Pokéwalker

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An active PokéWalker

The Pokéwalker is a Key Item available to all farmers and is located in the "Other Links" section of the Farm page. It functions as a webpage in a browser, just like any other page of the website. Users do not need to download an app to use it.[1]

Note: Users cannot login on the Pokéwalker page. Instead it will present them with a button to the main site to login.


Information

The Pokéwalker allows a user to transfer Pokémon to their mobile device and journey with it by their side, accumulating Watts along the way. Users can add the Pokéwalker to their Home Screen for quick and easy access to the page. A Pokémon obtained and transferred from the Pokéwalker is designated with a Pokéwalker icon next to its gender.

Since this is a feature that makes use of mobile devices, battery life and mobile data are two concerns that users may have. To avoid issues with these factors, the entire Pokéwalker is technically only an image, specifically an SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics). This allows the entire Pokéwalker to take up only about 16KB. To conserve battery life, users can turn their screen off and still receive credit for distance, provided that they check in every so often. However, this will be less precise and users may receive less credit for it.

A "hidden" mechanic of the Pokéwalker is Advantage Types. Each Area has three Advantage Types, and if the Pokémon a user is walking with matches any of those types, then distance requirements for both rare Pokémon and Albino Pokémon are reduced quite significantly. With an Advantage Type, users only need 7.5km instead of 10km for max Albino chances, so that's quite significant!

Features

Watts

The Pokéwalker rewards Watts based on the distance traveled. This information is collected by using the GPS in a user's mobile device. However, the GPS is disabled when the screen is off, when the user is navigating the menu, or playing a minigame.

One Watt is earned for every 20 steps recorded. Steps are recorded internally; therefore, the number of steps cannot be seen. Additionally, as of the 30th of April 2023, users can cash in Interaction Points to gain distance in the Pokéwalker. The exchange rate is 1,000 Interaction Points = 100 steps (which = 5 Watts). There is a soft-cap of 15,000 steps (= 750 Watts) per day.[2]

Minigames

Watts can be spent on two minigames.

Poké Radar

The Poké Radar, allows users to hunt for and catch wild Pokémon, at the cost of 10 Watts per game. The user must first find a Pokémon, which is hidden behind one of four bushes. A speech bubble with an exclamation point reveals the Pokémon's location. It may need to be tracked to another bush if it evades confrontation. When the Pokémon is found, a battle sequence begins. The user can choose to Attack, Evade, or Catch. Critical hits randomly occur and deal 2 bars worth of damage. Wild Pokémon can also Attack and Evade and have a chance to die or flee during battle. They may also run away if a Catch attempt fails.

There is also a chance to find Albino Pokémon; however, there is no way of knowing if a Pokémon is Albino until it is transferred to PFQ. The chance is based on distance walked in the current day.

Dowsing

Dowsing lets users search for items of various rarities at the cost of 3 Watts per game. In each game, the user has 2 tries to successfully find an item behind 6 bushes. Choosing an incorrect bush on the first try will result in one of two messages: "It's near!", which indicates that the item is in a bush adjacent to the one chosen, or "It's far away...", indicating that the item is 2-5 bushes away. Items that can be found while Dowsing include berries, evolution stones, treasures, gems, and boxes.

In both cases, the rarity of what users find increases the further they have walked in a day. Both the Pokémon and items collected can be transferred to a user's PokéFarm Q account and will be ready for pickup in the Collection Area.

Affection

As of the 30th of April, 2023, Pokémon can gain Affection for using the Pokéwalker. For every 100 steps that are walked, the Pokémon gains 1 Point of Affection. Using this method alone would take 25,500 steps to max out a Pokémon's Affection. If a user is using their Interaction Points to gain distance on the Pokéwalker they would need 255,000 Interaction Points to max out a Pokémon's Affection.

Areas

Areas are unlocked by transferring unused Watts back to PokéFarm Q and reaching each goal to unlock the next area. A user can see how many Watts they saved and how many are needed for the next area under the Send/Retrieve a Pokémon.

Each area has six possible Pokémon to catch, and they are divided into three tiers (A, B, and C). The more steps a user has taken within the day, the rarer the tier of Pokémon they can encounter. Please note that each time a Pokémon is sent out into the Pokéwalker, the types of wild Pokémon that will be found are randomly generated as a group of three, with one Pokémon from each tier. Therefore, if a user would like to find all Pokémon within one area, they must retrieve and re-send their Pokémon to the area more than once.

Below is a list of known Areas and the Pokémon that can be found there.

Areas
Area Tier A Pokémon Tier B Pokémon Tier C Pokémon
Refreshing Field Doduo Kangaskhan Nidoran♂ Nidoran♀ Sentret Pidgey
Noisy Forest Wobbuffet Bellsprout Paras Venonat Spearow Oddish
Rugged Road Onix Magby Ponyta Machop Geodude Hoothoot
Beautiful Beach Psyduck Staryu Poliwag Slowpoke Sunkern Wooper
Suburban Area Magnemite* Elekid Magnemite* Murkrow Rattata Hoothoot
Dim Cave Gastly* Smoochum Gastly* Onix Machop Zubat
Blue Lake Poliwag Dratini Shellder Krabby Tentacool Goldeen
Town Outskirts Abra Voltorb Grimer Koffing Rattata Furret
  • Some Pokémon appear in different tiers within the same area. They differ in level and must both be caught to complete the Dex for that area.

Poor GPS

As of the 30th of April 2023, the "GPS Signal Lost" error text has been replaced with "Poor GPS Signal (~###m)". The (~###m) is the accuracy of the signal being received. In order to work properly, this value must be below 30m.

Troubleshooting

If you are struggling here are some troubleshooting tips.

Denied Geolocation:

  • Android/Chrome
    • Settings -> Site Settings -> Location -> Check the Blocked section for PokéFarm and click allow.
  • iPhone/Safari
    • Search -> Location -> Safari Websites -> Switch it from 'never' to 'ask' (not 'while using app')

Poor GPS:

  • Check your location permissions.
  • The device is old.
    • Older devices generally don't have accurate enough GPS chips.
  • The device is in Power Saving mode or similar.
    • Many devices will lower the accuracy of GPS results to save power.
    • If battery life is a concern, remember that you can turn the screen off and walk, so long as you turn it on again at your destination to claim the straight-line distance. You won't get as much progress counted, but you'll save battery life!
  • The environment is too rural.
    • Remote areas may not have good enough coverage for reliably getting a GPS signal.
  • The environment is too urban.
    • Ironically, living in an urban area can cause problems too:
      • Tall buildings or buildings made of solid concrete may block or scatter GPS signals, resulting in lower accuracy.


If none of these help, try the Help forums, other users might have ideas or experience!

Trivia

  • The walker is based on the Pokéwalker that was included with copies of Pokémon HeartGold and Pokémon SoulSilver.
  • Advantage Types are the same as in the official PokéWalker from HeartGold/SoulSilver, so feel free to look them up and take advantage of this bonus!
  • Pawmo, Bramblin, and Rellor are currently the only Pokémon needing steps to evolve.

References