General Tips For Playing Pokémon Go

So, you have downloaded Pokémon Go to join the craze that is taking over the nation, scratch that the world but you’re still not 100% sure of what all you should do. Well then this post is for you! Let me enlighten you to some of the tips and tricks for playing the game to have the most fun and be the most successful!

• Save your battery by tapping the Pokéball on the middle of your screen. Then tap settings and make sure that “Battery Saver” is on. It will darken your screen when you put it down but will still vibrate if a Pokémon shows up. (You have to turn this on every time you start the game)
• Catch duplicates of the same Pokémon! It doesn’t matter how strong they are. If you have several Pidgey’s then transfer the ones with the lower number. When you transfer them you get candy which can help you evolve and level your Pokémon! Don’t know how to transfer? Tap the Pokéball and then tap Pokémon. Tap on the lower level Pokémon and scroll to the bottom to hit “Transfer” which will warn you that the action can’t be undone. After doing so you’ll receive candy from the Professor. When you have enough candy you’ll have the option to evolve a Pokémon.
• So you’ve got enough Pidgey candy to evolve that Pidgey, here’s how to do it. Tap on the high level Pidgey you want to use and tap on Evolve. After you Evolve it then you’ll have Pidgeotto! It will gain levels as well from the evolution. Now if you want to evolve that Pidgeotto you need to still collect more Pidgey candy in order to do so which means you need to go find more Pidgey to transfer to the Professor.
• Seeing the Pokémon in the real world is very cool but turn off AR in the top right corner for battles because it saves battery and it makes the Pokémon easier to catch.

• When trying to catch a Pokémon tap and hold on the Pokéball and a colored circle will appear on the Pokémon. Green means it’s easy to catch, Yellow means its moderately hard to catch, and Orange means it’s hard to catch. The trick is that you want to hit the middle of the circle even with its ever changing size.
• Some Pokémon can swipe or whack your Pokéball away so be patient. Don’t just throw the Pokéball immediately or you’ll waste all the ones that you have.

• You can spin your Pokéball to charge it for a curveball shot which gives you more Experience Points when you catch the Pokémon.
• In the bottom right there’s a display for Nearby Pokémon and the feet below each Pokémon or shadow indicates how far away they are. Tap on the Pokémon you want to find and head in any direction. If it’s the right direction the tiny gray box will give off a glow. Watch the footprints below because if they reduce in numbers you’re going the right way but if not try a different direction.
• Once you reach Level 5 you have the option to join a team. Go to the nearest gym and that will give you the prompting to join. There are descriptions of each of the three teams but choose wisely since your decision is permanent! (or just pick your favorite color)

• At Gyms the battles are in real time so it isn’t turn based. You tap on your screen to have your Pokémon attack but remember to hold down to use your second strongest move.
• If you own a gym make sure to tap on the shop and in the top right corner there is a shield icon. Tap on that for a few shop coins and stardust every 24 hours as your Defender Bonus.
• PokéStops can be visited again after five minutes. Sometimes it will tell you to come again later if you visit too often. The little circle that appears at a PokéStop needs to be spun! This is important because it can drop eggs, potions, and Pokéballs. The most Pokéstops I’ve seen are found at local parks.

• The Lure Module is best used at a PokéStop because there will be a variety of different Pokémon that will appear. Everyone else nearby benefits from it as well so be prepared to make a few new friends who are also playing Pokémon Go.

• At level 8 you unlock Razz Berry which helps you to catch Pokémon by making them love you a little bit more as you are throwing Pokéballs at them.
• At level 10 you unlock Super Potion which comes in handy with all the gym battles you’ll be doing so you can heal your weakened Pokémon.
• At level 12 you unlock Great Balls which are needed to catch some of those difficult and rare Pokémon who run away after one Pokéball throw!
• At level 15 you unlock Hyper Potions which are handy for your Pokémon who’ve really received a beating during gym battles.
• At level 20 you unlock Ultra Balls which you’ll likely want to hold on to for any super rare Pokémon you might happen to come across.

I hope these tips help you in your journey to become the very best! What level are you on? What team did you join? And what's your highest level Pokémon?