With Pokemon Go now almost two-weeks-old, many people have discovered tips and tricks that were not shown in the mobile game's very limited tutorial. However, articles are pretty shattered and I have yet to see an article with the most useful ones. Without further delay, here are my top five of the currently known tips, tricks, and strategies for Pokemon Go.
1. Gaining EXP
While EXP comes pretty easily between levels 1 thru about 8, it can get a little hectic when higher than that. Luckily, with each level gain, you get rewards that can seriously up your game. Upon reaching level 9, you get something called a Lucky Egg (which can also be bought using Microtransactions at any level). The egg doubles EXP gained from all sources for 30 minutes. Coincidentally, you get a ton of EXP for evolving Pokemon. Because Rattatas, Pidgeys, and Weedles are pretty much everywhere and don't take much to evolve. At the time of this article, I have about 150 Rattata candies. Instead of immediately transferring these low level Pokemon to the Professor for only 1 candy, consider evolving them, then transferring them. When you can, go out and catch a ton of these low levels. Make sure you have enough candy to mass evolve them (I suggest at least 75, 100 if you can). Apply the Lucky Egg effect in the Items tab and start evolving your Pokemon. Doing this will net you several thousand EXP in one go and will help to level up quicker. Once you get your next Lucky Egg at level 10, rinse and repeat. Use an Incense or Lure Module during this process if it helps capture the needed Pokemon.
2. Gym Battles & PokeCoins
Microtransactions, while not game-breaking, can sometimes be tempting. PokeCoins can be bought with real-world money, and from there be turned into items such as Pokeballs, Incense, Lucky Eggs, and much more. However, many don't know that these PokeCoins can be earned in-game. All you have to do is add your Pokemon to a friendly gym after battling the current leaders or claim enemy gyms for your team. Once you set a Pokemon to defend the gym, you can cash in for a defender bonus every 20 hours as long as you remain a gym leader.
To add a Pokemon as a defender, you first have to battle the current leaders (if the gym is friendly). Keep in mind every Pokemon has 2 attacks. A basic and a special. The goal is to tap the enemy as many times as you can to defeat him. Special attacks can be used once one of the bars under your Pokemon's name is filled with blue. Hold your finger down until black bars appear at the top and bottom of the screen and then release. Then resume the senseless tapping after the attack has been completed. You can dodge basic enemy attacks by swiping left and right, but special attacks cannot be dodged.
Once the battle is over (you don't have to beat all of them, just beat at least one), a new icon will appear on the bottom left of the main gym page allowing you to add a Pokemon to the gym. NEVER add your most powerful Pokemon to the gym. Always add your second most powerful. You'll want to use your most powerful to battle other gyms. Just make sure your second most powerful is still pretty powerful, which is recommended anywhere over 400. Otherwise, you'll stand no chance.
Once the Pokemon is set as a defender, immediately go to the store tab in the menu and hit the shield icon at the top right. This will give you your first defender bonus. Activate this as soon as you can after you set a Pokemon as defender, because if your Pokemon is defeated before you claim it, the reward will vanish and cannot be claimed.
3. Returning Pokeballs
I'm getting pretty good at catching Pokemon. At the time of this article, I've caught nearly 300. By the time this article reaches your eyes, that number will probably have doubled or tripled. However, no matter how good I am, I still tend to miss when throwing Pokeballs. There's a great fix to stop from losing them for good. If you miss, hold your finger on the Pokeball when it hits the ground (wherever it lands). Doing this will return it to your inventory so you don't lose it for good. Sadly, there's no known way to get a ball back if a Pokemon breaks out of it.
4. Tracking Pokemon
By now, everyone has noticed the bar at the bottom right that, when tapped on, tells you the Pokemon that are nearby. What you might not know is that you can tap on an individual Pokemon in the Nearby popup to track it. Once tracked, it'll appear in the bottom right by itself (instead of the default 3 closest Pokemon view). 1 foot icon means it's nearby, 2 means it's a little bit further away, and 3 feet means it's further away. Once selected, turn your self slowly in a 360 degree circle until the tracker box pulses green. Start walking in that direction, and the pulsating will get faster. It will continue to pulse faster as you get closer. Once the last footprint goes away, the Pokemon will appear.
5. Saving Battery Power
Putting your Phone on Battery Saver mode and lowering screen brightness are great starts to conserve power while playing. Carrying around a battery backup can also provide longer play time. Also try turning off Wi-Fi when out and about to avoid losing battery life due to your phone trying to search for available hotspots when not connected. It may seem like a pretty basic thing, but over time the percentage adds up to a lot of your play time lost. Additionally, go to the in-game settings and turn on Battery Saver. Turn your phone upside down with the app open and stick it in your pocket. If done correctly, the screen will darken and display a faint Pokemon Go logo. The phone will vibrate when a Pokemon appears and steps will still count towards your incubated eggs. If your battery is running low, limit your activities to catching Pokemon or depleting Pokemon Centers of their resources. Save transferring, leveling, evolving, or other activities until after you get your battery back up. After the Pokemon Go Plus wristband releases, we should see less battery power being used.
