Pokemon Go thread

[ray245]

I know someone posted about Pokemon Go in the news thread, but I think a dedicated thread would be nice.

Has anyone caught any rare Pokemon? Do you have any interesting Pokemon Go story to share?

[General Zod]

I don't know about rare, but I hatched a Magmar from a 10km egg and I just caught a Tauros earlier.

[Iroscato]

I don't know about rare, but I hatched a Magmar from a 10km egg and I just caught a Tauros earlier.

I hate you so very much. May your corn flakes be ever soggy.

[Iroscato]

Having said that, the second Pokémon I caught on it was an Electabuzz and I've picked a couple other rare-ish critters. I'm quite enjoying the game, I really hope they build on it and add more community features

[General Zod]

I don't know about rare, but I hatched a Magmar from a 10km egg and I just caught a Tauros earlier.

I hate you so very much. May your corn flakes be ever soggy.

Just saying. :v

[Borgholio]

I've found dozens of supposedly rare Pokemon...like Magmar. I've found them at the park with CP 10 and just fed them to my big guy. So far (oddly) the rarest ones for me have been the starter Pokemon. I have exactly two Pikachus, one Bulbasaur and one Squirtle and no Charmanders.

[FaxModem1]

My rarest Pokemon has been an Aerodactyl. But I've seen Pidgeys, Ekans, and Rattatas by the dozens.

[Lagmonster]

Because my son is nine, I'm now 'playing' it with him. All we find are Rattatas and the occasional pidgey or bat-thing. I have a theory that the rats have spread a plague and killed everything else.

[Iroscato]

bat-thing

I'm in something of the same boat tbh. Though there was the time an Electabuzz (pretty damn rare) popped up literally next to me on my second time of booting the game up. I'm not bothered about training them up, I just like collecting.

One other thing of note - dear god, the battery usage!! My phone has a 5000mah battery and will happily last 3 days of normal usage, but this thing will suck it dry in 6-7 hours. Can't even imagine what it's like for mere mortals...

[Borgholio]

About the battery thing, you'll need to enable battery saver. This will turn the screen off if you point the phone at the ground. But yeah even with that it will suck it dry. When we go to the county fair next weekend, the wife wants us to have an external battery pack so we can charge in her purse while we walk around and hatch eggs.

[ArmorPierce]

I was waiting for someone to post a thread on this subject.

I frequent a investing forum and they are all acting like this game and the popularity came out of no where when it was really obvious (at least to myself) that it was going to be huge. They are making comments like "Pokémon was an unsuccessful game that no one could have predicted the current popularity," "Even Nintendo was caught off guard by the popularity as exemplified by server overload," despite the recent statement by Nintendo that they will not revise projections because it's already factored in, which casts doubt on that assertion, and "I doubt you predicted this game's success, the best investors were unable to predict it."

Regarding the game, it's fun, I use it while outside running... I posted this on the investment website so I'll copy and paste it:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ ... ct-limited

In a press release after the market closed on Friday in Japan, the Kyoto-based company said the game’s financial impact will be "limited" and that it is not necessary to revise its annual forecast even after factoring in current conditions. It also said revenue from Pokemon Go Plus, a Nintendo-produced accessory for the game expected to go on sale soon, has already been factored into the current guidance.

The fact that Nintendo has already factored Pokémon Go into its financial projections lends credibility to the fact that the Pokémon Go was not a surprise hit that even Nintendo did not expect as others have been contending.

I'll go ahead and make other predictions regarding the game and mobile gaming in general:

The app will release updates for new 150 pokemon (or possibly less to have some in reserve) annually during spring/summer time to reignite and sustain the hype. They will also continue to add additional features for those who wish to delve deeper into the game. Additionally, Nintendo's Pokémon Go has locked up this mobile space gaming for many years to come, at least 5-10 years, and very feasibly longer.. certainly there will be other hits but I don't see them having the same staying power. There will not be another mobile game as successful for at least many years to come, if ever, and I am inclined to say never in terms of matching popularity. Next space to be filled will be virtual reality, but it will not be as successful... at least not in the immediate years to come. Finally, Pokémon Go and other augmented reality apps will encourage the development and the acceptance of wearables, for example google glasses.

[bilateralrope]

It came out of nowhere for me. But I wasn't paying attention to mobile games or Nintendo, so that doesn't mean anything.

As for the server issues, an online game having server issues around launch is nothing new or surprising. I wouldn't be surprised to find that the cause of a lot of them is the company intentionally providing less server capacity than their estimates predict because its cheaper than accidentally providing too much capacity.

