A newly launched app is the perfect companion for all aspiring Pokémon masters who eat, live and breathe Niantic Labs' Pokémon GO.
Called Poke Radar, the app aims to help players track their next Pokémon catch of the day by locating said creatures on a map — much like the game's Pokédex, only this time, on an actual real-life map.
Players may access the app to view the latest sightings and catches of other Pokémon trainers, which are accurately pinned to its recent location. These pins are not generated automatically because the app is not related to the developers of the game and has no means to access and determine a Pokémon GO player's geophysical location to display it on the Poke Radar.
Instead, the pins are only generated whenever another player inputs his own location into the app. Poke Radar, at its core, is just a platform that displays data after all and requires the Pokémon GO community to help it function as it should — the app fosters a rather tight-knit community.
"Using Poke Radar for Pokémon GO is extremely simple," the developers said. "You can view all of the nearby Pokémon in your area that have been discovered by yourself and other players on the map, along with the times of day they were found."
To input a pin, players have to make sure that they are currently standing as close as possible to the exact location where a Pokémon was sighted in or caught from, and simply press the associated pin button on their screen.
While helping others is already a reward in itself, a player's name will be affixed to the very helpful pins scattered throughout the map and will help build the player's reputation in-game, as well as locally (for more bragging rights we suppose).
Developers do note that since the app is a player-driven data sheet, there will be instances when pins are simply there because of trolls — some people just want to see the world burn. To remove such pins, players have the option of downvoting these submissions to get it removed; this is the only current way to remove unintended or wrong user-submitted pins.
In contrast, reliable pins can be upvoted to "receive display priority on the map" and thus more helpfulness, unity and compassion in the community, as well as the related popularity that comes along with it.
Poke Radar is currently only limited to iOS devices, but developers do promise that an Android version is under way. Users on this platform may access the app's working desktop version in the meantime.
