First released in 2016,Pokemon GOis an augmented reality mobile game developed and published by Niantic in collaboration with Nintendo in which players are able to find and catch Pokemon based on their location data in the real world. Marketed as a way to get people up off of their couches and out into the sunshine,Pokemon GOdelivers on the promise of putting players in the shoes of actual Pokemon trainers and allowing them to share in the spirit of discovery and the triumph of catching them all.
One of the hottest topics in forums and discussion boards aroundthePokemonfranchiseis shiny hunting, which is just finding and catching shiny iterations or rare variants of Pokemon that are colored differently from all the available Pokemon in any given game. Though these shiny Pokemon do not serve any other gameplay function, nor do they offer any sort of advantage in battle, players are still eager to hunt down as many of these Pokemon as possible and catch them.
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The chances to encounter ashiny Pokemon inPokemon GOvary depending on different circumstances, but average at around a 1 in 500 chance, or about 0.2%, which, for a game that requires players to physically move to different locations to encounter the Pokemon, is quite low. However, sometimes players get lucky despite the odds. Redditor GhostlyInstincts points out that their sister has only been playing the game for 10 minutes and has already encountered and caught a shiny Meowth. Players in the comments offer condolences and warnings that after such early success, shiny hunting is sure to be more of a frustrating challenge in the future.
Stories about shiny hunting for hours and hours on end float around the internet, full of sarcastic and bitter comments about unfair odds, bleak and unfortunate futures full of similar experiences, and promises to never again be caught in such a spiral of despair. So, when a fellow player boasts about finding ashiny Pokemonvery quickly, some gamers often do not take to it too kindly, remembering their own horror stories of walking around the same three pieces of long grass for hours.
In a way, shiny Pokemon add an interesting element to a game in which rare finds and hunting for and collecting specific creatures play a central role, augmenting the game’s collecting mechanic to add an extra layer. Thoughsome Pokemon are harder to findthan others, players still yearn for more interesting ways to add to their collections and compare them with their friends.
The main game ofPokemon GOmight not lose much by eliminating shiny Pokemon, but players find such joy in the achievement of catching them that it makes sense to leave it as a feature. Shiny hunting brings players together in a world in which Pokemon exist, albeit in augmented virtual reality.
Pokemon GOis available on Android and iOS.
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