Following on from my colleague Matt’s introduction to Pokemon Go in the Huddersfield area and the health benefits the game can provide under normal circumstances, I will talk about tips current players of game can do to keep playing and respect the current social distance guidelines / daily exercise guidance from the government. This blog post will make a lot more sense to existing players of the game, however hopefully all can follow along.
There has been an interesting upturn in the weather (at the time of typing) to coenside with the governments co-vid advice/orders depending on how you look at it.
So the question is, does this mean that this community has to cease and desist?
No, with these tips, you can play and keep yourself and your loved ones safe.
Within this climate, news articles are emphasising the point that travelling by car, to go to an exercise location is not classed as essential, so when you go to do your daily exercise, it needs to start and end at the door of your accommodation. I would set yourselves a time limit on your walk to 60 minutes, to get the the goal you have set yourself, before resting, (sending out the gifts you have collected to your in game friends) then heading back home, spinning as you go.
I am lucky, as I am only a few minutes away from a park, so on my route, I am able to hit 28 poke stops and 5 to 6 gyms. It may sound like a small amount of time in the day, but these are extrodinary times and we all have to make sacrifices. You can also vary the time when you go out, even enjoy the extra time in bed, when you wake up, unless your a key worker.
The time I have given can be extended if you are going for your essential shop straight after or during the walking time.
Due to social distancing guidelines/orders, I would try and keep to the 2 metre guidelines on your walk. I have seen 1 to 2 other pokemon trainers on my walks, I have stopped to talk for a few minutes but kept ‘insert household cleaning device here’ distance away. Anyone else I have seen, I have moved to the edge of the path or gone onto the grass to keep the gap as big as I can. The less there are on the walk the easier it is to do this.
This section shall be known as the ‘lean’ mode.
Before you head out on your ‘walk,’ you can plan the route based on how many stops and gyms you can spin or take out. (If you do that, see if you can do some stretches, one armed push ups or walk in a circle to maintain the ‘exercise’) Whilst you are preparing, you may want to check your item inventory, as you will need space to receive the items from those stops.
Everyone is different in how they play, though around 200 free slots would be enough to not worry about running out of space. Once this is done head out, keeping as alert as a Watchog to your surroundings.
If you do come across a raid, you can do it, but is is not recommenced. Solo raids are better but even that is pushing it, keeping moving is the key depending on the raid location. Same goes for trading, if you do see a trading partner, talk for a few mins, keeping to the social distancing policy and do the trade at the same time. (It would be rude to ignore them, plus it would be a different voice to the people you live with.)
It would need to be a random meeting as arranging to meet up would be seen as bad.
Once you have returned to your accommodation, then unless you have essential shopping to do, then taking out the trubbish or using your outdoor space, that is you done for the day. The rest of the time in the game is spent battling other trainers, sending and receiving gifts and completing the tasks.
This section is dubbed ‘home’ play.
So, a few weeks ago, an offer in game was 1 coin for 30 incense. The incense allows you to lure Pokemon to your home, allowing you to play safely without leaving the house. Hopefully this offer was taken up, unless you had lots to begin with. From these you can spend an hour catching the 40 to 60 Pokemon that spawn from its activation. This can be made more efficient if you have either the poke ball plus or a ‘gotcha’ watch. These devices only work if you have poke balls in your item bag and a Bluetooth connected phone.
As spending time on the game can be a Luxray for some, so for those who are working from home, you can connect the ball to your phone, activate the incense, then place the ball in your hand and when it vibrates, press the button on top to tell it to throw the ball at the Pokemon, if you need both hands for work, the you can place it between the door of a draw or cupboard and leave it to catch Pokemon on its own. The ‘gotcha’ watch does the same thing but it is automatic, no Pinsir required. Please note that these are not 100% guaranteed catches.
Inventory example, just don’t get krabby about it.
I am aware that everyone is different in the way they play and have different ideas on how to stock their item bag, at this time the more you can do at home, the better. You can have any number in your item bag, the more capacity the more items you can have.
Before heading out, I would aim to have in my bag:
- 30x All potions (Number depends on how many gyms you plan on beating up)
- 50x All revives (Number depends on level, over 20 then dump revives and keep the max ones)
In addition:
- Keep your lucky eggs, star pieces incubators and incense as they currently are.
- For PVP players, use the TM’s. Everbody else can use or trash them.
- For the rare candy and lure modules, use up if you have low capactiy.
- Passes keep and if you really want to get rid of them, then use in the premium PVP battles.
- Berries keep at your current levels except the nanab which can be binned.
- Evolution items can be kept at there current levels
- Keep all balls as they will be needed unless you have plenty to start with.
This was harder that I anticipated, but as long as we do not Wailmer each other and Toxicroak key workers. We can do our bit by keeping our Snorlaxes at bay and Corsola each other in this time of need.
1 Comment. Leave new
A lot of thought must have gone into this Blog Michael, if only I understood everything, it would mean so much more. But I get the idea, you can get exercise while playing the game.