Nintendo and Niantic’s answer to the age-old
“please give us Pokémon
Red and Blue on iOS and Android” is Pokémon
Go , and it has been met with huge success in
countries all around the world. However, the
issue is that the game is only available in select
regions… for the time being. Not to worry, we are
going to show you how to play Pokémon Go ,
irrespective of your country of origin.
Already released in Australia, New Zealand, the
United Kingdom, the United States of America and
slowly releasing across Europe; players here in
South Africa are still without an official release
date and are not yet able to play Pokémon Go .
Having said that, we do have some good news!
You can actually play Pokémon Go today, and
that is where the following article comes into
play.
Please note that readers who follow
the instructions below do so at their own risk,
and Vamers cannot be held liable for any issue
that may occur as a result of following these
instructions.
There are a variety of ways to get and
play Pokémon Go on your mobile device, but the
following instructions will outline the easiest
ways for both Android and iOS. Please note that
the process will require users to have an extra
email address, which is not tied
to Google or Apple (yet).
Play Pokémon Go on iOS
The first of the two mobile operating systems we
will cover will be Apple’s iOS 9 , which is the
current stable release, and also the easier one of
the two to obtain and play Pokémon Go .
1. The first thing you have to do is get that extra
email address. If you are having a hard time
finding one, you can go on over to Google’s
Gmail or Microsoft’s Outlook, and create a new
one with no strings attached (I
recommend Google , as Pokemon integrates
with Google quite nicely).
2. Once you have your new email address, simply
open the App Store on your iOS device. Once
the main page has loaded, scroll down all the
way to the bottom. Tap on your Apple ID and
tap ‘Sign Out’.
3. After you have signed out, simply go on over
to any free app, and attempt to download it. It
should now ask you to either ‘Use an Existing
Apple ID’, or to ‘Create New Apple ID’. Here,
you need to create a brand new Apple ID in
one of the countries where the game is
currently available. In my case, I chose the
United States.
4. During the creation process, be sure to select
“none” on the Billing screen. Then scroll down
and add a public address situated in the
country you chose earlier. The best solution
here is to use an address for a hotel which is
publicly available and can be found
using Google .
5. After you have done this, the App Store should
switch over to the country that you chose
during the creation process. Simply search for
Pokemon Go , and you are set.
6. Remember to sign out with this new account
and sign in again with your real Apple ID after
you have downloaded Pokemon Go , in order to
ensure that your Apple App store switches
back to South Africa.
Play Pokémon Go on Android
On Android, the process can be a little bit trickier,
or easier, depending on your level of expertise
with the mobile operating system. This method
has been tested on Android 4.4 Kitkat , which is
the oldest version of Android that supports the
game.
1. First, you will have to give
your Android device the ability to install and
run third-party, and unsigned applications
from websites outside of the Google Play
Store. You will have to be cautious when
enabling this, as you will now be able to
install unsafe and unreliable apps which can
put your phone and information at risk.
Proceed with caution.
2. To do this, head on over to the Security page
in your device’s settings app, scroll down and
turn on Unknown Sources.
3. Now, you will have to download the Pokemon
Go APK from a reputable website. A
quick Google Search will give you the link to
the Pokemon Go 0.29.0 APK (I have
used APKpure in the past). This is the file that
will install the app onto your device once it is
downloaded. As with any third-party
downloads, only click on the download
button, do not click on anything else, as this
may pose a risk to your device .
4. Click on “ OK” and allow the download to finish
up. Once that is done, select the file from your
Notifications Menu and allow it to install on
your device.
5. When this is done, you can safely turn the
“Unknown Sources ” setting back off, launch
the game using your Google mail address, and
strive to be the best there ever was… by
catching them all!Pokémon (ポケモン Pokemon ? , /ˈpoʊkeɪˌmɒn, -kᵻ-/
POH -kay- MON , POH -ki- MON) [1][2] is a media
franchise managed by The Pokémon Company , a
Japanese consortium between Nintendo , Game Freak
and Creatures .[3] The franchise was created by Satoshi
Tajiri in 1995, [4] and is centered on fictional creatures
called "Pokémon" , which humans, known as Pokémon
Trainers, catch and train to battle each other for sport.
