‘Pokémon Go’ players brave typhoon to catch more virtual critters

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Some dedicated “Pokémon Go” players opt to brave typhoon rain despite receiving advisory from the game.

Even though the initial hype has gone down, a dedicated player base continues to hunt for virtual creatures on “Pokémon Go.” Public events also help to maintain the game’s relevance beyond hardcore “Pokémon” fans.

In Japan, the game’s popularity has maintained such a level that some Japanese players are willing to brave typhoon winds and rain to take advantage of the weather bonuses to Pokémon appearance rate and more, reports Hachima Kiko via SoraNews24.

Twitter user “@Z774SX” tweeted a screengrab of the weather advisory on the “Pokémon Go” app when Typhoon Trani hit Japan on Sept. 30. He wrote, “I opened up Pokémon Go and it was like the game was yelling at me, like ‘Now’s not the time to go Pokémon hunting!’”

Image: Twitter/@Z774SX

Rather than preventing “@Z774SX” from playing out in the rain by locking access to the game, the notice mainly served as a reminder to take care before going out to hunt. As such, “@Z774SX” and other “Pokémon Go” players simply tapped on the button, which said “I checked” to access their account.

“Pokémon Go” developer Niantic generally discourage players from going out in bad weather by playing messages like “Pokémon seem to dislike these conditions” and prevents Pokémon from spawning until the bad weather lets up.

天候が「強風」になると風も吹くようです pic.twitter.com/6Q5p7F3XEo

— すねーく㌠🍑 (@Z774SX) September 30, 2018

In the case of Typhoon Trani, it appears the system did not kick in. Players were left free to gamble with their safety to catch Pokémon, who preferred windy or rainy weather. Given the combination of both weather conditions in a typhoon, players could even come across a rare dragon-type Pokémon, or even MewTwo. Such is the temptation that caused these dedicated gamers to ignore the weather advisory.

Even with the prospect of getting ahead of other “Pokémon Go” trainers, it would still be best to stay safe and hunt on another day. Special events may also come out in the future where Niantic could make rare Pokémon come out more often on sunnier weather.  Alfred Bayle /ra

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