Our man hunts down Pokemon Go diehards as the world goes mad for the augmented reality game
Pokémon Go has been a monster worldwide hit, but what is it about the game that has everyone hooked?
POKEMANIA is sweeping the world, with fans everywhere staring at their smartphones in a frantic search for virtual monsters.
There was chaos in Madrid, Spain, on Thursday when up to 7,000 Pokémon Go players descended on the city’s Puerta del Sol for a record-breaking Pokémon hunt.
The “augmented reality” game has been a monster worldwide hit, already rivalling social media giant Twitter for the number of users and adding billions to the value of co-creator Nintendo.
But desperate devotees have also been putting themselves in danger — as our reports on the right show.
So what is it about the game that has got everyone hooked?
The aim is to capture the different virtual beasts which appear when players, aka “trainers”, move around in the real world using their smartphone’s GPS system to track their movements.
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There are 151 Pokémon characters but not all have been released for the game and some are continent specific.
When the creatures pop up the device’s camera makes it look like they are really there — up a tree, on a supermarket shelf, perched on a toilet.
So I set off around the UK to meet dedicated trainers while trying to catch Pikachu, Eevee and co.
Here is my diary of life Pokém-On The Road with a running total of miles travelled and monsters caught.
DAY ONE
After downloading the free-to-play app, I try to catch my first monster, but they keep running off.
For help, I head to Holland Park, West London, an area popular with trainers because fiery Charmander can be found there.
Matt Ditchburn, 25, shows me the technique of flicking Pokéballs to catch monsters.
Warehouse manager Matt, from High Wycombe, Bucks, admits: “My girlfriend caught a Dragonite.
“I acted like I was pleased for her but the jealousy was almost too much to bear.”
Labourer Tyrone Morgan, 29, of Southwark, is spending his lunch hour searching for Pikachu.
He says: “Every night my girlfriend and I look for Pokémon in a different part of London.”
Pokémon caught: 5
Miles travelled: 10
DAY TWO
Lapras, a rare sea Pokémon that looks a bit like a blue turtle, has been spotted in Blackpool.
It makes sense. After all it is a water-type Pokémon.
So I race up to the Lancashire seaside resort, but by the time I get there the Lapras is long gone, although I do manage to track down a few bird and fish monsters.
As I’m capturing a Krabby, I bump into a family of Pokémaniacs from Bolton who say playing the game has hijacked their holiday.
Grandmother Elaine Brown, 53, who has bagged 65 different Pokemon, tells me: “My grandson Joel is really envious of my Pikachu and all my friends are jealous as well!”
Pokémon caught: 19
Miles travelled: 236
DAY THREE
Looking for more rock-type Pokémon I head to White Scar Caves in Ingleton, in the Yorkshire Dales. It would be their natural terrain, after all.
Pulling on a protective helmet, I make my way deep underground and bag a cave-dwelling Zubat.
I would love to capture more but my 3G signal gives out.
Cave manager John Connaughton, 55, who lives locally, says: “We’ve had visitors and staff playing the game for weeks now, it’s constant.
“Word has clearly got around that this is a good place to catch monsters.”
As I’m leaving I find a rare Pokémon Go egg — these are things you keep hold of and which will “hatch” after you’ve walked a certain distance.
Later, after doing a few laps around Old Trafford football stadium in Manchester, the egg finally cracks open and I’m delighted to find a Squirtle inside.
Pokémon caught: 35
Miles travelled: 332
DAY FOUR
It’s time to get to grips with Gym battles, where the beasts you have captured scrap with others.
Fortunately I’m helped by Sophia Pedrazza, who this week launched a career as Britain’s first professional Pokémon player, building accounts to high levels before selling them on.
The 26-year-old from North London now plans to set up an Uber-style taxi service to drive gamers around.
She helps me and my Hypno battle.
And, even better, we win.
Sophia also suggests I try looking for ghost Pokémon at night, so I head to Herefordshire and join a gang of gamers in Ross-on-Wye, braving the dark to boost their monster count.
Astra Pagan, 23, and her boyfriend Daryl Cockerill, 27, have been using Facebook to organise late-night meet-ups with their pals.
