Pokémon GO might be one of the most remarkable things to happen to the video games industry in a long, long time. Nintendo, Niantic and The Pokémon Company are riding on a wave that doesn’t seem to be setting any time soon. The game has seemingly turned Pokémon into reality, and that’s all anyone ever really wanted, wasn’t it? If you’re just jumping onto the bandwagon as the game rolls out worldwide, here’s how you go about catching your favourite pocket monsters.
When you start the game off, you’ll get to choose between the most classic trio of starter Pokémon ever: Charmander, Bulbasaur and Squirtle. Pick one, and you’ll begin an encounter with them. What you need to do in a Pokémon encounter is to throw your PokéBall (seen in the lower corner of the screen) by holding it down and swiping it towards the Pokémon. Get it right, and the Pokémon will be caught in the ball.
There’s more, though. Two circles appear around the Pokémon while you try to get the perfect shot. The coloured circle shows you how easy the Pokémon is to catch, with green being ‘easy’, yellow being ‘medium’ and red being ‘hard’. A second, white circle will get smaller and smaller, closing in on the Pokémon. If you throw your PokéBall when the circle is at its smallest, you’ll have the highest chance of catching the Pokémon.
As you walk around the world of Pokémon GO (which is your real world), you’ll find rustling grass. This means that a Pokémon is located there. Head over, and you’ll one of the critters just waiting to be caught. You can also see which Pokémon are available in your vicinity by tapping the little grey bar to the lower-right corner of the screen. The number of footprints below the Pokémon listed indicate how far away that Pokémon is, with 0 footprints meaning the Pokémon is close to you, and 3 footprints indicating it’s at a distance.
If you’re looking for Pokémon, keep in mind that weather conditions, your current time and your location can affect what Pokémon you find in Pokémon GO. Water Pokémon will famously be available only near rivers, oceans and other water bodies. Clefairys and Gastlys are known to be out and about in the night.
Got more advice for budding trainers? Let us know in the comments below.