Quick Links

  • How to catch a wild Pokémon
  • PokéStops and Gyms
  • Battling in Pokémon GO
  • Farming candies and experience points efficiently
  • Practicing space management
  • How to fill out your Pokédex
  • Research tasks are your best assets
  • Developing a routine
  • Post-Release features to care about
  • Pokémon GO is here to stay

Niantic's most prized augmented reality app, and one of Android's best games, Pokémon GO, has been available on Android since 2016, and it's not going away anytime soon. As long as the Pokémom franchise is alive and kicking, Niantic has many opportunities to bring in new Pokémon, updated features, and events in Pokémon GO. Impressively generating over $6 billion since the game's launch, there's plenty of incentive to keep the app going strong for new and returning trainers. Even with all the spin-offs and new game entries produced by Game Freak, you won't find another game like Pokémon GO, where you can tune in with your favorite Android wireless earbuds while going on a scenic walk with your adorable Pokémon buddy. There is nothing like blurring the line between reality and fiction by allowing us to bring Pokémon friends into our real-life adventures.

Whether you are new to Pokémon GO or a returning player, expect a bit of a learning curve. The build-up of content and features makes the game a bit jarring, so it can be challenging to know where to start; this is why Android Police has compiled a beginner's guide covering the game's mechanics, essential tips, and helpful how-tos to take with you on your journey through Pokémon GO.

Check out the above 30-second teaser from Google Play for a preview of Pokémon GO's in-game features.

How to catch a wild Pokémon

When you open up your app, Pokémon spawn around your in-game avatar. Any activity from walking, and Incense, will cause more Pokémon to appear nearby. You can catch any Pokémon in your vicinity by tapping on the Pokémon of choice.

Catching a wild Pokémon in Pokémon GO is a bit 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 on the Pokémon nearby and then watch for the transition battle screen. Select your Pokéball, and 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

Using berries helps increase the odds of catching a wild Pokémon. Start by selecting the berry type (berries are on the left side of the screen) and then tapping on a berry. Berries are broken down into types:

  • Nanab berries (resembling bananas) will settle the Pokémon down from moving on your screen, making it easier to aim your Pokéball.
  • Razz berries (resembling raspberries) increase the chance the Pokémon stays in your ball. The Golden Razz berries are the more powerful version of Razz berries but much tougher to acquire. We recommend saving those for Pokémon raids to catch legendaries.
  • Pinap berries (resembling pineapples) double the candy you earn from catching the wild Pokémon. Silver Pinap berries will increase the earned candy but are also much tougher to acquire.

Use Nanab berries and Razz berries to assist your catching. You can only make use of one berry at a time until you've depleted your tries with that berry status. Selecting Razz berries are for wild Pokémon that are more rambunctious in moving across the screen, such as shadow Pokémon, while Razz berries are generally helpful to catch any Pokémon.

The other method for increasing your odds is perfecting how you throw your Pokéballs. Depending on how you interact with the Pokémon's hitbox, your throw can land in three locations. We've broken down the types of throws and how to get there:

  • Nice throws: The hitbox of your throw aligns with the largest hitbox; these types of throws are the most forgiving and the easiest to master.
  • Great throws: Aligns with a medium circle throw relative to the Pokémon's hitbox. The second easiest throw and most common to land for intermediate-level play.
  • Excellent throws: The most difficult to land because they have the smallest circle relative to the Pokémon's hitbox. It takes a lot of practice to land excellent throws, but you can consistently land them on Pokémon with larger hitboxes. But overall, it may require some luck to get the timing right.

An essential modifier for your throwing techniques is using curveball throws. Landing curveball throws will significantly increase your chances of catching a Pokémon. You can curveball throw any of the three throw types; be aware that it may be challenging to land an excellent curveball throw, so we recommend just working on consistently learning nice and great curveball throws to up your odds significantly. Don't be afraid to use a Razz berry while doing it to really up those chances!

