Pokemon take over Walsh's Hotel Maghera

Pokemon GO players in the Mid Ulster area can now battle against one another at the virtual gym that has been set up at Walsh's Hotel, Maghera.
Pokemon Go players can battle it out at Walsh's Hotel in MagheraPokemon Go players can battle it out at Walsh's Hotel in Maghera
Pokemon Go players can battle it out at Walsh's Hotel in Maghera

The local landmark has become a designated Pokemon gym, which means the app has chosen the site as a hotspot for players who have reached level five or above.

This means players can visit the hotel, log their location and then engage in battles with other players’ characters in a bid to progress in the game.

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The augmented reality app generally picks its gym sites using geo-location on smartphones, with public sites such as churches, parks and hotels usually selected.

Players can ‘catch’ Pokemon characters in the real world and then at gyms, battle it out with each other with the characters they’ve collected. 

Sinead McKeever from Walsh’s Hotel said: “Yes, we’re coming up as a gym.

“I think there’s some kind of reigning champion that has that battleground covered at the minute, so players could win the trophy off him.”

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To play at a Pokemon gym, players must declare allegiance to one of the app’s three teams – Valor, Mystic or Instinct, aka red, blue and yellow.

“Some gyms will be ‘friendly’ while others may be under the control of a rival team,” she added.

“Battling ultimately strengthens players’ Pokemon squad, and they can collect points and PokeCoins, as well as using ‘candy’ to gain an advantage.”

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