Tainan establishes nation’s first Pokemon Go route

Taiwan’s first official Pokemon Go routes went online in Tainan yesterday.

The routes were officially designed by Niantic Inc, the developer of the popular mobile game, in celebration of the city’s fourth centennial, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) said.

A total of 30 routes spanning nine of the city’s districts featuring more than 200 tourist sites tailored to avid Pokemon trainers have been created, he said.

In addition to standard route missions, such as collecting badges, meeting the game’s non-playable character Mateo to recieve special gifts and collecting Zygarde Cells to change the form of the special Pokemon Zygarde.

Players are also encouraged to enjoy the tourist adventures Tainan has to offer, the city’s tourism administration said on Friday.

The city has also prepared 500 icash 2.0 souvenirs based on Sababoy, one of the city’s fish-based mascots, which can be redeemed at the Anping Visitor Information Center by explorers who complete all 30 of the city’s official Pokemon Go routes, Huang said.

People who participate in the game’s Tainan route adventures can also enter a draw to receive a Dragon zodiac lantern designed for the upcoming Lantern Festival during the Lunar New Year, scheduled to take place from Feb. 3 until March 10, he added.

To further celebrate Tainan’s

400th year since its founding, Huang added that Niantic also chose to launch the game’s unique “City Safari” event in the old southern city from March 9 to 10.

Pokemon trainers would have the opportunity to encounter the City Safari event-exclusive Gen VI Pokemon, Skiddo, as well as catch Gen V’s Bouffalant, a Pokemon that is regionally limited to the New York area in the US.

Moreover, a number of Pokemon are also to appear in rare shiny forms and unique costumes for players who “gotta catch ’em all” while Pokemon eggs collected during the two days are to have a higher chance of hatching rare Pokemon such as Deino.

Pokemon Go is an augmented reality mobile game launched in June 2016 and based on the internationally renowned Pokemon animation franchise.

To keep the game fresh for players, Niantic has gradually updated the roster of 1,025 Pokemon into the game.

In addition, the developers have been constantly upgrading gameplay mechanics.

The route feature was added to Pokemon Go in July last year to encourage players to explore various surroundings in different countries, with players able to follow routes designed by Niantic or those of other players.