[ArmorPierce]

It came out of nowhere for me. But I wasn't paying attention to mobile games or Nintendo, so that doesn't mean anything.

As for the server issues, an online game having server issues around launch is nothing new or surprising. I wouldn't be surprised to find that the cause of a lot of them is the company intentionally providing less server capacity than their estimates predict because its cheaper than accidentally providing too much capacity.

That is exactly what I was telling them of the server issue!

I don't think I have played a big release game that doesn't have major server issues on release!

But then I had these guys who claim to work in the gaming industry and state that's impossible, games don't have server issues unless they are massively caught by surprise and a gaming company would never under allocate resources for game server capacity because it's very cheap to do while building but incredibly hard to increase after due to the architecture design, hence my reasons for game developers anticipating leveling off of demand after intitial release and management exercising conservative estimates because it's just safer for them does not make sense. I was like wtf?!

[ArmorPierce]

Well I decided to throw down the $100 bucks for the tokens, because why the hell not?

Also because I wanted more egg incubators, one was taking far too long to hatch eggs @_@... and $100 gave me most bang for my buck

[phred]

No clue whats rare or not, but my tutorial critter was a charmander, and my neighborhood seems to be infested with ekans and digglets.

Are any of the pokestops not religious centers? I get pokeballs from a Christian book store, random stuff from the local Mosque, and a 10k egg out of the Kingdom Hall.

What team is everyone on? I just hit 5 and dont know the advantages from joining.

[Borgholio]

Pokestops are anyplace tagged as a place of interested in the game developer's previous game called Ingress. So yeah lots of them are churches but you can find any place of historical or cultural (or even architectural interest). For instance near where I work, there is a pokestop near a small decorative water fountain in an industrial complex, one near a decorative lattice-work entryway for an office building, and so forth. At the local park, one pokestop is a bus stop and one is the welcome sign for a batting cage. Then again, a huge Baptist church near my house has literally about 7 points of interest as pokestops...

Point is, look around.

[ArmorPierce]

Ahhh!!!

I put my phone face down with the ear phones in, I later hear pokemon noise and the sound of *ding* *ding* *ding*.

At first I thought that someone near me must have been playing the game too... then I realized there wasn't anyone around me... I turned over my phone to discover that my phone by being faced down had selected the shop and was repeatedly purchasing items!

Be careful with placing your phone face down especially if you have a lot of tokens!

[Executor32]

It's nice playing it at work, since there are two Pokéstops within 20 meters at a time capsule and a commemorative bench, so I can just sit and collect items every five minutes for most of the workday.

[LadyTevar]

I've been heading out to the WV Capitol Complex and walking a circuit of all the statues and memorials on the grounds. They also have two Gyms there, but I haven't had much luck beating them.

As Borgholio mentioned, Niantic tested the mechanics with a game called Ingress, where two factions would play 'capture the flag' with Portals (yes I know there was more too it, but honestly, that's what it was). Ingress has been up and running for over two years, so the game mechanics got a thorough beta test. It also meant that Ingress players have a unfair advantage as we already know where all the Portals are within driving distance. Amusingly, there's less Pokestops than Portals. One street in Charleston has 10 Portals (memorial signs, wall murals, historical markers), but only 6 Pokestops. You can literally sit down and hit three of them repeatedly, and players drop Lures on those three all day long. Doesn't help hatch eggs, but the ice cream store, the pizza place, and the sports bar are all making mad money. The mall downtown has two stops at opposite ends of the mall, which does help hatch eggs.

[Borgholio]

Yeah my wife noticed that a local food truck is parking next to a pokestop and dropping lure modules to bring people in. And it seems to be working.

[bilateralrope]

I've seen articles about restaurants doing the same thing.

How Restaurants Are Dealing With Pokémon Go Mania. Lots of embedded tweets, so quoting the article will take a lot of work. Basically, spending $10 a day on lures is a very profitable thing for restaurants to do.

The police are also having fun with Pokemon Go:
Pokemon GO: Police urge gamers to stop trying to catch Sandshrew in Darwin police station.

Police announcement on Facebook:

Pokemon Go
The rarest Pokemon of all has been spotted in the Smithfield Police Department processing room: Ditto!
Since it so rare we can only allow a limited number of people in the building to capture it. We put the mainframe computer in the basement to work and came up with a list of random citizens eligible for this rare opportunity. If your name is on the list below, you are one of the lucky folks invited to come to the Police Department for the capture!
<list of names>
This list will be updated periodically, as long as Ditto hangs around!

Wanted Man Caught While Playing Pokemon Go Outside Police Station

Police chief: “I think he was more upset that he had to stop playing the game.”
07/18/2016 06:12 pm ET
David Moye
Reporter, The Huffington Post

A Pokemon Go player who was trying to catch ‘em all ended up getting caught by police.

