# Pokemon Go Now Available for iPhone and Droid **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 7, 2016, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288 "2016-07-07T04:29:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288/41 "2016-07-10T02:53:55Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Also, you can trade in duplicates for an extra candy of that type. When you have the pokemon’s window open, there should be a “Transfer” button at the bottom, under the map. Hit that and you get rid of the duplicate and get its candy. Thanks, I figured transfer was for trading between players, Thanks to those extra candies I was able to evolve my pidgy and I’m close on geodude and rattata. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288/42 "2016-07-10T03:38:50Z")
> [@Oredigger77](#): > > Thanks, I figured transfer was for trading between players, Thanks to those extra candies I was able to evolve my pidgy and I’m close on geodude and rattata. Watch when you do that, though. Individual pokemon have a combat power that’s independent of their “species”. For example, you can have three Pidgeys with three different CPs. Don’t get rid of your highest-CP duplicate, just the lower-CP ones. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288/43 "2016-07-10T16:46:40Z")
I was too old to have really cared about Pokemon the first time around so forgive me. Are the Pokemon I’ve now captured my friends? Why would I want to power them up? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288/44 "2016-07-10T16:51:30Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Lots of talk on some police pages I belong to. People walking into traffic. Cars stopping in intersections. Calls of suspicious people wandering around private property. It won’t be long before a bad story comes out. But at least kids are outside walking. Oh yeah, there’s no doubt it’s going to get somebody killed pretty soon. Last night I saw a couple of girls _sprinting_ across a parking lot staring at their screens with the game clearly on it. So far the biggest Pokemon Go-related news story I’ve seen though is [this one](http://www.cnet.com/news/woman-playing-pokemon-go-finds-dead-body/), where a girl playing the game happened upon a dead body in a river. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288/45 "2016-07-10T19:29:27Z")
I’m enjoying this game, but the connection issues and battery drain are becoming a problem. I finally found a gym where I could do something and the game ended up locking up before the battle was completely complete. I have no idea if I got credit for whatever that was (or even what credit I was supposed to get), so that was a bummer. I also went for a long walk this morning only to find no progress on my incubating eggs. Also a bummer. This game would be really good if it worked consistently. I’ve noticed better connection when I’m on WiFi, but wandering around town isn’t conducive to staying on WiFi. The one time I’ve used Incense is when I was at home on WiFi and I didn’t have a single pokemon-in-pokeball game freeze. When I’m wandering, I get that glitch all the time. ---
**Author:** ![FlightlessBird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/cdc98d/32.png) [@FlightlessBird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlightlessBird)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288/46 "2016-07-10T21:37:24Z")
> [@sachertorte](#): > > Also, I don’t understand the point of gyms. I think I understand the design and what I’m supposed to do there, but everyone else is so far ahead that it seems pointless to me. As far as I can tell, I have to win to get any benefit from the gyms, but since everyone is much higher level I can’t access any benefit. Am I missing something? I suppose I can just run around and catch more pokemon, but by the time I’m higher level, presumably everyone else will also be higher level. This is my question as well. I can walk out of my house and catch pokemon (and see other people catching them as well), but the gyms I drive to are all controlled by vastly superior pokemon. Even friendly gyms knock out my pokemon. What I’ve figured out how to do: [ol] [li]Catch Pokemon[/li][li]Visit Pokestops[/li][li]Transfer excess Pokemon[/li][li]Power up and Evolve my Pokemon[/li][li]Go to a gym to fight for control[/li][/ol] Am I missing somewhere that I can transfer Pokemon to my friends? What about fighting against my friends? ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2016, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288/47 "2016-07-10T21:43:59Z")
They haven’t added battling or transfers yet ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288/48 "2016-07-11T04:17:46Z")
> [@sachertorte](#): > > Am I right to understand that I’m running around capturing sentient pokemon then forcing them to fight each other? And this isn’t weird or disturbing to anyone? Yes, it’s animated cockfighting aimed at children. Is that a problem? ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288/49 "2016-07-11T05:50:59Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Yes, it’s animated cockfighting aimed at children. Is that a problem? But doesn’t the winner just take the Pokemons from the loser? I mean, no one dies, right? ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288/50 "2016-07-11T05:57:11Z")
Is it better to power up pokemon before evolving them? ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288/51 "2016-07-11T05:58:02Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Lots of talk on some police pages I belong to. People walking into traffic. Cars stopping in intersections. Calls of suspicious people wandering around private property. It won’t be long before a bad story comes out. But at least kids are outside walking. Even worse will be copy cat games where you can track down another player and sneak up and “murder” them with your iPhone ala “The Tenth Victim”. Then it escalates into someone getting pissed off about it and taking you out with a real gun. The GPS game concept has been done before, but not to this level. I shudder to think of how far app developers take it now. Pokemon Go is absolutely brilliant in execution, maybe even revolutionary; it may also wreck civilization as we know it! ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288/52 "2016-07-11T06:02:27Z")
