The Pokewalker Pedometer, and how Pokemon has Yet to Surpass It

July 14th, 2022

Pokémon is a franchise with a long history of trying to get people to connect in the real world with their games, dating all the way back to Pokémon Red and Green in 1996. Gameplay-wise, battles and trading were the obvious pushes for people to link up their systems. But in terms of design, there are numerous sections filled with mystery and extremely rare catch rates just begging to become playground rumors. Heck, Nintendo themselves even had some fun spreading practical jokes in their April Fools magazines.

Thanks to Nintendo’s portable systems being so convenient and easy to fit into pockets, purses, or bags, the franchise was all but guaranteed to bring people closer before the internet was so accessible. Spin-off titles also have their own fair share of interactivity, like the Mystery Dungeon franchise allowing you to rescue friends from dungeons and the Stadium titles having minigames. However, one little gimmick stands above the rest: the Pokéwalker.

Wonders of a Simple Pedometer

Bundled in with 2009’s HeartGold/SoulSilver, the Pokéwalker was a seemingly simple pedometer that got heavy marketing. Fans at the time (or anyone who frequented kids networks) might remember these two ads starring the main characters from Suite Life of Zack & Cody.

They weren’t too noteworthy, but aired an ungodly amount of times thanks to Pokémon’s beefy marketing budget. And based on the comment section, I’m certainly not the only one who remembers.

However, despite its simple appearance and 3-button design, the Pokéwalker is much more than just something to keep track of steps. Its main feature was how the device interacted with HeartGold and SoulSilver with an infrared sensor, allowing the player to take their Pokémon out for a walk to earn items and Pokémon. The more steps you take in a day the rarer everything becomes, incentivizing players to keep their device on them and check regularly. There’s no pet mechanics like having to feed or play with them, so the sole focus is earning steps and using them to make more progress.

Obtaining things for your game is simple, but first you’ll need a currency called Watts. For every 20 steps you take, you’ll earn 1 Watt for spending. 3 can be used to play a minigame where you find an item hidden in bushes, while 5 gives you the chance to battle a Pokémon and catch it. They’re not too complex, but keeping things simple feels like the right call since it’s just supposed to be a slight distraction while you’re out walking.

Since you’ll likely have a surplus of Watts at the end of the day, linking your Pokéwalker back with your game will transfer them over to the system, unlocking new courses once you hit certain thresholds. Later courses – while expensive – give access to some of the best moves and rare berries for competitive battling. Not to mention giving easy access to oddball Pokémon not in the base game or rarities such as Spiritomb and Munchlax.

A total of 20 courses were made available in the base game after earning 100,000 Watts, giving a total of 120 unique Pokémon be made available by simply getting out there. Two more courses could be obtained through special means, with one unlocking after trading online and the other from transferring Jirachi to the game. Finally, five were temporarily available as online events to bring the total to 27. While the servers hosting said events are offline now, they’re still available through fan-made means.

However, despite successful sales, praise and usage of the device from fans, and it being recognized as one of the most accurate pedometers of its time, there has never been a direct follow-up. Attempts at Pokémon tracking your steps have been made (which we’ll delve into in a bit), but nothing in the same format.

No official reason has been given, but there are a number of factors why it (unfortunately) makes sense. The Pokéwalker launched right around the time smartphones started sweeping the world, and with modern improvements including built-in pedometers. And with how essential phones are to modern living, the average person will likely see an extra gadget as not worth carrying.

Financially it’s also less of a safe bet, since it’s an extra piece of hardware they have to develop, program, test, and keep bundled in with their games (that now have bigger boxes to fit them). Keeping them separate could work, but almost guarantee a chunk of their audience won’t have them and won’t care. Lastly, Nintendo’s been doing their own thing with tracking steps, and one of them is such a huge cash cow that I doubt they’ll bother messing with it.

But before we talk about the future, let’s take a quick detour into the past and how the Pokéwalker was conceptualized to begin with. In reality it’s a spiritual successor to a previous line of Pokémon tamagotchi pets starting in 1998, known as Pocket Pikachu (or its international name: Pokémon Pikachu).

Trial & Error

The original Pocket Pikachu is closer to a simple pedometer with a tamagotchi added on to make it more engaging. Its design is loosely based on the original Game Boy with its button layout and greyscale screen, but in a more portable fashion. While I’m not in possession of one due to them costing $50+ used, there are thankfully videos showing the device off.

