If you love Pokemon and are a fan of walking, then there is good news for you today. Nintendo has confirmed that the Pokewalker, included in the Japanese remake of Pokemon Gold/Silver, is coming to North America as well. Huzzah!
The Pokewalker is a Pokeball-shaped pedometer. A pedometer, if you did not know, is a machine that encourages walking by letting you know how many steps you’ve taken. It is not, as some might believe, a machine for detecting how close Roman Polanski is to your house.
The Pokewalker takes fitness one step further by translating each step taken into “Watts.” These Watts can be used to catch some extra Pokemon or open up new routes in the game itself. You can also use the Walker to wirelessly trade items with other Pokemon trainers.
Nintendo News: New Pokéwalker Lets Players Bring the Fun of Pokémon Wherever They Go
For more than a decade, millions of Pokémon™ fans around the
world have enjoyed training their Pokémon within their video games. The
March 14 release of the Pokémon™ HeartGold Version and
Pokémon SoulSilver Version games lets players continue to enjoy
the world of Pokémon away from their Nintendo DS™ or Nintendo
DSi™ systems, taking their favorite Pokémon with them
wherever they go with the new Pokéwalker™ accessory. This new
accessory will come included with each copy of these games.In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions, players can
wirelessly transfer any one of their Pokémon from one of the two games
to the Pokéwalker and walk them through virtual routes as the player
walks around in real life. By walking, players earn Watts, which are
used within the Pokéwalker to encounter and catch wild Pokémon or search
for hidden items, and can be transferred into Pokémon HeartGold and
SoulSilver Versions to unlock new routes. There are even special
versions of certain Pokémon that can only be found within routes on the
Pokéwalker, giving players added incentive to keep their Pokémon with
them wherever they go. The Pokémon in the Pokéwalker will gain
experience points as the player walks, and can even go up one level when
they are transferred back into the game. Players also can wirelessly
connect two Pokéwalkers to trade items.Letting players return to the beloved Johto region first introduced in Pokémon
Gold Version and Silver Version for the portable GameBoy™ system, Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
Versions introduce several new enhancements for the series that
enrich these timeless adventures. Created exclusively for the Nintendo
DS and Nintendo DSi systems, the games feature detailed graphics that
spotlight the unique environments and hundreds of Pokémon that players
can encounter and catch. Players can even see and interact with their
favorite Pokémon outside of battle, selecting one from their team to
follow behind their Trainer as they travel through the Johto region. The
games also include robust touch-screen functionality, allowing for
smoother control and seamless navigation by the player.