There is a Pokémon near you! Yes, that’s right, the Pokémon frenzy has reached the Soutpansberg, and more specifically Louis Trichardt, even thoughthe game has not yet officially been released in South Africa.

In Louis Trichardt, almost every teen with a smartphone has downloaded the game on their phone and started to hunt Pokémon, such as Caterpies, Ekans, Raichus, and Beedrills, among other things. These little monsters are spawning all around town - some even in people’s gardens.

For those who are not in the know, Pokémon Go is a free-to-play (we’ll come back to this) augmented-reality game, linked to real time and Google Maps. It requires players to explore their surroundings to capture as many Pokémon as they can. While walking, the players' smartphones will vibrate to let them know that they are near a Pokémon. The players can also use it to find Pokéstops and the location of the gym, where their Pokémon can battle other players for the honour of becoming that Gym's master. 

Because of its growing popularity in Louis Trichardt, the Zoutpansberger approached a few local Pokémon trainers to educate the public on the matter. A special shout-out goes to Elardus van Zyl (Eltheunicorn) and Xander Venter, aka XanderZA (Air Force Base Makhado) - thank you guys for your patience and sharing your knowledge with our readers. (At the time of the interviews they were both over level 10 trainers in the game and have been gym masters at one stage).

This is how Pokémon works:

Players need to explore their area, and catch wild Pokémon, which can sometimes spawn right in front of your house (or as the newspaper learned, in your house). The player uses poké balls (found at poké shops) to capture the little critters. Once captured, the player can train and evolve his Pokémon, and then battle it out at a local gym. The only thing is, the gyms and shops can be shopping centres, churches, historical buildings or other high-profile landmarks in the area.

Players can also choose one of three sides in whose name they will attack gyms with their Pokémon, then claim it and defend it. The teams are Mystic (blue), Valor (red) and Instinct (yellow). 

Pokémon creatures can be found in habitats, or hotspots. According to the local Pokémon trainers, the hotspots are usually found in well-populated areas, the main CBD and in specific spawning habitats that match where they’re most likely to live. For example, if you’re close to a watery area, you’re more likely to find water-type Pokémon. If you find yourself in a big open field, it's possible you'll encounter grass-type Pokémon. The Zoutpansberger took the time to mark some of the known hotspot habitats, pokéshops and gyms across town with the help of the local trainers (see map on page 10). The game itself is a free-to-play title‚ which means that, instead of charging for the game‚ Nintendo has in-app purchases. Most of these cost Pokécoins‚ the in-game currency. If you don’t want to pay for them, however‚ you can earn Pokécoins by battling in or taking over gyms - areas where people gather to do battle for badges.

According to Xander, these spots will increase dramatically when the game is officially released in South Africa. Also, for now the game only has the original 151 Pokémon in it, and doesn’t have the trading that helped define the main series. While it is relatively easy to get the game less than legally‚ there is a strong risk that you might end up compromising your phone’s security if you do. According to a statement by the IT security company Sophos‚ there is already one ‘malware’ remix of the Pokemon Go app out there.

Xander and Elardus are, however, confident that the South African version of the game will be released this coming Friday, despite Nintendo South Africa's still being mute on the subject and having yet to release an official statement.