We caught ourselves a Ditto, but the tracking feature seems more elusive than the shape-shifting Pokemon.
Quit playing Pokemon Go yet? Well, Niantic Labs is giving you a reason to come back to the game. The newest update to the popular app reintroduces tracking, and reports say this new method actually works. According to reports, it's a version of the original step-based tracking.
You’ll still get the Pokemon’s image shown next to Pokestops, but clicking on the Pokemon will reveal footprints, indicating how long you need to walk to find said Pokemon. Apparently, it’ll also pinpoint exactly which Pokestop you need to walk towards, which should be useful for areas where many Pokestops are located.
While the re-introduction of proper tracking is a welcome addition, it’s not the only thing Niantic is adding. The Pokemon Ditto has finally been added to the game, which should give dedicated Pokemon fans a big reason to run around looking for Pokemon once again, or at the very least download Bluestacks and cheat their way into getting a Ditto.
Turns out, any mundane Pokemon near you could be a Ditto. This is fitting, since Ditto’s only ability is to transform itself into any other Pokemon. You’ll not know you’ve caught a Ditto until you’ve actually caught it. This means you’ll be catching many more Pidgeys and Rattatas in the coming days. We caught a CP 308 Pidgey. After catching the Pokemon, the word "Oh?" appears above your Pokeball. The animation then shows that you've caught a Ditto instead. Interestingly, we caught a CP 308 Pidgey, to get a CP 385 Ditto instead.
You can also get double stardust and experience, as part of a Thanksgiving event that has been announced.
It is worth noting that these reports are largely unconfirmed right now. While we can confirm that Ditto has indeed been introduced (we caught two), the tracking feature is still limited to a select few. For example, our game has updated to show the Thanksgiving offer, and Ditto, but we still don’t have anything more than the Sightings screen.
You may also find that the CP levels of many of your Pokemon have changed after the update. This is reportedly due to a change in the base stats, which are hidden from players. Our Gyarados has all of a sudden crossed the 2k threshold, while Arcanine and Flareon also seem to have become more powerful. However, this can also lead to a Pokemon losing CP points. We're not quite sure which of our Pokemon have lost power yet, since we more or less quit playing this game a few months ago.
The new tracking feature and the addition of Ditto may be enough to at least bring die-hard fans back to the game. Although, Niantic may be too late to revive the game’s viral popularity.
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Prasid Banerjee
Trying to explain technology to my parents. Failing miserably. View Full Profile
