Pokemon Go’s new tracking system actually works – here’s how – CNET

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Pokemon Go finally gets nearby tracking right
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The Sightings tracker.

Alina Bradford/CNET

The latest update brings a new way to track pokemon in Pokemon Go — at least for some users.

Two types of trackers are being tested and you may see both, one, or none at all.

The ‘Sightings’ tracker

Some players have the Sightings version of the tracker. This tracker tells you what Pokemon are currently in your area and is basically the same type of tracker you saw when Niantic took away the steps from the original tracker. It’s just a list bunch of nearby Pokemon, but this time they have grass in the icon.

I have tried the Sightings tracker and, like before, you have no way of knowing how close the Pokemon are or what direction you need to travel in.

The ‘Nearby’ tracker

Another version of the new tracker is called Nearby, like the old tracker.

Except this time, it’s improved, it actually works!

The Nearby tracker lists Pokemon that are in your general vicinity and the PokeStops you’ll have to visit to hunt them down.

Tap on the Pokemon you want to track, then hit the View button and you’ll be taken back to the map screen. The screen will zoom in and show where the PokeStop is located in relation to your avatar.

If the Pokemon leaves that location before you get there, the app will let you know with a warning, “The Pokemon fled! Check the nearby list for other Pokemon.”

Some people are reporting that they have one tracker and not the other, while some people are reporting that they have both trackers. This is probably part of the testing process. Niantic explained on their site, “We’re currently testing a variation of the “Nearby Pokémon” feature with a subset of users. During this period you may see some variation in the nearby Pokémon UI.”

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