Niantic’s Pokémon Go is a fantastic app to bring outdoors. Since the app’s release in 2016, Pokémon Go has sent Pokémon trainers into the virtual wild. Even today, Pokémon Go has evolved culturally, becoming the vehicle for social festivities. As new Pokémon generations enter the game, Pokémon Go attracts new prospective players.
Those unfamiliar with the Pokémon franchise may use the game as a handy pedometer app. You can turn on Pokémon Go to record steps and listen to banger music through comfortable wireless earbuds. No matter your intent, it’s never too late to get into Pokémon Go. Whether you are new to Pokémon Go or a returning player, expect to see a massive amount of content, which is why Android Police compiled this beginner’s guide covering the game’s mechanics, essential tips, and helpful how-tos to take with you on your journey through Pokémon Go.
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How to play Pokémon Go: The basics
Pokémon Go is different from the mainline series. Even if you are new to the themes, Pokémon Go has evolved beyond “gotta catch ’em all” to a full-blown AR game. If your phone can use ARCore, you can play Pokémon Go. When you load up the app, sync your real location to the game to catch, evolve, and collect Pokémon to your heart’s content. To teach you what to expect from Pokémon Go, here’s the general gameplay loop:
Customize your trainer and synchronize the app with the GPS.
Select your starting Pokémon and catch Pokémon encountered in the wild (synchronized with the real-world environment) by throwing Pokéballs.
Complete research tasks (mini-objectives) that appear in your log for extra rewards.
Level up your trainer by doing daily tasks, research, and walking with your Pokémon using the built-in step tracker.
Participate in events and other modes with your collected Pokémon. Battle with or against other trainers using your installed Pokémon movesets.
We break down every mechanic and mode throughout this guide. It may seem overwhelming to get into Pokémon Go, but you don’t have to do everything at once. It plays well as a step-tracking app, which lets you collect the Pokémon you encounter on the map while walking and visiting landmarks to re-stock your item bag. Whether you play leisurely or are a Pokémon enthusiast, this game doesn’t restrict your ability to play.
How to catch a wild Pokémon
When you open your app, Pokémon spawn around your in-game avatar. Any activity from walking and Incense causes more Pokémon to appear nearby. You can catch any Pokémon in your vicinity by tapping the Pokémon of choice.
Catching a wild Pokémon in Pokémon Go is different than previous Pokémon games. You no longer have to send out your Pokémon to knock down the wild Pokémon’s health to increase the odds of catching it. Instead, catching depends on your throwing technique, the items you use, and your Pokéball choice. If your assigned buddy’s friendship level is high enough, your buddy may also randomly assist in helping you catch wild Pokémon.
To catch a wild Pokémon, tap the Pokémon nearby and watch for the transition battle screen. Select your Pokéball, then use your finger to straight or curveball toss your Pokéball at the wild Pokémon (you’ll see a circle, aim to hit inside the circle).
How to increase the odds of catching a wild Pokémon
Throwing berries helps the chances of catching a wild Pokémon. Select the berry type from the left side of the screen and then tap the chosen berry. The types of berries and what they can do are summarized below:
Nanab berries (resembling bananas) keep Pokémon from moving on your screen, making it easier to aim the Pokéball.
Razz berries (resembling raspberries) increase the chance the Pokémon stays in the ball. The Golden Razz berries are the more powerful version of Razz berries but tougher to acquire. Save those for Pokémon raids to catch legendaries.
Pinap berries (resembling pineapples) double the earned candy from freshly caught Pokémon. Silver Pinap berries add a 2.334 multiplier to earned candy and are tougher to acquire.
You can only use one berry at a time until you’ve depleted that berry status with failed throw attempts and catches. Rambunctious wild Pokémon, such as shadow Pokémon, appreciate Nanab berries. Razz berries assist with general cases of catching wild Pokémon.
Mastering Pokéball throws in Pokémon Go
The other method for increasing your odds is perfecting how you toss your Pokéballs. A Pokémon’s hitbox has three locations where your throw can land. Here are the types of throws and how to get there:
Nice throws: The hitbox of your throw aligns with the largest hitbox (the circle). These throws are the most forgiving and the easiest to perfect.
