FollowFamily Fun For All Ages With Pokemon Go
Are you one of those parents wondering, “What in the world is all this excitement about the new Pokemon Go app sweeping the world by storm?” It’s pretty much the hottest thing out right now that kids are begging to play! Did you know this game is so much fun and so addicting, that you could end up as your child’s hero just by suggesting to play together as a family? Seriously!
Just watch in anticipation as you announce that you have planned a family day out for all of you to go on a Pokemon Go Adventure! (Cue the screams and jumping up and down in excitement!)
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Plan Ahead
So how do you go about having a Pokemon Go Family Exploration that everyone will enjoy from the youngest to the oldest? It’s easy! The idea is simple, and I’ll be happy to share it with you!
First, decide if you are taking everyone on a walk or hike, bike ride, or in the car. Yes, you can actually choose any of these methods and still pull off a fabulous scavenger hunt of sorts as you venture out to find wild Pokemon, Poke Stops, and Pokemon Gyms. Once you’ve determined the style of transportation for your Pokemon Exploration, now make sure everyone has fully charged devices (cell phones, tablets) and even a portable charger to bring along if possible.
Pack a backpack with bottled waters for the journey, and wear sunscreen, sunglasses, comfortable shoes, and possibly bug spray for protection if out and about on hiking trails and such. It’s always better to be prepared, so planning ahead for the weather and having something to stay hydrated, plus fully charged devices is a must.
Get Outside
Kids and adults of all ages love the interaction together with the Pokemon Go app! As a family, you get to fill your day with miles of fresh air, beautiful scenery, and lots of smiles. All the while, you’ll be declaring exclamations of extreme joy and helping each other locate rare Pokemon for your Pokedex, finding potions, pokeballs and other rare items, and figuring out how to navigate the map in your neighborhoods or at local attractions.
If you’ve been desperately looking for a way to get your family (especially the kids) eager to go outside in the sunshine and get more fresh air and plenty of exercise each day – then look no further! This is your answer in today’s generation!
This app has given so many people the ability to get their families outside and playing together with their siblings, cousins, friends and parents as they search for Pokemon and aim to get cool and funny pictures of the Pokemon they find.
Some delightful places to visit during your adventure would be a bird sanctuary, local amusement park, neighborhood parks you’ve never gotten to play at before, large fields, hiking trails with streams or lakes nearby, even downtown areas surrounded by shops can be loads of fun (especially for the girls) as wild Pokemon tend to hide just about anywhere and everywhere!
You’ve got some ideas, so now it’s time to get ready to begin your Pokemon Go Family Fun Exploration!
Use The Map
Use the map on the Pokemon Go app and follow along as you travel towards the rustling leaves (hints that a wild Pokemon is hiding there) or watch the number of footprint symbols in the pop up on bottom right of app called “Nearby Pokemon”. The fewer footprints it shows by a Pokemon in your area at that time, the closer they are to your location.
Head in one direction or another until you see those footprints get down to zero. At that point, spin around slowly on your app on the map and see if you can find that particular character appearing as a tiny icon next to your human character on the screen. Once it appears, click on it quickly to engage in battle.
This is how you try to “catch” the Pokemon. The goal is to hold your finger down on the Pokeball at the bottom of the screen and watch the green, yellow, or red circle get smaller and tighter around the character that you are trying to catch. As it shrinks like a target, flick or slide the ball upwards aiming towards the Pokemon’s head to try and capture it.
Some of them will be harder to catch than others. Green is easy, Yellow is medium, and Red is hard. As you progress in the game, you will increase in levels and earn items that will help improve your skills in catching them.
Helping Younger Players
Assigning older siblings (or maybe daddy) to help younger ones when battling a pokemon and trying to catch it can be very useful for building family bonds and making memories during your Pokemon Exploration.
You may even save unnecessary tears on those occasions when one starts popping out of its ball once it’s caught (which happens sometimes with higher level characters). The older sibling can be their brother or sister’s hero by helping do the final catch for them.
Sometimes a character can be harder to catch than usual and may take you several Pokeballs to try and capture it. In those cases, I recommend using the escape or run button at the top left of the screen when engaged in a battle. This immediately takes you out of the battle and you don’t have to waste any more balls trying to capture that one. You can now focus your attention on finding other unique, wild characters in the area.
If your younger child doesn’t have their own device, let them borrow mom or dad’s cell phone or tablet (get a sturdy drop resistant cover on it) and guide them by finding fun ways to enjoy the Pokemon adventure together.
Take them to lots of fun outdoor areas to go adventuring at such as a playground, beach area, hiking trail, or your own backyard. Some indoor areas can be super for finding wild pokemon as well such as in the grocery store, at restaurants, or even your local library!
Teach younger children how to use the map in Pokemon Go and other parts of the app, and let them feel empowered to be the ones to discover there is a new Pokemon nearby. (The phone or device should buzz or vibrate when a wild Pokemon appears next to you as an alert.)
The smile on your child’s face when they locate a new Pokemon they’ve never seen before is so worth it!
Dinner Out Has Never Been So Much Fun
A great way to wrap up your Pokemon Go Family Adventure is to end up at a local restaurant for lunch or dinner out. Plus if you’re lucky, there may even be a Poke Stop nearby to get some free rare items or extra pokeballs to stock up on too. Believe it or not, these areas can have some interesting Pokemon hanging around just waiting for you to discover. Your photo opps in these cases while eating dinner and having surprise guests appear during the meal are absolutely priceless!
Be sure to let your teens and older children feel important during this end of your journey by having them share their proud moments of capturing fantastic screen shots, which higher level characters that they caught, or what rare items they found.
Enjoy this precious time together and do it often!
You will be surprised at how much you will think of this activity as time well spent. I know I do!
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