Pokemon Go Plus is now available in stores. (Gamestop)
With Pokemon Go Plus, the wearable accessory from Nintendo, payers can catch Pokemon with the press of a button. But does this apply to those creatures that spawn from the use of an Incense item?
As of September 22nd, it was not possible to catch Incense-spawned Pokemon using the Plus device. But thankfully, that has changed in the game’s most recent update. In update 1.9.0. (or 0.39.0 for Android), players can now catch Pokemon that have spawned from Incense using the Plus device.
This is the second week in a row that Niantic has added a new feature to Plus, as they also released an update on September 16th that was mainly targeted at Plus users. In the September 16th update, Niantic made it so that Plus can now catch Pokemon that you have not caught before. Prior to this update, it was only possible to use the Plus device to catch species you had already encountered, but for whatever reason, Niantic suddenly altered this on launch day.
At the moment, then, Niantic seems to be pretty focused on making Pokemon Go Plus into the best experience possible, presumably wanting to iron things out before the 2016 holiday season. This has left some players without Plus feeling disappointed, as if the game’s company is leaving behind anyone who does not want to pay $35 for the add-on device. That disappointment was expressed on September 23rd, when the new update was released and one of the primary changes concerned only Plus users.
Still, Niantic is continuing to update the main game, as in the September 23rd update, they also made it possible to see where you caught a specific Pokemon again (although it only shows you the city where it was caught).
So how does Pokemon Go Plus work, exactly? Well, the wearable device (which can also be detached from the wristband and carried around in your hand), vibrates and blinks to let players know when there is a Pokemon in the area. The light will turn green if it’s a Pokemon you’ve caught before, and it will turn yellow if you haven’t caught it before. You then press the button in order to attempt a throw. You only get one shot, and there is no option to use anything other than a regular Poke Ball. The device will flash multicolored lights if you successfully caught the Pokemon, and it will turn red if the Pokemon ran away.
Plus is not a replacement for the main game, and because you only get one throw and can only use a regular Poke Ball, you’ll probably want to pull out the app when you encounter something brand new. But it’s a nice way to keep catching Pokemon and registering your steps throughout the day when you wouldn’t necessarily want to have your phone on and the app open all the time. The device can also be used to get items from Poke Stops.