The Complete Guide to Pokémon Go

By now, you must be familiar with Pokémon GO, the latest Pokémon game that uses VR and real-world locations to send players on an IRL quest to catch Pokémon. But considering it’s a global phenomenon, Pokémon GO is lacking in beginner instruction. This may be on purpose – it has a huge social element, and fewer instructions means more people turning to each other for help. But if you’d rather not ask your 10-year-old neighbour for the basics, we’ve put together a beginner’s guide that will answer all your questions about hunting down Pokémon, nabbing items, and sating your desire for world domination by controlling all of your neighbourhood gyms. Pokémon, Pokémon, and more Pokémon How to find Pokémon When you first start the game, you will see three starter…

Pokémon GO has been a runaway success in the UK. It’s the number one game in both the iOS and Google Play app stores, and despite its messy, server-overloaded launch, people just can’t stop tweeting about it, talking about it, and playing it. If you’re interested in the game, consider equipping yourself with these tips before you venture out on your own Poké journey. 1. Avoid all unofficial Pokémon GO apps It’s not long since Pokémon GO debuted on Android, and already there’s a bogus app making the rounds. Security firm Proofpoint discovered an illegitimate Pokémon app that preys on users who sideload it, using DroidJack to gain access to your entire system. So consider this a quick reminder that you should only download the app from the Google Play…

In Pokémon GO, everything from a plaque on the wall to a train station can be part of the game as a PokéStop or a Gym. However, the locations aren’t pre-approved, so if you’re experiencing an unwanted attention either at home or your place of work, you can remove your location. Navigate to the Pokémon GO support page ( Under ‘Gameplay questions’ click on ‘Report an issue with a Gym or PokéStop’ Select ‘Request removal of a PokéStop or Gym’ Fill out the form and hit Submit…

If you’ve been wondering how to find Pikachu, Scyther, Electabuzz, or any other rare Pokémon, you might not have to wait much longer: new crowdsourced maps are teaching players how to find creatures in Pokémon GO. At the time of writing two Pokémon GO maps are available: the first, at Pokecrew.com, zeroes in on your location and begins showing what Pokémon might be nearby (pictured on page 21). Pokémapper (pokemapper.co) also provides a worldwide look at Pokémon locations, but without the sophistication of other sites. So which map should you use? We’d recommend maps that allow you to enter a specific Pokémon name, then show their locations, as well as displaying a quick guide to what’s around you. For that, Pokecrew.com is a good choice as it quickly shows you…

Pokémon GO has taken the world by storm, but there’s one issue plaguing us all and that’s battery life. The game is notorious for draining your battery, even with the battery saving mode turned on, but there is a solution: a battery pack. We’ve teamed up with Tronsmart to give away 20 Presto battery packs to help power your Pokémon GO addiction. The Tronsmart Presto is a 1,200mAh external battery charger with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 that can recharge your iPhone or Android phone when you’re out and about. If you’d like to get your hands on a Tronsmart Presto, go to tinyurl.com/zttrjdc and fill in the entry form (pictured below). You can choose to enter just once by picking one of the options after signing up, or you can…

With the launch of Pokémon GO, it’s not just players but police that ‘gotta catch ‘em all’. Police in O’Fallon, Missouri, believe muggers may have tracked or lured victims through the Pokémon GO mobile game, in which players follow their phones’ directions to real-world places to ‘catch’ Pokémon characters. “The way we believe it was used is you can add a beacon to a PokéStop to lure more players. Apparently they were using the app to locate people standing around in the middle of a parking lot or whatever other location they were in,” O’Fallon Police Department explained on its official Facebook page. Police responded to a report of an armed robbery near an intersection surrounded by shopping malls and vast parking lots. They soon located four suspects in a…