venomoth
Psyduck
Eevee x3
Spearow
Weedle
Caterpie
Venonat
Pidgeotto
Doduo
Scyther
Zubat
Bellsprout
Paras
Ghastly

So far I've powered up my pokemon with as much candy and stardust as I had. Haven't evolved anyone yet, but I think I just need a couple more Rattata's and I'm in business The extras I'll just trade off back to the professor. I guess you get items when you do that.

Haven't fought any battles at a gym yet, but I didn't think I'd have enough time. Plus I don't think I have anything strong enough to defeat them yet anyway. I did notice that everything around here was either captured by the Red or Yellow factions. I picked Blue, so even if I did defeat anyone it'd probably be an uphill battle to keep it

Here are a few photos I took while I was out today:

My second caught pokemon (Ekans was actually the first)


Rattata infestation at the Subway


Venonat was hungry too


A wild Scyther appeared while we were leaving the parking lot


Horsea showed up in the middle of the intersection. Not a drop of water in sight.


And a Ghastly haunted the building where I painted a mural in High School

I'm loving the randomness of where some of these guys show up.

[Tanooki]

I added it today as I was curious. A lot less painful to enjoy this over the old games. I guess I goofed setting it up, as I don't get the whole AR thing, just the GPS map. That said I know I've got around 15 already just from going out for a drive over to Indiana for a bit. I used my classic starter of Charmander.

Do you ever do any actual battles or just bop them on the head with pokeballs and catch em all?

[ExedExes]

Good day today!

New Pokémon acquired:

Paras
Horsea (with a cool Flash Cannon (Steel type) attack)
Pidgeotto
Magikarp
Caterpie
Bellsprout
Nidoran Male
and from a hatched egg, a Jigglypuff!

The only negative today was I missed capturing an Abra, the circle was a different color indicating a more difficult capture.

I went out and grabbed a Google Play card so I could get some coins; got a bag & pokedex upgrade, 5 Lure Modules, 8 Lucky Eggs and 8 Incense. I still have over 150 Pokéballs so I didn't bother to get anymore of them.

I'm now at Level 7. I'm also on Red Team Valor, trying to understand how the Gyms work. As far as I know, you can challenge the trainers of the Blue and Yellow (rival) gyms with 6 of your Pokémon. Everytime you win, it's Reputation goes down, and when it is completely drained, your team can take it. Having them is important for receiving daily bonus items under the Shop, there is a shield icon that rewards you for holding a Gym (or assigning one of your Pokémon at a friendly color gym) for 20 hours. This is another way to get Pokécoins.

Finally, I evolved my Rattata into a Raticate. It now has a Hyper Beam (Normal type/very powerful) attack!

The only way to get Stardust and candy is to capture. Even if you keep running into Pidgeys or Rattatas, keep capturing them because each capture gets you 3 of that Pokémon's candy. Transferring unwanted duplicates to the Professor also gets you 1 Candy. Keep those that have higher CP points and better attacks.

[Michi]

So today I caught close to 30 more pokemon

Most of it was me farming for stardust, so I ended up with tons of Pidgeys and Rattatas. But as ExedExes said, you can trade the weaker ones back to the professor once you've pilfered them of stardust and candy. But I didn't just catch two of the same pokemon over and over again. I also picked up some new ones, including:

Krabby
Nidoran (male x2)
Poliwag
Oddish
Gloom
Bulbasaur *heart*

Those last three automatically defaulted to my top three strongest pokemon, so I was quite pleased with myself. Oddish even has Moonbeam, which I found strange, but whatevs.

I also did a little digging about Eevee evolutions and according to the internet (reliable as hell, right?), the Eevee evolutions are not random, but most likely based on its second attack. An Eevee with Body Slam should turn into a Jolteon, Swift should net you a Vaporeon and Dig means you should get a Flareon. So if you're looking for one of each, make sure to double check their move sets before sending any extras off to the professor.

I've also got a 10k egg in the incubator, but I'm not going to be able to do any traveling tomorrow due to work, so I'm going to have to wait a while to see what's inside my precious little egg. I hear the 10k ones are supposed to be good, so I am excite.

The only negative today was I missed capturing an Abra, the circle was a different color indicating a more difficult capture.

I noticed that today, which was how I missed my second Bellsprout. The circle defaults to yellow instead of green. But the Gloom I caught today also had the yellow circle and I nabbed him on the first try, so I think it's up to luck or how good your trow was. Haven't been able to figure out if getting a bonus throw influences anything beyond extra experience points.

Do you ever do any actual battles or just bop them on the head with pokeballs and catch em all?

I think battles are just relegated to Gyms, as far as I know. It doesn't prompt you to send one of your own pokemon out to battle the other pokemon you find, so you really just chuck the balls and hope for the best.

Well, and aim. Aiming helps.

[ExedExes]

Now I really HATE not having anywhere to go. My last unique capture was just as I stepped out for a second, snagged an Ekans. Which is fine, don't get me wrong.

As far as buffing up particular Pokémon, my Raticate with the Hyper Beam is a strong focus, at 220CP right now, and I'd like the Pidgeotto to become a Pidgeot.

Good catch on how the Eevee will evolve. I read that it was random, but I only need another capture/3 candy to evolve mine. Its second attack is Dig, so it will become a Flareon by what you said and I'm ok with this because I have no Fire Pokémon yet. I've got 6 eggs at 50% or more (all 5km) so tomorrow I hope to see some good stuff.

Another tip I can offer - if you're happy with your present attacks on a Pokémon, think twice before deciding to evolve because the attacks reshuffle upon evolution, you won't be able to carry over your previous attacks. Of course if your attacks are no good, then go for it. Also watch the number of blue bars on the second attack - that shows how many charges (storage) you can build up with that particular attack during battle (I've seen 2-4 bars so far).

Battles are only limited to Gyms. The Gym nearest me is owned by Blue. I have a few parks I can get to that have Red Gyms, but no room (due to low Prestige) to assign one of my Pokemon. Some of these Gyms are at crazy levels; I saw a Level 6 Gym today. Someone pointed out that Gym levels should return to normal after the initial hype has died down, and we may be able to take some. It's too bad I haven't run across a Neutral (unclaimed) Gym yet.

As far as capturing goes, time your throw so that the colored circle is at its smallest point, not only will your chance of capture be better, but you might get a small XP bonus (with a word such as "Nice!") when you do it.

[ExedExes]

Today I held a Neutral Gym for all of 5 minutes.

I dropped off my Raticate and left, and then came back in the other direction and saw Blue Team take it over with a Pidgeot. This game gets fierce fast!