> [@Macca26](#): > > Yes, grass rustling means there’s a pokemon there. If you’re standing right next to a grass rustle and no pokemon will appear, you have a sever error and should restart the game. I often have a pokemon immediately pop up after a game restart as the pokemon has “been there” all along but the communication errors got in the way. No, this isn’t correct. The rustling leaves supposedly mean there is a greater chance of a Pokemon appearing, according to what I’ve seen online. I think this is speculation, and in fact, I don’t think the leaves mean anything. The game will tell you in the bottom right corner what Pokemon are close by and roughly how close they are. I’ve been in an area with rustling leaves everywhere, but the nearest Pokemon were all three “steps” away according to the finder in the bottom right corner. The game seemed to be communicating with the server just fine, and I was able to interact with several Pokestops and watch the order of closest Pokemon shift as I walked around. Nothing appeared when I restarted. (Though I have had that happen when the game clearly WAS having trouble communicating with the servers.) ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288/53 "2016-07-11T06:07:00Z")
I finally made it to Level 5 and was able to fight a couple of battles, which was fun. It took me a while to figure out how to attack (by clicking the enemy Pokemon) and dodge (swiping side to side.) Is there any way to change which attack my Pokemon is using? Also, there doesn’t seem to be any way to heal a Pokemon after a battle besides using in-game objects like potions. But there doesn’t seem to be any reliable way to GET these potions and other healing items. They seem to be very rare at Pokestops and, surprisingly, can’t even be purchased with actual money in the game store. Has anyone solved this problem? ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288/54 "2016-07-11T06:09:10Z")
Oh, boy here we go: > **["Pokemon Go" being used to stage robberies, police say](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/robbery-suspects-using-pokemon-go-to-target-victims-police-say/)** > > Police say four men used the newly-released "Pokemon Go" app to lure potential victims to traps near St. Louis ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288/55 "2016-07-11T06:13:58Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > But doesn’t the winner just take the Pokemons from the loser? I mean, no one dies, right? No and yes. The loser keeps his Pokemon, but they are injured and need to be healed. They “faint” instead of dying. In this version, players don’t actually battle each other. You battle Pokemon other players left to “defend” a gym. If you lose, you keep the Pokemon you started with and earn points. If you win, you earn more points. If you defeat all the Pokemon at a gym, I think you get to leave one of your Pokemon there to defend it, and you get a bonus of some kind. So in a way, you have it backwards. The loser keeps his Pokemon, and the winner gets to leave of hers behind. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288/56 "2016-07-11T06:38:37Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Oh, boy here we go: > > ["Pokemon Go" being used to stage robberies, police say - CBS News](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/robbery-suspects-using-pokemon-go-to-target-victims-police-say/) ROBBER 1: Let’s use this game to attract a lot of people who will all have a device in their hands which can both take our photograph and contact the police instantly. Then we can rob them at gunpoint! ROBBER 2: I’m in! What could possibly go wrong? Frankly, I’m skeptical of everything in that article, up to and including the dateline. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288/57 "2016-07-11T12:45:19Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > I finally made it to Level 5 and was able to fight a couple of battles, which was fun. It took me a while to figure out how to attack (by clicking the enemy Pokemon) and dodge (swiping side to side.) Is there any way to change which attack my Pokemon is using? In sharp contrast to the DS main line of games, Pokemon here know only two moves. There is no PP: your first move can be used infinitely many times. The second move needs to charge up, and that progress is shown by a power-bar beneath the main health bar. When fully charged the second move can be triggered by a long-tap, hold and release move similar to the long push in Ingress for a glyph hack. > [@](#): > > Also, there doesn’t seem to be any way to heal a Pokemon after a battle besides using in-game objects like potions. But there doesn’t seem to be any reliable way to GET these potions and other healing items. They seem to be very rare at Pokestops and, surprisingly, can’t even be purchased with actual money in the game store. Has anyone solved this problem? Visit lots of Pokestops. Also, every level-up event for you results in a goody-bag of more items, which will include Super Potions and Hyper Potions as your level grows. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288/58 "2016-07-11T12:48:35Z")
What level do you have to be to start getting Great Balls? I’ve had two Pokemon run away from me because they wouldn’t stay in the ball. I want my damn Lickitongue! ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288/59 "2016-07-11T13:47:27Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > What level do you have to be to start getting Great Balls? > > I’ve had two Pokemon run away from me because they wouldn’t stay in the ball. > > I want my damn Lickitongue! I think I noticed Great Balls starting in my Level 9 Welcome Kit. Pro tip: feed a Pokemon of a type you’ve already caught at least once a Razzberry, and it will be easier to catch (like using a Repeat Ball in the DS main line games). ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2016, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288/60 "2016-07-11T15:39:55Z")
I had a very productive pokemon morning. My belief that sticking on WiFi creates a more stable connection seems to be true. I run into the biggest problems when my phone switches between WiFi and LTE though. Someone on campus has been setting off lures at two stops that are right next to each other. I camped out there for a while this morning and caught many pokemon all without having to walk or deal with freezes. I found a gym where I was able to do ‘something.’ I lowered the reputation of the gym and got some XP, but then the game started freezing and I left. Gyms don’t seem to be that lucrative, though I didn’t get far enough to take over the gym so I don’t know fully yet. All these gyms are like double my level and have pokemon with 5x my largest CP. I realize now that you ‘attack’ a gym with 6 pokemon, so it favors the attacker. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pokemon-go-now-available-for-iphone-and-droid/759288.md?page=4)