Only on level 7?
Catching nothing but Rattatas and Drowsees?
Seems like it's time to up your game! Here is a list of extremely useful tips you need to enhance your time on the Pokémon Go app!
1. Activate a Lucky Egg before you hatch a 10km egg
Lucky eggs double the XP (experience points) you earn over a period of half an hour. Activate a lucky egg just before you are about to hatch a 10km egg and you will soar past the levels!
(What is also highly recommended for a quick levelling up is to save a load of Pidgey candies and then evolve as many Pidgeys to Pidgettos as you can whilst your lucky egg is activated.)
2. Always checkout Pokéstops you pass by
Even if your bag is full you can still gain 50XP for every Pokéstop you spin!
3. Use incense and lures to find rare Pokémon
If you are clever about using the incense and lure tools then you can maximise the amount of Pokémon you catch. Lures work best went they are overlapped with one other lure. (Tripled lures tend not to produce as good a result for some reason.)
Incense is most effective in the last 10 minutes of its effect so keep an extra eye out during this period.
4. Locate particular types of Pokémon in their natural habitats
5. Prioritise your 10km eggs over your 5km and 2km eggs
It is known that 10 km eggs will produce rarer types of Pokémon than the lower-distance ones so always aim to hatch the 10km eggs over the others if you want to have a varied Pokédex.
6. Get yourself a good power bank
When you’re out on the field and someone has set off a lure in the local the last thing you want to happen is for your battery to die.
The best power banks can be found on Amazon, or in Penneys once they catch up with festival season...
7. Turn your GPS on and off regularly
When you refresh your GPS it will pinpoint your location much more accurately. By doing this the Pokémon in the area are more likely to make themselves known you can catch more.
8. Ride your bike to hatch your eggs faster
If you played the Gameboy and DS games you will remember how your trainer could use a bike to rack up some miles in a short space of time. This also works with Pokémon Go!
You can move at 20mph and under and it will still be accounted for, so long as the app is open.
9. Save your phone battery in any way possible
Pokémon Go will drain a good phone battery in just four hours so set your phone to low power mode, turn your screen brightness down and close all background apps to maximise your gameplay time.
It helps too to disable Wi-Fi and of course, Bluetooth.
10. Throw a Razz Berry at rare Pokémon before you try to catch them
Razz Berries can be found at Pokéstops and are very useful if you have come across rare Pokémon that you really want to catch – they double your chances of catching that Pokémon so throw one at the Pokémon before you throw your Pokéball.
Be warned though, they only last for the throw straight after the Razz Berry has been eaten!
11. Hatch 2km eggs to work on evolving your starter Pokémon
Your starter Pokémon is the very first one you caught when you were setting up the game so it’s most likely rare.
You can hatch these from 2km eggs which will allow you to collect candies and then evolve your starter Pokémon when you have enough candies!
12. Throw your Pokéball when the inner circle is small
You’ll have the highest chance of catching the Pokémon if you throw the Pokéball when the inner circle is at its smallest size.
13. Spin the Pokéball in a circle for the curveball bonus
You can add an extra 10 XP to every catch you make by simply spinning the Pokéball in a circle before you throw it. It may not seem like much at first but it all adds up!
14. Use your nearby tracker to your advantage
Your tracker is located in the bottom right corner of your screen and shows which Pokémon are nearby. If they are grey and shaded in it means that you haven’t caught one yet.
Tapping on them focuses your radar on that Pokémon specifically. From there you can begin to walk and if the radar flashes green then you are going in the right direction to find this Pokémon.
One footprint means the Pokémon is very close. Three footprints means it’s walkable, but far.
15. Turn off your AR
It took me a couple of days to stop looking the fool with this one. If you have AR turned on it means you are using your camera to see where the Pokémon are.
If you turn it off it is easier to catch Pokémon, your battery lasts longer, and you don’t look like the eejit trying to take pictures of strangers – even if it's not half as much fun, and doesn't make for good screengrabs.
The toggle button is located in the top right hand corner of the screen when you are battling a Pokémon.
16. Note the colour of the inner circle during battles
It will tell you how hard the Pokémon is to catch.
Green means easy. Orange means tricky. Red means tough. So plan ahead and think tactically.
17. Play Pokémon Go at night
This is a strange tip but rarer Pokémon are to be found when the sun goes down.
18. Go Pokémon hunting in parks
Parks are the best place to catch lots of Pokémon in a short space of time.
If you hang around the city centre parks you’ll catch plenty. Pokémon tend to spawn regularly in greener but populated areas.