Astra, a housekeeper, says: “Every evening our friends are out catching Pokémon and knocking back energy drinks to stay awake.”
Pokémon caught: 57
Miles travelled: 631
DAY FIVE
News reaches me that electronics repairman Sam Clark, 32, has become the world’s foremost Pokémon trainer.
Not only has the married dad-of-four from Southampton caught all 142 Pokemon currently available in the UK, but by hatching more beasts from in-game eggs he also has Tauros and Farfetch’d, usually only found in North America and Asia, respectively.
Sam says: “It’s been a huge task. I’ve walked the equivalent of five marathons in the last few weeks looking for Pokemon, and lost two stone.
“Now I need to get to Australia to catch regional-exclusive Kangaskhan.”
He suggests I try Edinburgh Zoo, which was revealed as Scotland’s best attraction for catching the beasts.
I hop on a plane and after a short flight the tip pays off when I spot ape Pokémon Mankey.
At the penguin exhibit I show them my Tentacool and they’re sufficiently interested to put down their fish and waddle over for a look.
But the hulking rhino seems less keen on looking at my Rhydon, choosing to relieve himself instead.
Still the joke’s on him because I’m having a Poké ball.
Pokémon caught: 80
Miles travelled: 1,142
Gamers spark rescue alert
By Shanti Das
SIX teenagers triggered a sea rescue alert when they were spoted playing Pokémon Go on a derelict pier.
The group were in danger of being cut off by the rising tide with night falling.
The local RNLI lifeboat, police and fire brigade were all scrambled to Birnbeck Pier in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, just before 9pm on Thursday.
As the lifeboat launched, two of the teenagers were spotted wading back across a shingle bank to the shore, with the water rapidly rising to chest height.
The others made it back to the shore along the pier’s dangerous walkway, part of which collapsed into the Bristol Channel last year.
Miraculously, they all made it back to dry land without injury.
Asked what they had been doing, they said: “Trying to catch Pokémon.”
RNLI crew member Chris Lyons said: “Putting your life in danger trying to catch Pokémon is extremely irresponsible.
"In Weston the tide comes in so quickly that in seconds you can be in life-threatening danger.
“If you do see a Pokémon on the rocks or muddy areas of Weston Bay don’t put yourself into a position where you could get stuck.”
Bike cops join beast search
By Ben Perrin
THIS picture captures the moment two cops cycled up to a gang of Pokémon Go players – and joined in.
The police community support officers (PCSOs) were on patrol when they heard there was a rare Bulbasaur nearby and stopped to try to catch it along with locals.
The officers spent about ten minutes chatting to players in Victoria Park, Portsmouth – an area known locally as a hotspot for the virtual beasts.
Care worker Connor Paul, 24, who took this photograph, said: “Although this picture doesn’t show it there were a lot of people there.
“At first I thought the officers were going to cycle through but they stopped when they heard there was a Bulbasaur nearby.
“They got out their phones and started looking for it too.
"They were really friendly, playing and chatting. They left smiling, so I guess they got the Pokémon they wanted.
“Initially a lot of people saw them coming over and thought they were there to monitor people, but it turned out they play too.”
A Hampshire Constabulary spokeswoman said: “We encourage our officers to engage with those within our communities and to get out and about and talk to people.”
Driver 'played behind wheel'
By Chris Adams
A SHOCKED Uber passenger watched his driver trying to catch Pokémon Go monsters while behind the wheel.
Chef Paul Mohammad was travelling from Haringey to Bounds Green, in North London, when he noticed the man with the gaming app on his phone.
Video footage from the back seat of the car appears to show the device, fixed to a hands-free station, with the Pokémon version of a street map on display.
Although it doesn’t show the driver touching the phone, Paul said there were times during the 20-minute journey where he used one hand to touch the screen.
Paul, 22, said: “I was surprised to say the least.
“Obviously it’s popular but I didn’t expect a driver to be playing it while he’s on the road.
“He was actually collecting Pokémon as he was driving . . . You could even hear the background music coming from the phone.
"He was swiping the screen and definitely playing it.”
Uber said it had not received any formal feedback following the journey, at 6pm on Wednesday.
A spokesman said: “We take any allegation of distracted driving very seriously.”