Help! with Pokemon GO

[BreezyPonie]

Just yesterday, for my 15th birthday I received my very first phone : D It was a hand-me-down of sorts from my mom, and since my family is wary of spending money we opted not to get 3G or 4G or anything like that (basically, no internet anywhere but my house), which is fine for me since most things I need internet for I figure I can do with my laptop.

However, one of the first things I did was download Pokemon GO! At first, I was having a ton of fun, catching my very own Bulbasaur and Ekans in my own backyard (still within range of my house's internet.) However, as I explored the neighborhood I found that I was unable to see any other Pokemon, even though I'd walked around for about an hour. Occasionally I'd see leaf particles pop up in certain areas, but they were all on private properties and as such I was unable to interact with them (without getting shot by my neighbors o_o").

My hypothesis is that the leaf patches are places where I would be able to battle Pokemon, but that I can't because I don't have internet. However, my trainer walks around on the map just fine, and the Pokemon's locations relative to me on the tracker still show up (if I move to different locations some Pokemon will move further or behind on the tracker).

tl;dr: Do I need internet (3G, 4G, whatever) to be able to catch the Pokemon in Pokemon GO? Or am I just a bad player? Or both XD I'm sorry if this question sounds silly or stupid, I have had no experience with anything beyond a basic flip phone until just this morning.

Thank you very much for your help!!

[5hift]

Ok so how finding Pokemon works in this app is basically, there's a tab on the bottom right corner of the screen showing all the Pokemon nearby.

Underneath each Pokemon there are 0-3 little footprints representing how far away that Pokemon is. 3 footprints being far from it, 1 footprint being close and 0 being pretty much within catching range. The large pulsating circle surrounding your trainer is the range in which you can catch Pokemon.

The grassy spots are areas where a Pokemon could potentially appear and are mostly random in where they appear. So do be careful where you go to try and catch Pokemon for it can be pretty risky at times.

However, I believe there is currently a bug where the footprints do not change regardless of how far you are from the Pokemon so that can greatly impair your ability to find them.

Moving on to Internet connection, yes you do need to be connected to the Internet at all times for the app to work. Even when you're catching a Pokemon.

The app needs constant Internet connection to communicate between the Pokemon Go servers and the GPS.

Therefore, you're pretty much screwed if you don't have a data plan.

Considering that Pokemon Go was purposefully designed to have people leave the comforts of their own home to catch Pokemon I don't really see how that's a real issue unless you're physically disabled or something. Then I can understand how it can be rather difficult to be more active in playing the game.

Edited July 26, 2016 by 5hift

[Sonikku]

tl;dr: Do I need internet (3G, 4G, whatever) to be able to catch the Pokemon in Pokemon GO? Or am I just a bad player? Or both XD I'm sorry if this question sounds silly or stupid, I have had no experience with anything beyond a basic flip phone until just this morning.

Thank you very much for your help!!

Nah, there are never any stupid questions. Well, most of the time. You do need internet aka 4g (which is know as mobile data) to play Pokemon go on the go. Data is almost like having wifi in places where there isn't any wifi. Did you get the answer you wanted?

[5hift]

Honestly, I feel a major flaw in this game is it has a really shitty tutorial.

All it really tells you is how to catch the Pokemon when you find it, at first I had no idea how to find new Pokemon until a friend mentioned that footprint thing to me.

[BreezyPonie]

Yup, that answers my question. I'm not physically disabled, I just don't have any 4G stuff ^^"

Well, that sucks D: I was really looking forward to playing. But thanks for letting me know!!

[Maelstrom]

Eh, I have Sprint. When I look at my phone connection I could have 4G, 3G, or LTE at any given moment.

The very basic principle of the game requires that you have internet and GPS connection at all times. As long as you can get the proper GPS going, you should be fine. If the game accurately follows you about as you travel to any place, that is a good sign. The game should work fine for you.

The leaf patches show you where pokemon most often show up. AKA, they show up more often than at other places. They will throw up leaves even when a pokemon is not there but you should still check them on a regular basis.

As 5hift mentioned, the in game radar is completely broken. Even if it weren't.... pokevision.com would be the answer for you. it shows you where pokemon have spawned and for how long they are supposed to be there. Godot and I have tested this site enough to know that

A: the in-app radar is absolute. Close the program and reopen it to be sure. If it doesn't show up, even as broken as it is, it doesn't show up again, it either isn't there or you've already gotten your chance at it.

B. The site is usually accurate, but the actual appearance of a mon could be several meters to the north.If there are any other pokemon in that area according to the site, evaluate the displacement and move accordingly. You will likely find it.

C. If you think you know exactly where a pokemon is... zoom in to max and you will likely find it in a different area if you didn't zoom to max in the first place. Not fully zoomed in areas can put you too far or not far enough to find what you are after.

D. pokevision is a tool. As the common army saying goes, be smarter than the tool you work with. Know the times it could be accurate or inaccurate and adjust accordingly.

E. sometimes, but not often, the time a pokemon shows up on pokevision is on a lag and shows up on the site long after it shows up on your in-game radar. As mentioned above, the in-game radar is always right. This time you have to work with your fellow trainers to find exactly where this mon is.

F. Most people don't care what team you are on. They will ask you what team you are on and be like 'ya' if you are on the same team. But 99.9% of the time they will lead you to the right direction of the mon you are looking for. Most things transcend team alignment.

tl:dr- as long as you have a good enough provider to get you accurate gps as you walk, you will be able to enjoy this game. Not that many places have pokemon showing up all the time. So it may not necessarily be your service quality but the time and location of your walking.