Great throws: Aligns with a medium circle throw relative to the Pokémon’s hitbox. It is the second-easiest throw and most common to land for intermediate-level play.
Excellent throws: The most difficult to land because it requires aligning the smallest circle relative to the Pokémon’s hitbox. However, it’s doable on Pokémon with larger hitboxes. Still, it may need some luck to get the timing right.
Practicing curveball throws
Landing curveball throws increases your chances of catching a Pokémon. You can curveball throw any of the three throw types (like a nice curveball throw). It may be challenging to land an excellent curveball throw, so you may want to practice nice and great curveball throws to up your odds. Also, don’t be afraid to use a Razz berry while doing it to keep upping those chances.
To perfect your curveball throws, spin your Pokéball on screen and wait for the size of the circle to align with the Pokémon’s hitbox. Practice nice and great curveball throws with Pokémon with larger hitboxes.
PokéStops and Gym landmarks
Special landmarks in Pokémon Go allow trainers to stock up and progress in-game. Pay attention to PokéStops and Gyms nearby to gain the most out of your Pokémon Go experience. Below, we breakdown the importance (and features) of visiting these landmarks.
About PokéStops and locations
PokéStops are landmarks players visit to get free items. Once you spin for items at a stop, wait five real-time minutes to spin again. You can do this infinitely if you have lots of time on your hands! Plan outings at parks and set up shop next to a PokéStop. You can install lure modules to attract wild Pokémon at a PokéStop for 30 minutes.
Freebies from spinning PokéStops:
Berries
Eggs
Field research
Pokéballs
Potions
Stamps
Revives
The item rarity obtained depends on your trainer level.
How to spin a PokéStop in Pokémon Go
Spinning a PokéStop may seem unnatural, but when you get the hang of it, you will spam this (spin) motion on every stop you see.
Find a nearby PokéStop. The circle radius around your avatar needs to be close to the PokéStop to interact.
Tap the PokéStop icon on your map while in the app.
Select the photo disk and swipe in one direction to simulate spinning. Repeat until items appear.
Collect items by tapping your screen.
The PokéStop turns purple after being used and later turns blue when it’s ready for another spin.
About Gyms and raiding events
Like PokéStops, Gyms are another landmark players can visit after reaching trainer level 5. While you’re at Gyms, you can spin and partake in Gym battles. Essentially, you can place your Pokémon at a Gym to net you PokéCoins. You can only do this if there’s enough space for your faction or if you defeat the opposing faction’s Pokémon to take over the Gym. Sometimes special events, ‘raids,’ can be encountered at a Gym. Any gym activity gets put on hold while a raid happens. You’ll know a raid is about to happen when you see an egg above the Gym.
Leaving your Pokémon to defend the Gym is how you’ll obtain PokéCoins for your account. Niantic uses PokéCoins as the in-game currency, also purchasable with real money from the in-game store. You can earn 50 PokéCoins per day (6 PokéCoins per hour). The 50 PokéCoins per day is a hard cap, so bringing three Pokémon to three different gyms wouldn’t get 150 PokéCoins if all three returned that same day.
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Spend your time to save money or spend your money to save time
What to buy with your coins?
Acquiring PokéCoins in Pokémon Go may take some time to build up depending on how often you visit Gyms nearby and if those Gyms are fully occupied or not by your alliance. If your alliance controls the Gym, you cannot place more Pokémon in the Gym if it reaches maximum capacity. But, with the price hike in Pokémon Go, you have to be careful about how you spend your PokéCoins.
Items to prioritize for beginners
Many items can be bought in Pokémon Go, but you will want to prioritize the following for spending your PokéCoins:
Pokémon Storage (200)
Item Bag (200)
Remote Raid Pass (100)/3 Remote Raid Passes (300)
Egg Incubator (150)/Super Incubator (200)
Regarding crates, bundles, and packs, avoid spending your PokéCoins on these unless it is the 1 PokéCoin deal. They are often overpriced and include items you can get for free, like berries and Pokéballs.