The franchise began as a pair of video games for the
original Game Boy , developed by Game Freak and
published by Nintendo. The franchise now spans
video games, trading card games, animated television
shows and movies, comic books, and toys. Pokémon
is the second-most successful and lucrative video
game-based media franchise in the world, behind only
Nintendo's Mario franchise .[5]
Cumulative sales of the video games (including home
console games, such as Hey You, Pikachu! for the
Nintendo 64 ) have reached more than 200 million
copies. [6] In November 2005, 4Kids Entertainment,
which had managed the non-game related licensing of
Pokémon, announced that it had agreed not to renew
the Pokémon representation agreement. Pokémon USA
Inc. (now The Pokémon Company International), a
subsidiary of Japan's Pokémon Co., now oversees all
Pokémon licensing outside of Asia. [7] As of May 2016,
the Pokémon media franchise has grossed revenues of
¥4.8 trillion worldwide[8] (equivalent to 46.2 billion
USD).
The franchise celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2006.
[9] The twentieth anniversary was celebrated with a
commercial at the 2016 Super Bowl[10] using the
theme: "I can do that". 2016 marks the 20th
anniversary of the release of the original games, with
the company celebrating by airing an ad during Super
Bowl 50, and issuing re-releases of Pokémon Red ,
Blue, and Yellow.[11][12] The mobile augmented reality
game Pokémon Go was released in July 2016.[13] The
next generation games Pokémon Sun and Moon are
expected to be released in November 2016.[14]
Name
The name Pokémon is the romanized contraction of
the Japanese brand Pocket Monsters (ポケ ット モン ス
ター Poketto Mon sutā ? ).[15] The term Pokémon , in
addition to referring to the Pokémon franchise itself,
also collectively refers to the 722 known fictional
species that have made appearances in Pokémon
media as of the release of the sixth generation titles
Pokémon X and Y. "Pokémon" is identical in both the
singular and plural, as is each individual species
name; it is grammatically correct to say "one
Pokémon" and "many Pokémon", as well as "one
Pikachu " and "many Pikachu". [16]
Concept
Tajiri first thought of Pokémon around 1989 or 1990,
when the Game Boy was first released. The concept of
the Pokémon universe, in both the video games and
the general fictional world of Pokémon, stems from the
hobby of insect collecting, a popular pastime which
Pokémon executive director Satoshi Tajiri enjoyed as a
child. [17] Players are designated as Pokémon Trainers
and have two general goals: complete the Pokédex by
collecting all of the available Pokémon species found
in the fictional region where a game takes place, and
train a team of powerful Pokémon from those they
have caught to compete against teams owned by other
Trainers and eventually win the fictional Pokémon
League. These themes of collecting, training, and
battling are present in almost every version of the
Pokémon franchise, including the video games , the
anime and manga series, and the Pokémon Trading
Card Game .
In most incarnations of the fictional Pokémon
universe, a Trainer that encounters a wild Pokémon is
able to capture that Pokémon by throwing a specially
designed, mass-producible spherical tool called a
Poké Ball at it. If the Pokémon is unable to escape the
confines of the Poké Ball, it is officially considered to
be under the ownership of that Trainer. Afterwards, it
will obey whatever its new master commands, unless
the Trainer demonstrates such a lack of experience
that the Pokémon would rather act on its own accord.
Trainers can send out any of their Pokémon to wage
non-lethal battles against other Pokémon; if the
opposing Pokémon is wild, the Trainer can capture
that Pokémon with a Poké Ball, increasing his or her
collection of creatures. Pokémon already owned by
other Trainers cannot be captured, except under
special circumstances in certain games. If a Pokémon
fully defeats an opponent in battle so that the
opponent is knocked out ("faints"), the winning
Pokémon gains experience points and may level up.