To begin mastering curveball throws, spin your Pokéball on screen and wait for the size of the circle to align with the Pokémon's hitbox. We recommend practicing nice and great curveball throws with Pokémon with larger hitboxes.

PokéStops and Gyms

About PokéStops

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

Note: The item rarity obtained depends on your trainer level.

How to spin a PokéStop

  • Find a nearby PokéStop. The circle radius around your avatar needs to be close to the PokéStop to interact.
  • Tap on 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 on your screen.
  • The PokéStop turns purple after being used and later turns blue when it's ready for another spin.

About Gyms

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 once 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, which is purchasable with real money, but that's not needed. You can earn 50 PokéCoins per day (6 PokéCoins per hour). The 50 PokéCoins per day is a hard cap, so if you brought three Pokémon to three different gyms, you wouldn't get 150 PokéCoins if all three returned that same day.

Battling in Pokémon GO

Outside of catching wild Pokémon, you'll battle against NPCs, in raids, and against other trainers. Your Pokémon teams will change depending on the content you're targeting. Essentially, 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 you want to become victorious while battling.

Each Pokémon offers two attacks for use in battle: fast and charged. Fast attacks are performed by tapping on the screen, which generates energy for your charged attacks. Charged attacks require tapping a button to unleash once you've met the energy requirements. Pokémon can have more than one charged move, totaling three moves at a time, but that requires a lot of investment to unlock (a ton of stardust). 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 (which also trades for less power). Tip: You're better off rerolling your moves using TMs to create a synergistic moveset instead of spending resources to unlock a second charged attack.

About raiding

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, where each raid spawns a higher tier boss based on type. Normal raids spawn tier 1, rare spawns tier 2, etc. 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.

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), items, and sometimes they even need to 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. Important tip: Hoard your incubators and never throw them away. To replenish your stock, you need PokéCoins – and that's extra work for free-to-play players.

Farming candies

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.

Screenshot showing buddy distance to get candy

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 – just use rare candies instead.

How to assign a new Pokémon buddy

  • Head over 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 on your new Pokémon. Now you have a new buddy!

Farming trainer experience

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. Note: Levels are not capped at 40.

Tips to ease trainer experience farming

  • 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 isn't that generous to frequently hand out lucky eggs - use sparingly and smartly.
  • Participate in Community Day. Catching Community Day Pokémon offers perks, including XP rate up.
  • Play the game. Just about anything nets you XP, like hatching eggs, new Pokédex entries, catching Pokémon, battling in Gyms, and more.

Practicing space management

Let's be honest, Niantic does a good job incentivizing players to upgrade space early (only having access to 350 bag space); effectively, 348 is on the cheap end. Don't be fooled. You won't need to buy any upgrades on day 1, and since some items can be disposed of, you can easily clear out some space.

Eventually, you acquire PokéCoins for upgrades, but pre-level 20 trainers shouldn't feel pressured to rush.

Item management

Consistent item management is a good skill to have in every game. The below list 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)

You're not done yet, either. 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, meaning you won't be filling your Pokédex in a single sitting.

Managing your Pokémon

Catching new Pokémon takes time. However, managing your many duplicates is another story. Your storage fills up fast if you keep catching Pokémon unfiltered. Prioritize checking quality and rarity when filtering your catches. Don't just go out there catching 'em all; choose wisely.

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, however. You can download the Pokémon HOME app and transfer your Pokémon from GO to HOME.

Filtering tips

  • Check for individual values (IVs) and CP.

How to use the appraisal system

  • Head to the Pokémon's page and tap the three horizontal lines.
  • Tap on 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!

Shiny Pokemon display three star symbol under their CP
  • Check your research tasks.

Some tasks require you to evolve certain Pokémon.

How to favorite Pokémon

  • 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 while on Community Day and evolve your Pokémon.
  • Play Pokémon GO monthly to keep up-to-date on new Pokémon releases.