If you’re hard-pressed to obtain PokéCoins, use them only on Pokémon Storage and Item Bag. Item space fills up quickly, especially if you visit PokéStops, open up friend gifts, and cash in on research task rewards, and the new additions of Pokémon make it tough to keep up. After upgrading your storage, you can spend the rest on luxurious add-ons like Remote Raid Passes and Egg Incubators.
How battling works in Pokémon Go
Outside of catching wild Pokémon, you’ll battle against none playable characters (NPCs), in raids, and against other trainers. Your Pokémon teams change depending on the content you’re targeting. Some Pokémon are better against PvE content over PvP and vice-versa. Ultimately, you’ll have to raise your Pokémon CP, evolve, and arrange their moveset if aiming to become victorious while battling.
What are charged and fast moves?
Each Pokémon offers two attacks for use in battle: fast and charged. Fast attacks are performed by tapping the screen, which generates energy for your charged attacks. Charged attacks require tapping a button to unleash after you’ve met the energy requirements.
Not all charged and fast moves are created equally
Pokémon can have more than one charged move, totaling three moves at a time, but that requires a lot of stardust to unlock. Some charged attacks cost less to fill up than others (but are weaker in power), and some fast moves are more efficient in generating energy (but less powerful).
You’re better off rerolling your moves using TMs to create a synergistic moveset instead of spending resources to unlock a second charged attack.
As a new player coming into Pokémon Go, you’ll reach a limit on how many TMs and stardust you own, so participate in Community Day events (which occur once a month). You’ll often rack up stardust while catching the featured Pokémon and earn a special move while evolving Pokémon during Community Day. And fortunately, the moves are usually very potent and rare in nature.
About raiding and where it happens
Raiding happens when an egg hatches at a Gym. You must use raid passes, either remote or regular, to challenge a raid. Common raids are split into types: normal, rare, mega-rare, and legendary. Each raid spawns a higher-tier boss based on type. Normal raids spawn tier 1, rare spawns tier 2, and so on. The higher the tier, the more challenging the raid boss ends up being and may require a lot of muscle power from your Pokémon team and other trainers around you.
About Pokémon typing and why it’s important
Battling in Pokémon Go uses a rock-paper-scissors system to determine how effective your moves are against the opposing Pokémon and how weak you are against the opposing Pokémon’s attacks. This is with Pokémon types and the move’s element. You’ll always want to bring Pokémon with the maximum coverage with your Pokémon types. The image below is a beginner’s cheat sheet to help determine your Pokémon’s strengths and weaknesses with typing. Remember that Pokémon can have more than one typing.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
When a move becomes deployed against your Pokémon’s type, check the defenders to match with the attackers. When your Pokémon uses a move, check the move’s type against the defender’s Pokémon type. Damage is halved, doubled, or neutral (white square), while zero refers to not having any effect.
Team Rocket and Shadow Pokémon
As you become more comfortable battling NPCs, you may encounter Team Rocket balloons or at your local PokéStop. Team Rocket encounters are a bit different than regular NPC battling. You fight against Shadow Pokémon, which are more powerful versions than regular Pokémon.
You’ll face off against Team Rocket Grunts, leaders, and Giovanni (if you have a Super Rocket Radar and meet the conditions). At the end of these battles, you can earn a Shadow Pokémon if caught successfully.
If the Shadow Pokémon is too rambunctious while you’re throwing the Pokéball, use your Nanab berries to help stop the movement.
Shadow Pokémon versus regular Pokémon
Shadow Pokémon all have the same charged move, known as Frustration. You cannot overwrite Frustration unless you purify your Pokémon or change the move with a TM during special events (these events only occur a few times a year).
The advantages of keeping a Shadow version are how hard the fast attacks hit compared to the regular Pokémon version and inherently having a potentially higher CP and IV. The downside is they take more damage due to having lower defense scaling. If you have high IV Shadow Pokémon and legendaries, do not purify your Pokémon. Chances are, it will be stronger than the regular versions. You can save your TMs to remove the Frustration when those special events go live (these are announced).