William Wilcox was arrested Thursday morning for an outstanding arrest warrant after police in Milford, Michigan, saw him playing Pokemon Go outside of the station, which is also a Pokemon gym.

“He made our job much easier for us that day,” Milford Police Chief Thomas Lindberg told Fox2Detroit.com.

Officers said the 24-year-old Wilcox was in pajama pants standing near a flagpole when they recognized him thanks to a rap sheet that includes a 2014 conviction for receiving stolen property, according to The Smoking Gun.

Officials checked records and discovered Wilcox was wanted on a misdemeanor warrant for a failure to appear on a breaking and entering charge.

Wilcox was taken into custody without incident right when he was trying to catch the character at the flagpole.

“He either forgot that he had a warrant out for his arrest or was just ignoring it thinking nothing will happen,” Lindburg told WXYZ TV. “I think he was more upset that he had to stop playing the game.”

Wilcox was released on his own recognizance and is probably playing Pokemon Go until his next court date later this month.

[libertyjim]

Ah yes... Pokémon Go... is kinda annoying to get working on a Samsung (in the sense that it require more anymore effort than usual).
But anyway the pokemon I've got that I think are rare (haven't looked up) are Magneton, an Electrode, a Ryhorn and a Machop. Might have something else rare but can't check atm. Need to update the game and my phone's not compatible with the google play version so I have to somehow update it manually. Going to try to sort today. Will link if it turns out ok.

Also the number of terrible and/or hilarious incidents related to the game is ridiculous. A lot of people going for their Darwin awards.

[Borgholio]

I'm not sure which ones would be considered super rare overall...but as for myself, I've only seen a handful of the starter Pokemon (Squirtle, Pikachu, etc...) so I only have a couple of each. Most of the rare ones I have I actually hatched from eggs or evolved from the basic ones. I have an Exeggcute and a Voltorb, both from eggs...and I found one Koffing when I went to the local county fair. Jolteon and Rhydon I evolved.

[LadyTevar]

I decided to go walking at the WV State Capitol Complex again last night, cause I had a couple eggs that were close to hatching (I'm paying for it today). The center of the Capitol Complex is a large circular walkway with a fountain in the center, and folks are welcome to walk in any time of evening and do a few laps. The circle has 3 Pokestops; a brass Liberty Bell, and two stone heads (Zeus and Hades) over the doorways on into the East and West Wings.
First thing I see when I walk in? Magmar. Took a few balls, but I got him. I start walking the circle, and someone had a Lure on the bell. I had a few Lures, so I dropped them on the heads as I made the circuit, and crack open a Lucky Egg.
An Abra pops up, and runs away. A Ponyta shows up, takes three balls to catch. A Fearow takes four balls. A Slowpoke takes two. Three Meowths show up, but I only get the last one. A Dratini takes five balls, but once I got her I had enough candy to instantly Evolve her.
In between, I'm catching Caterpies, Pidgeys, Evees, Zulbats, and Bulbasaurs. All those under 150CP become candy. The 350+ Evee becomes a 1024 Vapoureon that I rename Undine. I hatch one of the eggs (at the 1k mark), and it's a 130CP Magicarp. I drop two more Lures and keep walking. The Abra shows up again, and again the fucker escapes (I have no luck with them). An Eggsecute takes four balls to catch (my second). A Koffing I catch with one ball. Finally, the other egg hatches: A Drowzy!
There's a Gym near the parking spots at the Capitol, which usually switches between Valor and Mystic. I try my luck, as the first protector is a CP 1100 Volteon, which Undine should be able to take (water v electric). The 1200+ Venusaur kicks my ass, and that of my Volteon (Highwire) and my Flameon (Kistune). Thankfully I have nearly 100 each of Revives and Potions. That's when I call it a night, because only then did I realize how badly I was hurting from all the walking.
Today, I've taken all my normal pain meds, and I'm seriously eyeing the Tramadol. Note to self: when you've been sedentary for most of the summer, walking 2K in 81F is a bad idea. OH, Thanks to the Lucky Egg, I levels to 14, and am halfway to 15

[phred]

only then did I realize how badly I was hurting from all the walking.
Today, I've taken all my normal pain meds, and I'm seriously eyeing the Tramadol.

I have similar issues from a lot more walking around than I'm used to.

Maybe its justmy cheap phone, but the game has a rather sketchy relationship with the GPS. I can sit in one spot by city hall and watch my toon wander around. I basically sit there and try to hit the 5 pokestops in the area as the guy walks in range of them.