The game has the same 20 steps = 1 watt system found in the Pokéwalker, with it originating here. Watts are a main currency for the device and can be gifted to Pikachu, making him happy and trusting you more. Neglecting Pikachu for long periods of time will cause him to get upset and eventually ignore you, so you’ll have to bribe ‘em with presents.

While novel in concept, there isn’t much of a driving force keeping its user engaged. Pikachu loses interest in you fast, and nothing really happens when you get Pikachu to maximum affection. But with such a solid premise and good enough sales, the Pocket Pikachu 2 was born.

Released October 1999 in Japan and late 2000 internationally, the Pocket/Pokémon Pikachu 2 GS was designed to have more functionality than its predecessor. It introduced the infrared sensor to connect with Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal, and Watts can be spent to buy items and send them to your game!

Definitely a step up, but if you’re at all familiar with Pokémon then you’ll quickly realize how…underwhelming the item selection is. Free healing items and repels are neat, but far from game-changing since those games had plenty of ways to farm money. The most noteworthy is a Rare Candy to level up a Pokémon by 1, and that requires taking roughly 20,000 steps. It’s cool you can get them since they’re usually limited, but just not worth it. If there were exciting rare items like TMs to get good moves it could be interesting, but they’re overall really standard.

No pedometer was made for the 3rd generation of Pokémon, but there were a few expansions on the design for other franchises. A Hello Kitty pedometer directly based on the first Pocket Pikachu was produced by Nintendo, but is closer to a variant. Nintendo also repurposed the Pokéwalker’s design when making a pedometer for Wii Fit U, with it sharing the same tech but lacking any Pokémon flare. Though funnily enough you can buy them pretty cheaply on Amazon despite both Wii Fit U and especially the Wii U console being dead.

And as a final tangent, SEGA and Nintendo collaborated to make the Pocket Sakura – based off of the Pocket Pikachu 2 GS. It was made to connect with Sakura Wars GB, a visual novel on the Game Boy Color. Like the Pocket Pikachu, you walk with your companion earning steps, Watts, and building a bond. Except instead of being with Pikachu, you walk alongside the protagonist Sakura. While at first glance it may seem like just another repeat, there is one thing that builds the final bridge between the Pocket line and the Pokéwalker: multiple courses! Each one having specific items you can earn. While not too crazy, it’s cool to see that a core feature in the Pokéwalker originated from such an oddball.

Back on track, as mentioned previously, Nintendo themselves made their next console have built-in pedometer features: the 3DS. For every 100 steps taken you earned 1 Play Token, which could be spent in a number of games for random services. Sticking to just Pokémon, they were supported in three games: Pokémon Rumble Blast, Pokémon Rumble U, and Pokémon Dream Radar.

The Rumble series is a spin-off where you control toy Pokémon to become a champion in a beat-em-up format. Rumble Blast and Rumble U both had roughly the same functionality, allowing you to recruit random Pokémon. Dream Radar, however, had functionality with Pokémon Black 2/White 2 to earn rare Pokémon with hidden abilities (plus items) and send them to your game. That said, the Play Coins don’t really impact things and merely allow you to play it more times a day. The game itself is actually about using the 3DS’ gyroscope and camera to look around the room and nab Dream Pokémon flying around. Other Pokémon 3DS apps exist, but none take advantage of its pedometer.

Now it’s time for the elephant in the room; the primary reason why Pokémon will almost definitely never go near pedometers again and the previously alluded cash cow: Pokémon GO. $6 billion. Christ.

Pokémon GO

For those out of the loop, Pokémon GO is a collaboration between Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, and Niantic where you walk around in the real world to find and catch Pokémon. It started with just the original 151, but has since grown all the way up to Generation 8. Back in 2016 it kickstarted both the craze and controversy you’d expect back during Pokémon’s original release in the ’90s. And depending on who you talk to, it was either the only good thing to happen that year or the beginning of the end.

With raving success came copycats trying to steal the spotlight, but none have even come close to overshadowing the original. Minecraft Earth was the most promising given its large fanbase, but poor marketing and the COVID-19 pandemic sealed its fate. Jurassic World Alive seems to be doing strong and is allegedly good, but then there are more bottom-of-the-barrel clones like Garfield GO, Ghostbusters World, and Jesus Christ GO. Yes, those are all real. If you were wondering, there are actually several Christian Pokémon GO clones that have spawned over the years (I personally played Pope GO).

