“Oh look another Ratatta!”: Whether you are sitting on your couch, visiting a local park, or exploring a sprawling city one thing is for sure… you’ll come across hundreds of Rattata in Pokemon GO. They’re easy to catch and evolving them gives good XP but every time you catch one you will wish it was something else.
Running out of PokeBalls: You’ve just started using an Incense, Pokemon are flocking to your position, you start to catch one, and the ‘no Poke Balls left’ message pops up… You now have two options: run to the nearest PokeStop and hope for some Poke Balls, or spend some real world money. Either way, that Pokemon is gone forever and you’ve wasted precious minutes of Incense use.
You can never have too many portable chargers: Over the past 24 hours Pokemon GO has used 86 percent of my phone’s battery life. Portable chargers are essential for any Pokemon hunt. Bring as many as you can; stuff them in your pockets. You don’t want to be faced with a rare Pokemon when your phone dies miles from home.
bottles of water and a good pair of sneakers are life: Exercise is a huge part of Pokemon GO. You need to walk to find Pokemon, walk to hatch eggs, and walk to find Gyms and PokeStops. All that walking can be tiring. A bottle of water and a good pair of comfy sneakers are your saviours for when you only have a couple of kilometres to go on your 10k egg, or when there is a Gym “just over there”. Comfort and hydration ensure you can hunt for Pokemon all day.
Your phone will almost always lose connection when your facing a rare: Pokemon GO isn’t always the most reliable of apps. Crashes happen but they always seem to be at the most inopportune of moments. Just as you’re lining up your throw to catch a rare Pokemon, the app crashes and you hope it’s still there when you re-open it… but it isn’t. However, don’t let connection problems get you down; there are plenty more Pokemon out there.
the servers won’t let you on during your lunch break: If you are as addicted to Pokemon GO as it seems half the world is, then you will want to spend every spare minute trying to catch them all. Lunch breaks are the perfect time. One hour of uninterrupted time to fill out your Pokedex. You go to open the app but you are met by the all too familiar message, “Our servers are experiencing issues. Please try again later,” so you go back to work.
I never thought I’d hate Candy so much: Since you were little candy has been a source of happiness and a symbol of fun. Now, Pokemon GO has turned it into an image of frustration. You catch 100 Magikarp but you still don’t have enough candies to evolve one into a Gyarados. How?
How have I not walked 2km yet?: 2km eggs give you a good chance of hatching one of the starter Pokemon or a Pikachu. You begin incubating one as you leave home and check back a while later to see you have only walked 1.1km. Make sure you have the app open and are connected to the server or your walking will not count.
Going past a PokeStop too quickly: Travelling by car or by public transport can be a good way to pass more PokeStops and find more Gyms. However, go too quickly and you’ll pass one before you have had the chance to spin the wheel and grab the freebies. The frustration of missing one can be unbearable.
normal animals seem kind of useless now: Public places haven’t changed now that Pokemon GO is out – parks are still places in which people walk dogs. But what is the point of real world animals now that you can catch your very own yellow, electric mouse?
There’s a rare Pokemon nearby, but where?: The ‘nearby Pokemon’ section tells you there is an unknown Pokemon close by. All you know is its basic shape from the grey image you’re given. It is three steps away… apparently, but no matter which way you walk you cannot get any closer. You can’t help but feel Pokemon GO is lying to you.
the sweet sweet pain of transferring the wrong pokemon: You’ve caught another Weedle and you need to transfer it to the professor for that extra candy towards your Beedrill. Without paying much attention you press the ‘transfer’ icon but it is still there and you transferred your starter Pokemon instead. As you stand in a crowded park you try your best not to shout at everything and everyone nearby.
everyone will see a Magmar, but you’ll only catch a pidgey: That moment when you’ve asked your friend what they’ve seen today on their Pokemon hunting travels. They’ve seen five Magmar roaming the streets and nearly caught a Dragonite but all you’ve done is catch another Pidgey.
The Seriousness of These Turf Wars: By now you’ll have seen countless memes about which team is the best in Pokemon GO. The battle for supremacy rages on with Gym battles happening across the world. Red, Blue, or Yellow, which is you team of choice?
you’ll meet some pretty cool people: Whilst trying to become the greatest Pokemon trainer that ever was you may come across a Dragonite; your phone may run out of battery, and you may be able to finally evolve your Gastly but one thing is for sure, you will meet some pretty cool people on your travels.
"Oh look, another Rattata!"
Running out of Poke Balls at the Worst Possible Time
You can never have too many portable chargers.
Bottles of water and a good pair of sneakers are life.
Your phone will almost always lose connection when you're facing a rare.
The servers won't let you on during your lunch break.
"I never thought I'd hate Candy so much."
"How have I not walked 2km yet?"
Going past a PokeStop too quickly.
Normal animals seem kind of useless now.
There's a rare Pokemon nearby, but no matter where you walk, it doesn't get closer
The sweet sweet pain of transferring the wrong Pokemon.
Everyone will see a Magmar, but you'll only catch a Pidgey.
The seriousness of these turf wars.
You'll meet some pretty cool people.
About the author
Tom Hopkins
A Film and English graduate from London who plays far too much FIFA. Playing Games since 1999. Favorite Genres: Third-Person Action, Racing, and Narrative-Driven.