When leveling up, the Pokémon's statistics (" stats") of
battling aptitude increase, such as Attack and Speed.
From time to time the Pokémon may also learn new
moves , which are techniques used in battle. In
addition, many species of Pokémon can undergo a
form of metamorphosis and transform into a similar but
stronger species of Pokémon, a process called
evolution.
In the main series, each game's single-player mode
requires the Trainer to raise a team of Pokémon to
defeat many non-player character (NPC) Trainers and
their Pokémon. Each game lays out a somewhat linear
path through a specific region of the Pokémon world
for the Trainer to journey through, completing events
and battling opponents along the way (including
foiling the plans of a Team of Pokémon Trainers who
serve as antagonists to the player). Each game
features eight especially powerful Trainers, referred to
as Gym Leaders, that the Trainer must defeat in order
to progress. As a reward, the Trainer receives a Gym
Badge, and once all eight badges are collected, that
Trainer is eligible to challenge the region's Pokémon
League, where four immensely talented trainers
(referred to collectively as the " Elite Four") challenge
the Trainer to four Pokémon battles in succession. If
the trainer can overcome this gauntlet, he or she must
then challenge the Regional Champion, the master
Trainer who had previously defeated the Elite Four.
Any Trainer who wins this last battle becomes the
new champion.
Video games
Main article: Pokémon (video game series)
Generations
The original Pokémon games were role-playing games
(RPGs) with an element of strategy, and were created
by Satoshi Tajiri for the Game Boy . These RPGs, and
their sequels, remakes, and English language
translations, are still considered the "main" Pokémon
games, and the games which most fans of the series
are referring to when they use the term "Pokémon
games". All of the licensed Pokémon properties
overseen by The Pokémon Company International are
divided roughly by generation. These generations are
roughly chronological divisions by release; every
several years, when an official sequel in the main RPG
series is released that features new Pokémon,
characters, and gameplay concepts, that sequel is
considered the start of a new generation of the
franchise. The main games and their spin-offs, the
anime, manga, and trading card game are all updated
with the new Pokémon properties each time a new
generation begins. The franchise began the sixth
generation on October 12, 2013.
A rival battle between a
Bulbasaur and a
Charmander in Pokémon
Red and Blue[18]
The Pokémon franchise started off in its first
generation with its initial release of Pocket Monsters
Aka and Midori ("Red" and "Green", respectively) for
the Game Boy in Japan. When these games proved
extremely popular, an enhanced Ao (" Blue") version
was released sometime after, and the Ao version was
reprogrammed as Pokémon Red and Blue for
international release. The games launched in the
United States on September 30, 1998. The original Aka
and Midori versions were never released outside
Japan. [19] Afterwards, a further enhanced version
titled Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition was
released to partially take advantage of the color
palette of the Game Boy Color , as well as to feature
more elements from the popular Pokémon anime. This
first generation of games introduced the original 151
species of Pokémon, in National Pokédex order,
encompassing all Pokémon from Bulbasaur to Mew. It
also introduced the basic game concepts of capturing,
training, battling, and trading Pokémon with both
computer and human players. These versions of the
games take place within the fictional Kanto region,
inspired by the real world Kantō region of Japan,
though the name "Kanto" was not used until the
second generation.
The second generation of Pokémon began in 1999 with
the release of Pokémon Gold and Silver for Game Boy
Color. Like the previous generation, an enhanced
version titled Pokémon Crystal was later released. The
second generation introduced 100 new species of
Pokémon, starting with Chikorita and ending with
Celebi . It totaled 251 Pokémon to collect, train, and
battle, set in Johto, inspired by Japan's Kansai region .
The Pokémon mini is a handheld game console
released in November 2001 in North America,
December 2001 in Japan, and 2002 in Europe.