Giovanni and the Team Rocket leaders
By default, you battle against Team Rocket Grunts until you acquire the items needed to summon the Team Rocket leaders and Giovanni (in exceptional cases). Every time you defeat a Grunt, you’ll earn a Mysterious Component. Combining six is enough to create a Rocket Radar. Using the Rocket Radar summons a Team Rocket leader in your subsequent encounter. The leaders and Giovanni are more challenging to face than the previous Grunts. So, prepare Pokémon with the appropriate typings and high CP to take those baddies out.
Farming candies and experience points efficiently
Part of the fun is seeing your stable of Pokémon grow. Pokémon can’t evolve without using candies, stardust (power-up currency), and items. Sometimes, they must meet unique conditions.
Neglecting your trainer level is a big no-no. The best goodies come from the leveling rewards you earn as you level up.
Hoard your incubators and never throw them away. To replenish your stock, you need PokéCoins.
Farming candies and required distance
Walking your Pokémon buddy is how you earn candy. The distance (in kilometers) isn’t fixed. It’s based on who your assigned buddy is.
Tier 1: 1 km
Tier 2: 3 km
Tier 3: 5 km
Tier 4: 20 km
Navigate to your buddy’s page and check under walking progress to find which tier your Pokémon falls under. Note: 1 km = 0.621371 mi.
In general, the distance is tied to a Pokémon’s rarity. Legendary Pokémon fall under Tier 4. Keep in mind, walking your legendary Pokémon is inefficient. Use rare candies instead.
How to assign a new Pokémon buddy
Assigning new Pokémon buddies requires a few easy steps. Read below to learn more.
Go to your buddy’s page and tap Swap buddies.
Tap Yes to confirm swapping out your buddy.
Scroll through your list or use the search function to find your new Pokémon.
Tap your new Pokémon. Now you have a new buddy.
Farming trainer experience
We summarized the expected experience points required to level your trainer (from levels 1 to 40) using data collected from TheSilphRoad.
Trainer Levels 1-40 (data from TheSilphRoad)
Levels 1-10 (require 165,000 XP points)
Levels 11-20 (require 1,195,000 XP points)
Levels 21-30 (require 9,300,000 XP points)
Levels 31-40 (require 84,000,000 XP points)
Looking at the aggregate data, the numbers grow exponentially. The higher level you are, the longer it takes to reach the next level. Levels are not capped at 40.
Tips to ease trainer experience farming
It may seem cumbersome to work your way up to level 40, but some methods ease the experience. Check below for tips on how to farm trainer experience efficiently.
Make friends on Pokémon Go and send gifts daily. You gain 100,000 XP for reaching Best Friends. Pop a lucky egg, and you double that.
Save your lucky eggs. Use lucky eggs during XP rate-up events. Niantic doesn’t frequently hand out lucky eggs. Use them sparingly and smartly.
Participate in Community Day. Catching Community Day Pokémon offers perks, including XP rate up.
Play the game. Most anything nets you XP, like hatching eggs, new Pokédex entries, catching Pokémon, battling in Gyms, and more.
Managing your stardust in Pokémon Go
Stardust is an upgrade currency system in Pokémon Go. You cannot power up and evolve your Pokémon without stardust. New and inactive players will likely be low on stardust, so here are the ways to acquire more stardust.
Hatch Pokémon from eggs
Open gifts from your friends
Participate in Community Days (potential rate up for stardust)
Catch Pokémon
Complete research field tasks
Battle Team Rocket
Use Star Pieces (not recommended at the start)
Be selective about which Pokémon you decide to raise. Pokémon with low CP often require more stardust to catch up to higher CP values. However, raising Pokémon with the maximum IV is a priority, and having a high CP doesn’t necessarily match up.
