Overworld Items in Pokémon Go

Since the very beginning, Pokémon Go has always been about the Pokémon species on the overworld. Lately, however, that has changed a little bit with the introduction of items on the overworld, which when interacted with may have wildly different results. This phenomenon is nothing new to Pokémon, as it has been present in the main series games since the beginning, but it is undoubtedly something new for Pokémon Go given the way things work in the game. It is certainly something to be explored as well.

The general mechanism can be explained, and should be as the very first thing. When the item appears on the overworld, tapping it will make it disappear, and one of two things happen. If the item is an actual item, a notification with the "Item found!" message appears; if the item is a masquerading Pokémon, the view zooms and flashes as is expected for a Pokémon encounter, which can then be dealt accordingly. Since they may not necessarily be a Pokémon encounter, the items won't appear in the Sightings section of the Nearby tab - even if they're the only thing present - and they must be dealt with manually, meaning in-game by hand without an "accessory device". Overall, the mechanism is more or less similar to the main series games, including with regard to the interactivity.

For the implementation, the first item to be implemented in this way was the venerable Poké Ball, done at the beginning of this month for a certain familiar event that I'll roll up later. When interacted with, the item gives capture balls (any of the common trio) or results in one of the Pokémon that looks like the capture balls, as the Voltorb family (both forms), Foongus family, or Galarian Stunfisk. It also harks back to the main series games, as the item there is also the first to have the same implementation.

Next, the apple became the most recent item to be implemented in this manner. It has to, because it furnishes a certain family of similarly shaped species as well as the supplementary items that are needed for the evolutionary process - likewise to be rolled up soon enough. Sometimes, though, the Pokémon encounter may be certain other species that might also be interested in the apples but aren't related to the mentioned species family. It's a struggle of taste as well as style, given the Pokémon.

Given that items are just as important as Pokémon wherever they appear, having even items on the overworld seems like a natural step for Pokémon Go, and seemingly a necessary and timely one at that with consideration of the second example against that of the first. Surprises are often abound in the world of Pokémon, including for the species that are associated with certain items by way of appearance and behavior, and now Trainers can see first-hand in this game how that can just work out.

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