I have been waiting for Pokémon Go since its announcement, and I downloaded it as soon as the servers would allow me to. Along with the games other problems, it lacks a proper tutorial that tells you what trainers really want/need to know before embarking on their Pokémon Journey, so here are some tips I wish I'd known much sooner that will definitely help you out.
Save your Stardust
Stardust is hard to come by and invaluable for powering up Pokémon later in your adventure especially when your Pokémon cannot evolve any further.
Don’t waste your time powering up your starter Pokémon like you would in a traditional Pokémon game. It’s a sad truth but since wild Pokémon CP (combat potential) scales in tandem with your trainer level, your original “starter Pokémon” will never keep up in the long run. This detail catches many veteran players of the Pokémon series by surprise; however this game is all about catching stronger Pokémon in the wild and ditching your older ones, a sort of “out with the old, in with the new” mentality that takes some getting used to.
The early game Pokémon that you catch when you are under level 10 (as a trainer) will have lower CP than Pokémon you will find at a higher trainer level.
Once you have reached a decent enough level, the Pokémon you find in the wild will, on average, have a higher CP and thus yield better results when challenging Pokémon Gyms and when left as gym defenders.
Keep every Pokémon you catch!
Well, at least the Pokémon that don’t need very many candies to evolve and are abundant. I recommend Pidgey, Caterpie, and Weedle for the best and quickest results. Encountering more Pidgey and Caterpie than you can even count might seem like a bad thing at first but they are one of the best ways to level fast in bulk.
Not only are Pidgey, Caterpie, and Weedle some of the most common Pokémon you're likely to find early on in your adventure, but they also require the least amount of candies to evolve. With each evolution comes loads of experience, which is what you need in order to elevate your trainer level so you can encounter higher CP level Pokémon. Once you have a sizable army of Pidgey, Caterpie, and Weedle, it’s time to use a Lucky Egg item.
The Lucky Egg, from the moment it is used, doubles all experience earned in a 30-minute period, which is when your bird and bug army comes in handy. Save as many evolutions as you can for one time and when you are ready with a good number of Pokémon and their corresponding candies, use the lucky egg and evolve away!
How to throw curveballs
One major part of the Pokémon Go experience is catching Pokémon, but it’s not as easy as it may seem. If you haven’t already, turn the Augmented Reality (AR) feature off. While it is an incredible feat of technological ingenuity and fun for taking pictures, when the AR feature is turned on, it makes throwing accurately (and by extension, successfully catching Pokémon) that much more difficult.
Aside from simply flicking to toss the ball, you can spin the ball before you throw it by holding you finger down on the pokéball and dragging your finger in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise motion before flicking.
The way you spin the ball will affect the arc of your throw, which is essential in catching Pokémon that appear far away but can also add an Experience bonus upon every successful catch. This tip is especially important for high CP level Pokémon. In my experience, I’ve found that when attempting to catch stronger Pokémon, every ball I toss seems to curve, wasting my time and countless pokéballs in the process.
The trick with throwing an accurate curveball is to flick the ball in the direction opposite the direction you're spinning. Rather, flick to the left for a clockwise spin, and to the right for a counter-clockwise spin. That way you are accounting for the arc of the throw and the ball is sure to land in the center.
Aside from those tips, just get out there with some friends, have fun with it, go for a walk, and best of luck on your journey to “Catch ’em all!”
For some of the tips I already listed, plus a whole lot more, visit the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watchv=bcgEWNmkRjo&index=2&list=LL64mbi5H2K205LMA826KzOw
