Life with a Go Plus Peripheral

Those who know me very well, whether through this blog or otherwise, will know that I'm in cahoots with many other people who play Pokémon Go. And with luck, some of them will have a Go Plus peripheral of some sort, most commonly a Pokémon Go Plus. If I'm lucky, I can observe them in action using the peripheral in question, or sometimes deal with some of the workings of the peripherals upon their request. Still, sometimes I do wonder how things would be if I had a peripheral of my own... and at this point, I have to say, "wonder no more." Meet my Go Plus peripheral, which I got just a few days ago:

My peripheral of choice, as can be seen in the photo, is the Poké Ball Plus. I settled on the PBP because it does everything that the Pokémon Go Plus can and much more. Its battery is internal, but that is offset by the ability to charge the peripheral in many places where I can plug in a USB cable. Plus, it looks like an actual Poké Ball, which I'm very fond of, and... well, I've desired it ever since its release along with the Let's Go games, so that fulfills that desire. It would also serve me well once I'm able to obtain a Switch, but this may need to be explored at some other point in time. Right now, the peripheral is what matters.

After having possessed it for a few days and taken it for a test drive - especially today, as it is Tuesday and Spotlight Hour and all that - I can say that there are some advantages. A big one is that I can multitask: while I'm viewing my Friend list, for example, the peripheral can (try to) catch Pokémon or spin PokéStops, and all it takes is the push of a button for the former and with no effort for the latter. This also applies when I have my screen inactive, which means as I'm doing other things as well. In that way, the peripheral functions as a helpful assistant for playing the game in some cases.

And yet, there are also disadvantages. Having devised various considerations for catching Pokémon over the years I've played, many of them go out the window with the use of the peripheral. While it's true that I can let the peripheral manage Pokémon and some items, it also means that I've lost control of the management to some extent. As well, ideally I should have ample storage and bag space to let the peripheral work its magic, but that's a luxury I don't always have. And then there's the "try to" part above; the catch rate can be quite hit or miss. In a place with far too many Pokémon for me to deal with traditionally, it may be fine, but not so much in a place where there are few Pokémon and/or a time when every Pokémon matters such as Community Day. That does seem like a lot.

The peripheral I have is an official PBP, in contrast to many of my fellows who have a modified Pokémon Go Plus that can catch Pokémon automatically. But that's a good thing because when I can see what it's targeting, I can opt not to catch the Pokémon if need be. Of course, an official PGP is also manual, and at least one of my fellows has this, and from my experiences with the person, the person doesn't mind. In that case, things seem to work out well. Even so, I may have to consider best usage scenarios for my PBP - in other words, when to use it and when not to use it.

After years of going without a Go Plus peripheral and simply observing or sometimes dealing with those of others, I've gone ahead and gotten one of my own. It's a decidedly different experience, one that seemingly demands me to have or make other considerations. Going by my experiences, it should be a good thing when I can decide to use the peripheral and have it work out well. Now I'm no longer an outside party to the peripherals and no longer have to wonder about their usage. Yet, wonders may just still exist when I'm using the peripheral, and those wonders are something that I'm due to discover as I make use of my peripheral.

One year ago: In the November Sky

Two years ago: Pokémon Go Community Day, 11/10/2018

Three years ago: Mission Cards in Shuffle