Practicing space management
Niantic does a good job incentivizing players to upgrade space early (only having access to 350 bag space). Effectively, 348 is easy to reach. Still, you don’t need to buy any upgrades on day one, and since some items can be disposed of, you can easily clear out space.
Eventually, you acquire PokéCoins for upgrades, but pre-level 20 trainers shouldn’t feel pressured to rush.
The importance of item management
Consistent item management is a good skill to have in every game. The list below is made up of commonly collected items. If your item is not on this list, do not throw it away.
Berries: Razz Berry, Pinap Berry, Nanab Berry
Pokéballs (regular)
Potions: Potion and Super Potion
Revives (regular)
Clearing your item bag is only one step. Pokémon storage management is next. You only have 300 storage bases to work with. Even with 700+ Pokémon to catch, Niantic does a good job controlling the spawns every week, so you won’t fill your Pokédex in a single sitting.
Managing your Pokémon storage
Your storage fills up fast if you keep catching Pokémon unfiltered. So you won’t be able to collect every Pokémon you encounter. We recommend prioritizing checking quality and rarity before accepting your catches. Don’t just go out there catching ’em all; choose wisely.
Sending your Pokémon to the Pokémon Home app
Sometimes it’s heart-breaking to toss away some of your favorites, even if their CP is low and you already have too many duplicates to justify holding a spot. Your starter will likely fit these criteria as you become a more experienced trainer. Not all hope is lost. You can download the Pokémon Home app and transfer your Pokémon from Go to Home. But there is a catch when you move your Pokémon from Go to Home. It is only a one-way transfer between apps, meaning these Pokémon will never return to Pokémon Go.
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How to use the appraisal system
The appraisal system denotes the IVs and CP of your Pokémon. You may prefer to keep Pokémon with high CP and IV values, and remove the duplicates that don’t make the cut. To investigate the Pokémon’s IV and CP, you will use the appraisal system, so we’ve summarized the steps on how to find it.
Go to the Pokémon’s page and tap the three horizontal lines.
Tap appraise.
This opens the dialogue with a professor, and the next dialogue page shows three categories: Attack, Defense, and HP. To get the best IV it needs three stars, and all three lines have to be red.
Check for shiny Pokémon.
The three-star symbol under CP indicates the Pokémon is shiny. Shiny Pokémon are harder to get. Keep them if you can.
Check your research tasks.
Some tasks require you to evolve certain Pokémon.
How to favorite Pokémon in Pokémon Go
You can sort your Pokémon by using the favorite feature, here’s how.
Head to the Pokémon’s page. Check top right for an unfilled star.
Tap the star to fill. This adds the Pokémon as your favorite.
Return to the Pokémon menu and tap Tags. Under Tags lists your favorited Pokémon.
Final tip: Always favorite Pokémon you keep. This way, you won’t accidentally delete important Pokémon.
How to fill out your Pokédex
As part of any Pokémon game, you must complete your Pokédex. Entries are filled out after you catch, hatch, and evolve your Pokémon. We have a few tips when it comes to completing your Pokédex:
Spin PokéStops daily; sometimes, you’ll acquire an egg.
Always place an egg in an Incubator.
Go on daily walks to hatch your eggs.
Catch lots of Pokémon, even if it’s just to collect candy.
Join raids to catch legendaries.
Complete research tasks to receive Pokémon.
Farm candy on Community Day and evolve your Pokémon the same day.
Play Pokémon GO monthly to keep up-to-date on new Pokémon releases.
Research tasks are your best assets
Research task rewards help you gain higher quality Pokémon (better IVs), higher rarity items, and lots of XP/stardust — important milestone progressions for your account.
Be aware that some research tasks are limited time only, and others take multiple steps. You may need to devise a schedule so you don’t miss out on these events; we advise you to start early as some require collecting specific Pokémon types, which may only spawn periodically throughout the week.
Types of research tasks to collect
Research tasks are split into types, below is a summary of the research tasks you’ll encounter in Pokémon Go.
Field research (from PokéStops)
Special research (Professor Willow’s tasks)
Timed research (limited time special research)
Level-up research (for level 40+ trainers)
