Introducing the Explorer Gadget

Trainers of Pokémon Go will no doubt be familiar with "accessory devices" (or what I in the past called "Go Plus peripheral"), which are used to help them catch Pokémon and spin PokéStops. Since they're "devices" or "peripherals", they're necessarily physical. However, now the game has a virtual or in-game equivalent that is now available to most Trainers after having been tested with a smaller number of them. Per the title of this post, that would be the feature called the Explorer Gadget, and it is worthwhile to discuss its specifics.

Essentially, the Explorer Gadget is a virtual version of the Pokémon Go++ device, which catches Pokémon and spins PokéStops automatically, the former of which doesn't happen with other accessory devices. Like said device, though, one will need to have a ready supply of Poké Balls and ample bag and storage space, lest it won't function optimally. Furthermore, this feature as it is implemented is only active when the game is running but in the background (closed). This is unlike a device that runs as long as the game is running.

Now, the game also places a daily limit on how many captures and spins that can be made, which at present is 76 each. It also needs to be started manually each day, but it can be paused and resumed as needed until the limit is reached. It is also quite possible that later on, the limits will be changed and the feature can be activated several times a day... but at a cost, which would make sense as another way to rake in profits and with the fact that the physical devices are likewise purchased for use. Yet at least some freebies are retained for it.

As for best practices, it is certainly a good idea to turn on the feature when one can't be bothered to have Pokémon Go open and needs to do other things, keeping it in the background. It also should work well with the screen turned off while one is venturing, although this seems to be iffy at certain moments and especially now for Android users, while Apple users seem to have a better experience. It seems that further tweaks to the feature are needed to make it work in all kinds of probable situations.

Why the feature was implemented could be answered to a certain extent as well. It is known that the world is currently facing a "semiconductor crisis" that makes devices of all kinds more expensive, including Pokémon Go accessory devices. Even without the "crisis", it seems that the specific device in question (Pokémon Go++) is being rather finicky for existing users, and an alternative implementation is needed. Therefore, the virtual implementation of the Explorer Gadget serves that very purpose and is to try to resolve both issues.

If the Explorer Gadget can be described in terms of its facilitation, then it makes an accessory device experience (albeit a limited one) available to all Trainers of Pokémon Go while solving a few problems for them as well as itself in the physical form. Though the feature may not yet be free from issues and it is still in its infancy, its potential for future development may be great to an extent, and Trainers can still take advantage of it in different ways presently to add on or improve their Pokémon Go experience, if only with a virtual accessory device implementation.

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