Pokémon GO's built-in auto-catcher has picked up a second shift. The Explorer Gadget, which used to work only while the app wasn't open on your screen, will now also help while you're actively playing, according to the Pokémon GO team's announcement on 2 November.
What changes
The background behaviour stays. The announcement says the gadget "will continue to automatically attempt to catch Pokémon and spin PokéStops" while you explore the real world without Pokémon GO open on your device. The new part is that it now works with the game on screen as well.
That's a real shift from where it started. When Nintendo Life covered the gadget's gradual rollout in August, it reported that the gadget only worked while the app was suspended, and returned nothing if you tried using it while playing.
Turning it on hasn't changed. Trainers at level 20 and higher tap the Explorer Gadget icon at the top right of the map view, or find it in the Key Items section of the Item Bag. With the gadget running during active play, a pink Poké Ball icon appears over any Pokémon or PokéStop on the map that it is trying to catch or spin.
You're not locked out of your own game, either. Tap a Pokémon or PokéStop the gadget is engaging with and you can catch or spin it yourself. The fine print: once the pink icon appears, you only have a limited window of time to override the gadget. The announcement doesn't say how long that window is.
To see what it's been up to, select the Explorer Gadget icon from the map view or the Key Items section. You'll get a summary of which Pokémon it caught and how many PokéStops it spun.
The limits
Two caveats in the announcement are worth knowing before you switch it on:
- Accessories: If you use an accessory such as a Pokémon GO Plus +, you don't need to unpair it to use the Explorer Gadget, but the gadget and a paired accessory can't be active at the same time.
- Pokémon it skips: The gadget won't attempt to catch certain Pokémon, including ones not yet registered in your Pokédex and mighty Pokémon.
The rest of the update
The same post rounds up several gameplay and quality-of-life changes that it says have recently rolled out:
- Catch summary: an improved summary after catching Pokémon, with visuals that make rewards and catch bonuses clearer.
- Appraise button: a dedicated button above the Additional Options button on a Pokémon's summary page, for quicker access to appraisal information.
- Power Spots: visiting a Power Spot, or placing a Pokémon at one after winning a Max Battle, no longer triggers special wild encounters around it. The team says the change is meant to make wild encounters more consistent for all players.
- Encounter rings: an updated ring visual around wild Pokémon attracted by Lure Modules or encountered while exploring a Route.
- PokéStop colours: spun PokéStops get adjusted colour saturation, for clearer contrast with unspun ones.
- Visual effects: updated effects around Pokémon attracted by the Mystery Box or Coin Bag.
Jax's take: The override window is the bit to watch. A helper that beats you to the Pokémon you were lining up a throw on would get old fast, and the announcement doesn't put a number on how long you get. Keeping new Pokédex entries and mighty Pokémon out of the gadget's reach is the right call, though: the catches players care most about stay in their own hands.
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