Copperman - Pokémon Go!: the ultimate unauthorized guide

The summer of 2016 will always be known as the summer of Pokmon GO

July 6, 2016, began much like any other day for most people in the United States, New Zealand, and Australia, but within hours people went from casually checking their phones for messages and playing the occasional game to walking around holding out their phones and shouting excitedly. Of course, were talking about the day Pokmon GO launched in three countries and rolled out over the next few weeks to take over the world.

Some fans had been eagerly awaiting the game for months, while it took others completely by surprise. As for me, I was hosting a family barbecue when my nephews showed up from New York City. They apologized for being late, but they had been out chasing Pokmon in Central Park and couldnt tear themselves away.

My entire family was instantly hooked, and as we walked the dog through our small suburban town in Connecticut, chasing down Pokmon, we were excited and surprised to find other people playing. We didnt realize those first few days how huge this game was becoming. We approached complete strangers to share screenshots, tips, and favorite locations, letting down our guard with each other because we instantly had all discovered something amazing together: a secret app that connected a virtual game to the real world.

I never expected to spend my seventy-ninth birthday walking around New York City with my eighteen-year-old grandson chasing Pokmon, but it was a fun experience. I like having the app and talking to people about the game, and its a fun way to connect with all of my grandchildren.RSC37

As we leveled up, our batteries died, and we ate through our cellular bandwidth that first weekend, we fine-tuned the way we played to work within the limitations of the game. I carried an external battery pack and added two gigs of extra data to my cellular plan to be sure our family of four could catch em all whenever and wherever we wanted. By the end of the weekend, Pokmon GO had caught the worlds attention.

The day the game launched in Tokyo must have been the day the productivity of the city dropped to a record low. Groups of salarymen in black suits would stop in the middle of the road to play, and all the while they made sure not to make eye contact with fellow Pokmon GO players. DevOSM

Soon, everyone was talking about ARAugmented Reality. Some hated it, saying we were all walking around like zombies, staring at our phones instead of the world in front of us. They had a pointpeople were walking into traffic, falling into water, and even falling off cliffs because they were watching their screens. But the zombie part? Thats all wrong. When have you ever seen an excited, enthusiastic zombie? Many more people embraced the game completely, but you didnt hear as much about that part in the news because all those happy people were too busy playing the game, rather than writing about their love of it.

When I was in London, a week after it launched, I saw a grandmother and her grandson playing the game while they were buying dessert and speaking Chinese. I then proceeded to catch the Gastly that the grandson-grandmother duo was throwing Pok Balls at gleefully.Acop42

Within the first five days of its U.S. launch, players were already spending more time on Pokmon GO than Twitter or Facebook. Pokmons servers couldnt keep up, and the app kept crashing, often in the middle of a major catch, hatch, or battle, causing each to be lost forever. There were days servers were down for hours as the developers worked hard to keep up with demand and fix bugs, yet they continued to roll the app out as planned, spreading joy and Pokmon throughout PokStops worldwide.

When I discovered I was living in a PokStop, it worried me, as I didnt know exactly what sort of people and how many of them would be standing on my front step. So far I have seen a sufficient number of players outside my house, but it has yet to become overwhelming.1AndPeggy

As time went on, bugs were fixed, and we all played on. The game has woven itself into our lifestyle in many ways with people economizing their bandwidth and battery life and continuing to figure out how to use the app in the real world. Of course, thats what all of us try to do: We stay off private property, and we respect the wishes of locations where owners ask players to use the app respectfully in accordance with local rules. We play quietly in the library. We never play at school or in houses of worship, and never while driving or riding a bike. Even if we need a little reminder now and then.

I have been following the game through production since its appearance at E3. I downloaded it around 4 A.M. the day it launched!
DroptheSammer

Which brings us to the purpose of this book. Whether youre a newbie, a seasoned player looking to get to the next level, or someone in between, weve pulled together tons of tips, tricks, secrets, and hacks to level up your Pokmon GO skills and help you evolve into a master player.

The plural of Pokmon is Pokmon!

You most likely skipped over the app description in your rush to download it and start catching, but after playing for a while, you may stop to ask yourself: What does it mean? Whats all this catching, evolving, and fighting for, anyway? And to you, we provide the answers, in the form of the apps description and introduction. Take a moment to read it now Well wait