Are you about to start your Pokémon GO journey? The tips you will find here are very useful to get yourself started. These basic tips will point you in the right direction so you can get yourself sorted out early for more advanced tips.
Start Your Pokémon GO Journey – Pick your Pokémon GO team
You can do this when you reach level 5. However, you will have to visit a Gym in-game to choose to join one of the three Pokémon GO teams. These are Instinct (yellow team), Mystic (blue team), and Valor (red team). You can choose only one out of these three.
Add Friends
You need friends as you progress through your Pokémon GO journey. Each Trainer has a unique 12-digit Trainer Code and a corresponding QR code. You can use either to add a Trainer as a friend. You need friends you can send and receive Gifts from. These Gifts contain items Trainers need. You also need friends to raid with, increase friendship level with, etc. All of these make the game more interesting.
Spin PokéStops and Gyms
Talking about Gifts and items, spinning PokéStops and Gyms are the only way to get Gifts that you can send to your friends. You’ve got to spin those Stops and Gyms. However, there is a limit to the number of Gifts you can collect from these Stops per day. In addition, spinning PokéStops and Gyms gets you the following items.
- Poké Ball (from Trainer level 1)
- Great Ball (from Trainer level 12)
- Ultra Ball (from Trainer level 20)
- Egg (from Trainer level 20)
- Razz Berry (from Trainer level 8)
- Nanab Berry (from Trainer level 14)
- Pinap Berry (from Trainer level 18)
- Regular Portion (from Trainer level 5)
- Super Portion (from Trainer level 10)
- Hyper Portion (from Trainer level 15)
- Max Portion (from Trainer level 25)
- Regular Revives (from Trainer level 5)
- Max Revices (from Trainer level 30)
- Evolution items (from Trainer level 1)
Catch ’em All
Catch all the Pokémon you see. However, you need Balls (either Poké, Great, or Ultra) to catch everything. Please note, you might not need most but you can later transfer those you don’t need. You might be missing all the perfect Pokémon if you are selective of what you catch. Besides, catching Pokémon is the gateway to everything you want (e.g. XP, Stardust, Candy, trades) to enjoy in the game. Also, ensure you make curve ball throws when catching Pokémon.
IVs NOT CPs
Decide on which Pokémon to transfer based on its IVs, not CPs. IV is the Individual Value of a Pokémon. You can check this by going into your Pokémon storage, clicking on the Pokémon, and clicking on the ‘Appraise’ button. You will see Attack, Defense, and HP bars. Consequently, if all of these bars are full, that is a perfect Pokémon. You want to keep checking this before you do anything to that Pokémon. This is because a high CP (Combat Power) Pokémon can have the worst IV (very low Attack, Defense, and HP). A very low CP Pokémon can have the best IV.
Power up Mindfully
You will need to power up most of your Pokémon. You need these to either complete some tasks or to have your Pokémon ready for battles. However, don’t just power up any Pokémon. Power up the Pokémon with the best IVs. Likewise, powering up increases Pokémon’s CP.
These are just basic tips you should do right now. When you are done, you should go for more advanced tips. See Pro Tips for Pokémon GO Players
