Top 10 Tricks and Secrets in Pokemon Go

Pokemon Go is not only the biggest mobile game in the world – it’s well on its way to establishing itself as one of the top apps in the world, too. Having already overtaken Twitter in active user count, Pokemon Go is on track to surpass Snapchat and Google Maps as well. Perhaps even more importantly, Pokemon Go is leading the pack of top-apps in average daily user time – the game averages 33 minutes’ engagement from its users daily, compared to 22 minutes from Facebook users and 15 minutes from Instagram users. The bottom line is, it’s a massively popular game, and a competitive one at that. Pokemon Go features a number of different competitive elements to it – from catching as many Pokemon as possible, to battling, to winning gyms, to evolving Pokemon – part of the fun of the game for users is in trying to one-up each other to become the superior Pokemon trainer. Looking for ways to gain a competitive advantage so that you can become the very best, like no one ever was? Well, you’ve come to the right place – check out our Top 10 Tricks and Secrets in Pokemon Go!

Top 10 Tips, Tricks and Secrets in Pokemon Go

1. Select Pikachu as Your Starter

pikachuWhen you start the game, you’re given the choice of choosing between the classic three Pokemon starters – Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander, just like in the original games. Like the TV show, and unlike the original games, however, you can in fact end up with Pikachu as your starter! By refusing to catch any of the three starter Pokemon, eventually, Pikachu will appear alongside them to be caught! Different users report different amounts of time required to spawn Pikachu, but the consensus seems to be that it will take at least 10-minutes of inactivity.

2. Catch Pokemon Using the Circles

The Pokemon-catching Pokeball game seems pretty straightforward – flick Pokeball at Pokemon, hope it works – but there are ways to improve your odds of successfully catching Pokemon. You’ll notice that there is a ringcircles around the center of the Pokemon – this ring can come in three different colors which correspond to the level of difficulty in catching the Pokemon – red/orange (hard), yellow (average), and green (easy). If you’re facing a more difficult ring, try using a Great Ball or a Razz Berry to improve your odds. Additionally, by holding down the Pokeball before release, you’ll notice that the ring begins to shrink – by hitting the ring in the center, your odds will improve. The smaller the ring is, the more difficult the catch will be, but the better your odds will be if you make an accurate throw.

3. Turning off AR

catchingYou may or may not have noticed that there is an ‘AR’ switch on the screen when attempting to catch Pokemon – this can allow you to turn off your augmented reality feature while playing, and the Pokemon will appear on your screen against a grass backdrop. This may sound boring, but catching Pokemon without the AR feature is actually a much easier task – consider turning off AR if you’re facing a rare or coveted Pokemon.

4. Battery-Saver Mode

Another little-known feature in Pokemon Go is the battery-saver mode. Anyone who has played knows that the game is not exactly battery-friendly – by entering battery-saver mode through the game settings, players can scalebattery2 back the severe battery demands of the game. Turning off sounds, music, and vibration will help to conserve battery as well.

5. Not All Pokestops Are Created Equal

pokestopPokestops will all give you some number of items, but there are definitely Pokestops that are more likely to provide more valuable items. Prominent landmarks and locations such as monuments, town halls, police stations, etc. are more likely to give out rare items like incense or 10km eggs, as opposed to the more basic bus stop-type Pokestops that are unlikely to give out much more than basic Pokeballs.

6. Spinning Pokeballs for XP

Although some people have stumbled onto this feature on their own, many users are still unfamiliar with the spinning-Pokeball trick. When trying to catch a Pokemon, by spinning the Pokeball before throwing it, players are making the Pokemon-catching process more difficult, although if successful, the capture will result in double the amount of XP.

7. Pick your Eevee-lution: Choosing Eevee’s Evolved Formeeveelution

When evolving Eeevee without outside influence, you are essentially leaving the resulting evolved form of your Eevee up to the fates. However, there is a way to choose which evolved form of Eevee you will end up with. By naming your Eevee one of the following: Sparky for Jolteon, Rainer for Vaporeon, or Pyro for Flareon, you can choose which evolved form of Eevee you will be receiving after ‘pulling the trigger’.

8. In-Game Purchases for Free

shopConquering Pokemon Gyms will do wonders for your ego, and the accomplishment comes with some serious bragging rights over other players. However, there are more tangible benefits to winning battles as well. After winning a gym, by entering the shop and clicking on the badge on the top-right corner, you can collect Pokecoins to spend on items. Pokecoins are otherwise only obtainable through actual purchasing. While holding one gym, 10 coins can be collected every 20-hours – the more gyms held, the more coins you can collect.

9. How to Track Pokemon

There is a lot of controversy surrounding the Pokemon tracking system right now. Depending on who you ask, the process of tracking Pokemon should be carried out in any number of different ways –nearby there is a huge difference of opinion amongst sects of players in terms of how to read the map, rustling leaves, the nearby-box, etc. Here is what we do know, for a certainty: The fewer the footprints there are accompanying a Pokemon on the nearby screen, the closer the Pokemon is. Select a Pokemon that is nearby, walk in a certain direction, and wait to see whether the number of footprints goes up or down, and act accordingly. It may not be the most specific instruction, but it’s what we do know for sure.

10. Cheating the Pedometer

eggs2Hatching eggs, and especially those beautiful 10km eggs, can be a serious pain. Realistically speaking, there’s only so much time someone can spend moving with the app open during the course of a day – it could take a long time to hatch an egg that may nor may not provide you with a new or rare Pokemon. Because the game compensates when it detects that you’re moving in a car (the distance travelled won’t count), you need to get creative to hatch your eggs – ride your bike with the app open or tie your phone to the dog – do whatever it takes to make sure the phone is moving, but not above about 15mph.

 

Well, there you have it – 10 sure-fire ways to gain a competitive advantage over your rival trainers. Ultimately, short of spending money on Pokecoins, the best thing you can do to become a stronger trainer is to invest time in the game – the more time spent playing, the more experience you’ll receive, the more Pokemon you’ll catch, etc. If you’re an active trainer, with these tips on your side, you’ll catch em’ all in no time!

Thanks for checking out our Pokemon Go feature!

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