Research tasks are your best assets

Research task rewards can be very handy for your account. You can get higher quality Pokémon (better IVs), higher rarity items, and lots of XP/stardust.

Stop procrastinating on your research tasks – some are limited time only, and others take multiple steps. Pay attention to the type so you can plan ahead.

Types of research tasks

  • Field research (from PokéStops)
  • Special research (Professor Willow's tasks)
  • Timed research (limited time special research)
  • Level-up research (for level 40+ trainers)

Developing a routine

At the end of the day, Pokémon GO thrives on the sense of progression. If you aren't doing activities daily or weekly, you just don't get the most out of playing. What you choose to do is entirely subjective, so figuring out what you enjoy the most in Pokémon GO is part of the experience: are you an avid Pokémon collector, a PVP/PVE battle addict, or maybe you're a Research task completionist? There are many hats to wear, and the choice is yours.

Follow the approach below if you aim for a balanced experience:

  • Check on your buddy. Do tasks for your buddy to get hearts.
  • Check your daily research task to get a stamp.
  • Go catch a wild Pokémon that appears near you.
  • Send and open Pokégifts.
  • Open the Shop and get your daily free box.
  • Work on special research and limited-time research tasks.
  • Turn on adventure sync and go on a short walk.
  • Spin at a PokéStop and put Pokémon in a Gym nearby (if possible).

How to turn on adventure sync

  • Open the main menu. Tap on Settings at the top.
  • Under Settings, scroll until you see adventure sync. Make sure it has a green checkmark beside it.
  • Adventure sync is now turned on.

Turning on adventure sync means any steps you take without having the app open will count towards steps later on. This is great when you can't actively play as you can still progress while doing other things.

Over time your routine may change and tailor what you can do that day. Always check ahead when special events are happening, so you don't miss out!

Post-Release features to care about

Starting with the pandemic, Niantic rethought its core mechanics to enhance accessibility to players around the globe. However, Niantic is always finding a way to bring back the magic Pokémon once had, but still adapting to public safety while doing so. As a result, some excellent features have remained reworked, so let's check them out.

  • Remote raids: Raiding's true power has been unlocked via remote raids. It's exactly what it sounds like. You can host or join raids anywhere you'd like joining your global friends in the action. Remote raids use remote raid passes (separate from raid passes).
  • Distance change: Originally 40 m pre-pandemic for PokéStops and Gyms changed to 80 m, and the distance is here to stay.
  • XL candy: You can now earn XL candy at trainer level 31 instead of at level 40. XL candy is required to push Pokémon passed level 40.
  • More Pokémon added: Only a little over 100 Pokémon available at launch, now 700+. New Pokémon are constantly getting added in each big update.
  • In-game support for the newest social app, Niantic Campfire. It allows players to find local communities to team up with nearby players for raids while implementing chat features so you can coordinate future meetups and in-game activities. In-game, players can see Flares lit up by other gamers, similar to beacons, showing activity at a particular location. At Gyms, you can also light up your own Flare to summon potential trainers to your location. Due to the nature of the app, you are potentially meeting up with strangers, so participate at your own risk.
  • Daily Adventure Incense: After completing the Special Research associated with the Daily Adventure Incense, you'll be able to receive 1 free Daily Adventure Incense per day. Upon activating it, you can catch any Pokémon in your zone for 15 minutes (as long as you are moving). Trainers with less than 30 Pokéballs combined will receive 30 regular Pokéballs for free.

Pokémon GO is here to stay

Pokémon GO isn't like any other Pokémon game found in the series, and as the Pokémon franchise continues to expand, so will Pokémon GO. Its augmented reality gameplay incentivizes players to go hands-on with their app progression by going for walks and exploring new scenery; so if you're looking for an excuse to go outdoors to motivate your daily exercise routine and want to see some of the best features, AR games offer, check out the Pokémon GO app using our widget below.