Pokémon GO Team Inspired

Hi Everyone,

It's been a while since last I posted here. Lot of things has been going on in my country and my life. It's hard to give a word about Turkey at the moment. However there is some good news about me. I'm accepted as a graduate student on Network Security(Computer Science) this Monday.

Today I'd like to talk about Pokemon Go! It surpassed the popularity of twitter in a week, however due to limitations it was a big balloon quickly deflated. Most of us got bored as there isn't much to do yet on the game, and bots spawned everywhere. Now all the gyms in the entire town taken over by snorlax and dragonite sporting bots level +30. 

However I must say, the first hype was amazing. I met a lot of people. We travelled around and explored the areas. Both on feet, trams, buses, motorbikes, bicycles, boats(!). We had couple of meeting spots. Running after a rare pokemon with +10 people was the best experience or taking over a gym with a team. Not to mention the trips we took to collect balls, sharing power sources, tips, drinks etc.

Nobody needed other word than "what pokemon did you find?" to greet a complete stranger. Our meeting spot was an ancient ruins with a sun clock, old mosque, observation tower, clock tower (stuff from 10 BC to 1900s AD). I sat on this old column from Romans time for a while. Also 5 minutes of run to reach the port and lighthouse just to pick up a dratini. If anyone started to cheat, that person has no place to sleep in the town if they become homeless. Because honesty and true adventure is the soul of this game. 

Basically we X and Y generations were starring in their own anime to "be the very best" and "catch 'em all". 

While spending a lot of time with the aspiring pokémon trainers, I noticed few cultural differences in the community regarding to the lvl 5+ team members. I can't say they're divided black and white. Some were hard to point out, but there are slight characteristics of true players. 

Team Valor

I start with this because, this is my team. The leader is Candela and the mascot is legendary pokémon Moltres.

Valor members are usually gym overthrowers. We can't keep our place long with small number, since 6 pokemon is attacking us from other team, but have to find a stronger pokemon in inventory to beat at least two to level up the gym. 

Valor is all about strength. Our pokémons have high combat powers at lower levels. If combat powers are not enough, we have high skills. Also we have fast fingers to beat down a gym. However we mostly need to take a trip to town for bunch of pokemon stops to collect some health pots. 

Valor needs to be charismatic, because it's the team you'll find in gym right after you claimed one. So everyone in the town knows your username. You can't show sweat, low battery, dehydration. So our bags are the biggest. We have cold drinks, sun blocks, more than one high capacity power banks, at least 4 power cords. Some even have second device just to check team messages, locations and google for information. 

      

       

Team Mystique

This is my first team, however I didn't feel like I fit in. The leader is Blanche and the mascot is legendary pokémon Articuno

The Mystic members are gym keepers. They are true gym leaders. They are told to be all about researching but I don't know how much you can ressearch about pokémons in real life. But these guys are the campers. They camp around gyms, they camp around lures. Until they have the best pokémon to fit in a gym. Then they travel around couple of gyms in sequence with a large group. They take over the gyms all together, and stay there until they have it level up at least 5. Then they move to next gym. At the end of day, they collect a lot of gyms and pokemons.
They are stardust collectors(stuff to strengthen your pokemons) because they know they will find a better pokemon in wild anyway. If not, they know the tricks of best evolution. Their pokémons don't have the best attacks but their numbers help with the defense. 

I met a really cool group of people belong to Mystique. Also unlike other teams, as long as they move together they don't make a propaganda of their team. Mostly very kind yet focused people. 

      

      

Team Instinct

I have couple of really good friends from this team. The leader is Spark and the mascot is legendary pokémon Zaptos.

These people are the most peaceful, nature loving people of the game. You won't find them in gyms unless they need coins for lure or just bored. They are exploring type of people. You find them in the weirdest bus numbers, or neighbor's garden at 4 am, or full clothes in the beach with their heads looking down at their phone. Their biggest aim is to "catch 'em all". You'll see these sorts of people who are occasionally petting a cat by a lure, recruiting random people in the game, have some beer to share, extra power bank to borrow. They're such pure souls, I'm worried they'll be the first to be tricked.
If you join these guys for a journey, you'll find the most historical spots, best waterfalls, nicest coffee. Also they might look a bit too plain in clothing, while having the coolest tattoos and the best shoes! Also have hats for noon, flash light for night, the best bike for travels, best apparatus to keep the phone straight while they're not holding. They even have pillows to support your back and beach chairs to share. and they have the smallest bag always. Just amazing, precious people.

Find an Instinct trainer; you'll have your pokedex full, your head cool, your back comfortable, your heart warmed with all the adventure you've been through. 

Team Rocket

This is what I'm aspiring to become when there is a trade feature. However recently I've been a bit inactive as I only played it for 2 weeks. I'm still level 23. I hope there will be more features on the game in the future. 

If you watched an episode or two, you probably get this message. (link)

Hope you enjoyed this weeks article. Show me your team in the comments, even if you don't play it. I'm curious about the results. 

♥ Cyber ♥