pg-1

We’re not sure we’d call Pokémon GO “broken,” but here’s a list of things we’d like to see addressed anyway.

Two months after the launch of the most popular mobile game ever, we’re still having a blast with Pokémon GO as we scour the Tokyo area to catch as many Pocket Monsters as we can. But it’s human nature to constantly yearn for more, and there’s no truer manifestation of that fundamental part of our species’ psychology than our list of five ways to improve the game.

1. Let us transfer more than one Pokémon at a time to Professor Willow

pg-2

We’ve got to give credit where it’s due, and Niantic hit upon a great idea in letting you trade in your duplicate Pokémon for candy that you can use to evolve the creatures you keep. But while there’s a special satisfaction that comes from the first couple of times you send off a Pidgey to the good professor, we really don’t need to experience it multiple times in a row when we’re organizing our Pocket Monster roster. How much more convenient would it be if we could first select all the Pokémon we want to get rid of, tap the transfer button once, and get a single message summarizing how much candy the transaction brought us?

2. Fewer Gym errors

pg-3

We’re not the only ones who go out for a stroll or bike ride to throw down at Gym, then get there and have an unexplained error lock us out of the fighting festivities, are we? It’s especially frustrating when we make the trip in the middle of the night, with the streets on our way back home as dark as our mood.

3. Let us designate regular members for Gym battles

pg-4

Sure, a certain random element keeps things fun and unpredictable, but we’d really appreciate being able to designate at least one captain to be a constant member of the team.

4. Give us more 10-kilometer eggs

pg-5

With all the ways we try to get out of walking (or at least get extra credit when we do walk), you might have guessed we’d want fewer of the game’s longest-distance class of eggs, but we’re craving more. Like we said, a certain amount of random events are crucial for a fun game, but with 10-kilometer eggs being as rare as they are now, it’s just way too heart-breaking when one cracks open to reveal a lowly Pinsir instead of one of the much cooler possibilities.

We’re not saying Niantic should remove the bug-type dud from the eggs. Just give us more 10-kilometer eggs so we can have something we actually want too (plus, if we’re being honest, we probably could use the exercise).

5. Don’t put Pokémon in places that are off-limits to the public

pg-6

One of the most tauntingly irritating experiences we’ve had with Pokémon GO came when we were out and about near Meiji Jingu Stadium. As we strolled by Tokyo’s oldest baseball arena, we looked down at our phone and noticed a Charmander on the map, but no matter what we did, gates, walls, and other impediments kept us too far away to capture the surprisingly rare fiery reptile.

We realize removing Pokémon from such inaccessible places would be a tall order, but the more progress Niantic can make on this, the fewer headaches there’ll be not just for players, but property owners who won’t have to worry about Pokémon Trainers hopping their fences.

Thankfully, Pokémon GO being a digitally distributed game means that Niantic can tinker with its gameplay whenever it wants to, so we’ll be keeping our fingers crossed that some of our suggested improvements show up in a future update.

Images ©RocketNews24
[ Read in Japanese ]