Pokémon entered its third generation with the 2002
release of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire for Game Boy
Advance and continued with the Game Boy Advance
remakes of Pokémon Red and Blue, Pokémon FireRed
and LeafGreen , and an enhanced version of Pokémon
Ruby and Sapphire titled Pokémon Emerald . The third
generation introduced 135 new Pokémon, starting with
Treecko and ending with Deoxys, for a total of 386
species. It is set in Hoenn , inspired by Japan's
Kyushu region. However, this generation also
garnered some criticism for leaving out several
gameplay features, including the day-and-night
system introduced in the previous generation. It was
also the first installment that encouraged the player to
collect merely a selected assortment of the total
number of Pokémon rather than every existing
species. By contrast, 202 out of 386 species are
catchable in the Ruby and Sapphire versions.
In 2006, Japan began the fourth generation of the
franchise with the release of Pokémon Diamond and
Pearl for Nintendo DS. The fourth generation
introduced another 107 new species of Pokémon,
starting with Turtwig and ending with Arceus , bringing
the total of Pokémon species to 493.[20] The Nintendo
DS "touch screen" allows new features to the game
such as cooking poffins with the stylus and using the
"Pokétch". New gameplay concepts include a
restructured move -classification system, online
multiplayer trading and battling via Nintendo Wi-Fi
Connection , the return and expansion of the second
generation's day-and-night system, the expansion of
the third generation's Pokémon Contests into "Super
Contests", and the new region of Sinnoh . This region
was inspired by Japan's Hokkaido region and part of
Russia's Sakhalin , and has an underground component
for multiplayer gameplay in addition to the main
overworld. Pokémon Platinum, the enhanced version
of Diamond and Pearl—much like Pokémon Yellow ,
Crystal , and Emerald—was released in September 2008
in Japan, March 2009 in North America, and May 2009
in Australia and Europe. Spin-off titles in the fourth
generation include the Pokémon Stadium follow-up
Pokémon Battle Revolution for Wii , which has Wi-Fi
connectivity as well. [21] Nintendo announced in May
2009 that enhanced remakes of Pokémon Gold and
Silver , entitled Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver,
would be released for the Nintendo DS system.
HeartGold and SoulSilver are set in the Johto region
and were released in September 2009 in Japan. [22]
The fifth generation of Pokémon began on September
18, 2010, with the release of Pokémon Black and White
in Japan for Nintendo DS. [23] The games were
originally announced by the Pokémon Company on
January 29, 2010, with a tentative release later that
year .[24][25] The final release date of September 18
was announced on June 27, 2010.[26] This version is
set in the Unova region (イッシュ地方 Isshu-chihō ? ,
Isshu region), inspired by New York City, and utilizes
the Nintendo DS's 3-D rendering capabilities to a
greater extent than Platinum , HeartGold, and
SoulSilver , as shown in game footage of the player
walking through the Castelia City (ヒウンシティ Hiun
Shiti ? ) metropolis. A total of 156 new Pokémon were
introduced, starting with Victini and ending with
Genesect , bringing the franchise's total to 649. [27] It
also deployed new game mechanics such as the C
Gear (Cギア C Gia ? ) wireless interactivity features [28]
and the ability to upload game data to the Internet
and to the player's own computer. [29] Pokémon Black
and White was released in Europe on March 4, 2011, in
North America on March 6, 2011, and in Australia on
March 10, 2011. On June 23, 2012, Nintendo released
Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2 in Japan for
Nintendo DS, with early October releases in North
America and Europe. Black 2 and White 2 are sequels
to Black and White, with several events in the second
games referencing events in the first; they also allow
players to link their previous Black or White with their
Black 2 or White 2, introducing several events based
on how they played their previous game.
Officially announced on January 8, 2013, and released
simultaneously worldwide on October 12, 2013,
Pokémon X and Y for the Nintendo 3DS are part of the
sixth generation of games. [30] Introducing the France-
inspired Kalos region, these are the first Pokémon
games rendered in 3D, and the first released
worldwide together. [31] On May 7, 2014, Nintendo
announced remakes of the third generation games
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire titled Pokémon Omega
Ruby and Alpha Sapphire which were released in
Japan, North America, Australia, and South Korea on
November 21, 2014, and in Europe on November 28,
2014.