So like its main series, Pokémon GO is the reigning champion of its genre with next to no competitors. It’s making record sales, and while I have a sneaking suspicion it could be in trouble once the developers are out of preexisting Pokémon, there’s a good chance it’ll run until the end of Generation 9. If not live on through Gen 10 for another 3-5 years. Clearly it isn’t going away anytime soon, but here’s the burning question: is it a good alternative for the Pokéwalker? And is it good at all?

Eh.

It’s ultimately subjective, but Pokémon GO feels very dry and unengaging. Most Pokémon are caught in the exact same way every time: you wait for a Pokémon to show up, then flick your finger to throw a ball. Some are harder to catch than others (moving or swatting away balls at random), meaning you’ll have to waste more resources. If you’re running low, then you’ll need to find a Pokéstop to give you pokéballs and other items for free. If you live in a rural area or have used up all the nearby stops, then you’re out of luck and need to be patient or pay up. Battles and raids exist, but in the very simple form of tapping the screen with a move that’s chosen for you.

While the main games have received flack for being repetitive and too simple, Pokémon GO is a clear-cut example. Moves mean nothing, just their strength and typing. Some can be spammed more than others so once in a blue moon there is an exception, but the formula doesn’t change. There’s no situation where you don’t want to use a Pokémon with a higher strength move and a type advantage, since attacking is purely tapping the screen. To be fair it does work as a quick distraction, but it’s honestly surprising the game has lasted as long as it has.

An accessory was made for it in September 2016 to take advantage of the hype: the Pokémon GO Plus wrist strap. For $35 it syncs with your phone via bluetooth to detect nearby Pokémon, and tapping the lone button will allow you to catch them using pokéballs. The device will also let you take items from pokéstops via pressing the button. A cool gadget, but it feels closer to a $20 novelty with an extra $15 Pokémon brand tax. Not to mention that it highlights just how simplistic and one-note GO is.

I should also mention the Pokéball Plus, which is my personal favorite thing Pokémon’s done that bombed. For $50, you could get a pedometer that syncs with Pokémon GO to count your steps when you don’t have your phone on you. You could load up a Pokémon to walk and interact with it to make sounds, which I’ll admit is a one-up on the Pokéwalker. It also acted as a controller for the Pokémon Let’s GO games, which were remakes of Red/Blue with GO mechanics.

A novel idea, right? $50 for a controller and pedometer in one, and it allows people to play GO with a tangible object instead of flicking. Except it feels like the marketing team forgot that phones have pedometers built into them, and by 2016 it was well accepted that people take their phones everywhere. And although it’s roughly the same size as the Pokéwalker, the device is an actual ball. It’s spherical.

I also have a bit of a personal gripe in that it was the only way you could obtain Mew in Let’s GO to fully complete your game for 2 years until Pokémon Home’s release. While most people won’t care, it does feel somewhat scummy to lock completion of a $60 game behind a $50 accessory.

As of 2022 it appears as though they’ve stopped production and stores generally aren’t selling them. No sales figures have been released, but if I had to guess it had to do with buzz dying, the COVID-19 pandemic, and constantly seeing them in full stock at stores. Also, while this isn’t an official product, just two days before I finished writing this I stumbled upon an article about a competitor to the Pokémon GO Plus. Its purpose is to auto-catch Pokemon and activate stops when connected to the app, making it so you don’t even have to tap the button. Approved by the developers? Probably not, but it’s very funny that people were able to streamline the game even more.

Pokéwalker’s Unfortunate Ending

Throughout this critique you’ve probably noticed that I’ve been on the harsher end towards GO; possibly to an unfair extent. While it’s certainly cool how GO pushed the augmented reality genre and brought a Pokémon-esque experience to phones, it’s too simple for its own good in my eyes. Walking is presented as a chore to complete tasks with no real incentive other than having a chance to get a Pokémon you don’t already have. The satisfaction of collecting is the only thing to do. Battles lack in depth, and things such as pvp and trading were added years later. If this was an indie project I’d be more lenient, but this is the highest grossing franchise’s game making billions in USD.

The Pokéwalker inherently has less to do, but what it’s going for feels more meaningful. Every step goes towards progression both in the device and main game it’s paired to, unlocking new courses and unique Pokémon. While it doesn’t have the depth and budget of a full-on game, the device clearly didn’t need it for what the designers were going for. It’s perfectly fine as-is, and it’s a crying shame there probably won’t be another attempt.