Just in case you were thinking we had slipped back to 1997, Pokémon really is back and we couldn’t resist jumping on the bandwagon – there’s such a nice symmetry between Pokémon Go and GO Rentals!
What is Pokémon Go?
In a nutshell, Pokémon is a Nintendo franchise that launched in the 1990s. In Pokémon world, trainers travel the world to catch these a variety ‘monsters’ called Pokémon – they come in all shapes and sizes including rats, dragons and more. Once you catch and train your Pokémon you then use the little critters to fight each other. With us so far? Good good.
The goal of Pokémon, as their slogan suggests is to ‘catch ‘em all’. The more you catch, train and fight to win, the better your rating. Move up to take on the gym leaders and Elite Four and ultimately become a Pokémon Master.
This is all about old school Pokémon so what is this new Pokémon Go all about? Well, the new games is an app for iOS and Android and makes use of real-world elements within the game. Making use of your phones GPS, camera and clock, the game will adjust to your surroundings. If you’re in the park, more bug and grass type creatures will appear. If you’re playing at night, more ghost and fairy type creatures will pop up and so on. When you spot them, you’ve got to catch them and then it’s up to you to train them. Pretty simple stuff but highly addictive.
Why is Pokémon Go so popular?
It seems pretty amazing to think that Pokémon has made a resurgence but they have put together a great combo – a free game that makes use of augmented reality. There’s nothing really like this out there and whilst it’s essentially a giant geo-caching games, Pokémon Go has really brought the fun to this ‘geeky’ past time.
New Zealand has gone pretty crazy for Pokémon Go and you can spot people everywhere glued to their phone trying to track down new Pokémon to train up. This comes with its own hazards – people not looking where they’re going in one of the biggest so keep your eyes peeled out there! If you’ve not downloaded the app yet, give it a try. It’s a cool way of getting out an exploring the surrounding area where you live and work and you never know where your Pokémon hunt will take you.
GO Explore with Pokemon Go
You may be wondering why we’re covering this on our blog and the truth is, we’re all a bit obsessed with the game and we thought it would be fun to write about it. We’re also quite excited by the opportunity to get exploring. Whilst many of us have captured Pokemon near where we live and work, we’re looking forward to heading out this weekend and catching more of these little creatures out and about in New Zealand and seeing what’s out there.
There has never been a better time to get out and GO Explore NZ. Grab a bunch of friends and head out on a New Zealand road trip to find somewhere new and hunt down some new Pokémon to train up and become a Pokémon Master. We’ve had reports from all over the country about some pretty weird and wonderful Pokémon popping up in some pretty awesome places all the way from Cape Reinga to Milford Sound. Track down some of these elusive Pokémon and get out this weekend exploring!
If you’re looking for some ideas for road trips to take where you can find new Pokémon as well as finding some pretty cool hidden gems in and around New Zealand, check out our GO Explore Trip Planner and get catching!
