Pokémon Sleep: Catching Dreams

We never imagined that a video game would invade our dreams. Such is the case with Pokémon Sleep, a mobile app for iOS and Android devices coming this summer.

The Pokémon Company gave us the opportunity to test version 1.0 of the Android version of the app from a dreamy hotel room in lower Manhattan, New York. We were also able to test the public beta version (0.9), as the pre-registration download was released the same day.

How does Pokemon Sleep work?

To use this application, we must first take into account that our smartphone must be placed on the mattress on which we are going to sleep, so that the smartphone’s sensors can work properly, and at the same time it must be connected to the power supply.

Before you begin, you will need to download 596.9 MB to start a short tutorial in which Professor Neroli, the researcher of Pokémon’s sleeping habits, explains how to set it up.

Part of the game’s plot involves an investigation in which this professor records Pokémon while they sleep to analyze their sleeping habits.

The area where the story takes place are islands that are home to many Snorlax, a Pokémon that emits a strange power that makes the other Pokémon around it fall asleep. This has led to the creation of a device that amplifies this Pokémon’s drowsy power, the Sleep Synchronizer. This device synchronizes our sleep (via our smartphone) with that of Snorlax, allowing us to lure other Pokémon.

Time to go to sleep

Once we are ready to go to sleep with the help of Pikachu, we will need to set the alarm to wake us up. It is important to note that once the time has been set, we will receive a notification 30 minutes before the time to visit Morpheus.

To get a log, we must sleep for at least 90 minutes, and we can record up to 2 sessions per day.

The next day

At the end of the cycle, an alarm will sound and Professor Neroli will show us how the studio works.

First, our rest is divided into 3 types of sleep:

For example, depending on the time it gives you a score, the teacher reiterates that for a child to get the maximum score of 100 points, he/she must sleep at least 11 hours.

Then a graph will show us the phases of the sleep cycle, emphasizing that the more we use the device, the better this record will improve. These phases will help us to know how deep our sleep was. Once we check our score, we will be given Drowsy Power based on how much we have accumulated, which will help Snorlax to calm down other Pokémon so that they, in turn, will appear asleep near him. All of this will help us learn the different positions in which these cute creatures sleep.

Catching your dreams

Once we have passed the evaluation part, we will enter the area where we can check which Pokémon appear around Snorlax to photograph and record their sleeping positions in the Sleep Style Dex. It is important to note that Pokémon will be attracted to you based on the type of sleep you are in. In our case, a light sleep attracted Grass and Bug-type Pokémon.

Once you have registered the Pokémon that appear near you, you will need to feed them to earn Friendship Points, which you can use to catch them, gain Experience Points, and level up.

Once our journey is over, we will be able to change islands each week to meet more Snorlax and catch other Pokémon, but we will need to gain its trust by feeding it its favorite foods to increase its strength. This will involve another activity, cooking.

We were able to explore the platform until that point because it was still in beta and had limited functionality.

Considerations

It is important to highlight some of the things that Kaname Kosugi, Director of Pokémon Sleep, and Yuri Horie, Product Marketing Manager, told us in a pre-test talk. This application is not designed to track our activity as such, as all information is deleted after 24 hours, much less to give us health advice. It is simply a game designed to complement our sleep habits and make them more fun. The team is aware that there are variables they cannot avoid, such as using it while sleeping with someone else. But this will improve as development progresses, as they have not ruled out the possibility of even integrating some of its functions into smartwatches, as they will do with Pokémon Go Plus +.

One thing that is a reality is that this app is a very fun way to encourage one of the healthiest activities, sleeping.