By Matt
In addition to the C-Gear’s three primary functions, there are many other parts of the C-Gear when it’s turned on. For example, the top-left corner tells the time, as set by the DS system settings. The top-right corner measures battery life and the strength of a connection, which can be either internet or IR, based on the activity that you are doing. What you see in the middle may look like a whole bunch of tiles, but it can be changed to fit one’s own interests.
To customize your C-Gear, tap the wrench near the bottom of the screen. This allows you to tap any tile without having a function. Each tap you make changes its appearance to either Online, IR, Wireless, a green tile, or a blank space. You can cycle through these until you are pleased, and go on to edit another tile. Depending on the C-Gear skin you can get from the Pokemon Global Link site, you may want to limit your tile usage so the background can show. The only other way it can show is if you turn the C-Gear off, which disables all wireless functions.
To make the best use of my C-Gear background, which is currently a Pikachu, I’ve limited the three functions to one tile each, since Pikachu occupies most of the screen. Remember, you can’t edit the place where the time goes, or the buttons at the bottom. That colorful circle at the bottom-left represents the passerby survey, which is automatic. Once you complete surveys by going to Passerby Analytics in Castelia City, you can take a survey to ask people questions as they pass by. Basic questions, like a player’s version or gender, make the passerby survey unique, since no one has to stop and answer questions. While looking at the survey results, you can see how many people you’ve passed by and their answers. The long bar next to the circle is the Tag Log, which fills up one light every time you see a new person who has also turned C-Gear on. When you tap it, you can see everyone within your range, even if they’ve left. You can see their time spent playing, how many people they’ve passed by, and even their location in-game. Their color and sprite are determined by their settings in the DS and on the trainer card, respectively. A person near you represents a lit-up light in the C-Gear, while a person that has gone out of range will be dim. This resets every time you restart the game, but not the amount of people you meet.
Finally, the question mark represents the FAQ, which answers questions or misconceptions relating to the C-Gear. The last button is the power button, which does what it says. You may want to turn off the C-Gear where no wireless functions are allowed, like an airport. Take your street smarts and games wherever you go, and look for players who have their DS out.