Pokemon Go Tips & Tricks for Beginners

Since its release, Pokemon Go has evolved (pun intended) from a relatively basic game of catching Pokemon to an experience with numerous features and complexities. Here are the top tips and tricks for beginner players in Pokemon Go!

Pokemon Go Beginner Tips

These beginner tips will focus on the fundamentals of Pokemon Go.

Catching Pokemon

Naturally catching Pokemon is arguably the most important part of Pokemon Go. Much like traditional Pokemon games, the higher level CP (combat points) the Pokemon is, the harder it will be to catch.

More powerful Pokemon balls, great and ultra balls, will increase the chances of capture. Moreover, Pokemon will be more likely to be caught when using an array of berries.

Additional methods to increase your capture chance include waiting for the Pokemon to be still and making the ball hit the Pokemon just as the inner circle comes to a full closure.

High CP and Good IVs

Of course it makes sense to try and find Pokemon to capture that are a high level and have good individual values (IVs). The higher the CP of a Pokemon the less time, and resource, you’ll need to spend on leveling it up.

On top of this, IVs are very important. IVs show how naturally strong your Pokemon is, it’s potential if you will. As a result it’s wise to attempt to find Pokemon with both good CP and IVs.

The highest IV for each stat in Pokemon Go is 15. When you’re a level 30+ trainer, Pokemon you find will more frequently have a higher CP.

Candy

Candy is what is used to level up your Pokemon. Therefore, harvesting candy is an essential part of Pokemon Go. There are numerous ways to obtain candy. It is also important to note that there is separate candy for different species of Pokemon.

The primary way of garnering candy is by capturing Pokemon. This means grinding the capture of a particular Pokemon might be a necessity at times. Capturing second and third-tier evolutions will generate 5 and 10 candies respectively. This is in comparison to the standard 3 candies for first level Pokemon. Furthermore, Pokemon Go Community Days are an excellent way to obtain candy for one Pokemon.

Read More: Pokemon Go January Community Day

Perhaps the easiest way to get candy is to select a buddy Pokemon. Candy for this selected Pokemon will be generated after walking a particular distance. This distance depends on the Pokemon. Seeing as you’re going to be walking anyway, it’s a great way to get additional candy.

Using Pinap berries before capturing a Pokemon is another way to get more candy. When using the Pinap berry, if you’re next capture attempt is successful then the candy generated from that capture will double.

Finally, mass-capturing a particular type of Pokemon will clog up your inventory. You can resolve this by transferring your Pokemon out. Each time you transfer a Pokemon (transfer essentially means remove) you’ll be given one candy.

Having a buddy Pokemon is essentially a free candy bonus!

Eggs and Hatching

Eggs are another important feature of Pokemon Go. 2km, 5km and 10km eggs are found in PokeStops. The other variant of egg, 7km, is found in gifts.

Following on from the candy section, hatching eggs can generate anywhere between 10 and 30 candy for the hatched Pokemon. The Pokemon within eggs are random. Consequently, this is the downside of trying to harvest candy via eggs.

As the different types of egg suggest, this is how far you’ll need to walk to hatch them. You can hold 9 eggs at a time. Unsurprisingly, the eggs that require further distance have an increased chance of holding rarer Pokemon.

Eggs are another way to generate candy, and get rare Pokemon, in Pokemon Go…

Gyms

Gyms in Pokemon Go are held by one of three teams: Instinct, Mystic or Valor. These are the three teams you can choose between joining when you hit level 5.

If your team currently holds a gym, and there is a space available, you can put one of your own Pokemon there too. A gym can hold a maximum of 6 Pokemon. You can replenish your Pokemon’s HP remotely with berries.

Alternatively, if a gym is held by an opposing team, you can attempt to battle it. Usually, you will need 6 high CP Pokemon to have a chance. However, there are occasions where perhaps a gym is held by only a couple of Pokemon or the CP of them is low. If so, it might be worth attacking!

Raids

Another staple of Pokemon Go are raids. Raids are essentially a co-ordinated attack from multiple trainers against a raid boss (a particular Pokemon). The raids are divided into 5 tiers, 1 through 5. Tier 1 raids are against common Pokemon whereas 5 are against legendary Pokemon.

Raids take place at Pokemon gyms are signified by an egg with a countdown timer. Up to a maximum of 20 trainers can team together. The raid boss must be defeated within 5 minutes and there is a period of one hour before the gym returns to its normal state.

Raid bosses have extremely high CP which is why numerous trainers are required to win. Upon completion, assuming you are successful, you’ll receive rewards as well as a chance to capture the Pokemon. Participating in raids is advisable because it is a great way to grab rewards and build up your Pokemon portfolio!

Raid Battles in Pokemon Go are a great way to get involved with other Go players!