The (Android) Back Button and Pokémon Go

For those who play mobile games on the Android platform, they'll likely be familiar with the back button, either physical or on-screen, the latter for most devices nowadays. Many games will invariably implement a way to use it even if the game is full-screen and the buttons auto-hide. Pokémon Go technically does neither, yet it still does implement usage of the back button in some ways, which is useful to discuss. 

A long time ago, I wrote about fast captures and how the back button could be used in one scenario for it. Unfortunately, that usage was removed some time later, although the original fast capture method remained. So, this becomes a deprecated usage scenario, and it seems likely never to return. At the least, the back button can still be used to flee a Pokémon encounter if a ball is not being thrown at the Pokémon.

Essentially, the back button does what one expects it to do: it returns one to a previous screen or closes the current screen. For any screen that has an X button present and/or can be swiped down to reveal an X to close it, the back button fulfills that function and can be said to become an alternate method for that purpose. In a way, it's also "natural" for those who are used to navigating in other apps on the platform.

Some screens, however, don't respond to the back button. PvP battling requires one to press the actual exit button (some jokingly call it the "top left" button) to surrender and leave a battle, so not wiring the back button makes sense in this regard. Pokémon appraisal also requires its screens to be dismissed by tapping the screen, and no other way is possible save for closing the game, which is beyond this discussion.

In extreme cases, the back button can be used to exit raid and Gym battles, although these are extreme cases indeed. A more common case is using the back button at the main overworld map to bring up a prompt to exit the game, one of the ways this can be done and possibly frequently by many of those who play. They also "seal the deal" in the ways that the back button may be used with regard to Pokémon Go.

The Android platform's back button has to be something many of its users recognize and use fairly often across different apps. This will also likely apply for apps whose usage of the button may not be seemingly apparent, like a great deal of games, of which Pokémon Go is one of them. Beyond what its appearance suggests, the back button can be used fairly frequently within it, affording a good deal of flexibility.

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