A Guide to Pokemon GO!

Questions answered and mechanics explained.

 

With the firsts day of full operation of Pokemon Go coming to a close, it is time for the field research that our trainers have conducted to be shared. Everyone here at GameShampoo wants Trainers young and old to have a safe and enjoyable experience with the Augmented Reality Mobile App game, Pokemon GO!

 

The Don'ts of Pokemon GO!

 

First and foremost, PAY ATTENTION to your surroundings. Do not trespass to hunt Pokemon. The owners will not care about the legendary Pokemon in their front yard.

 

Do not go outside at night to hunt Pokemon at night.

 

Do not use someone else's money to buy items in Pokemon GO

 

DO NOT drive and actively play Pokemon Go. You are not to touch your phone while driving.

 

Try not to set up a Gym in your own house. People need to be within a certain range to access them. Respect your neighbors and remember that the Gym is going to be there for a long time.

 

 

The Do's of Pokemon GO!

 

Play with a friend. You will encounter other trainers just going about your daily commute and just moving about.

 

If Driving and you have the app active, give your phone to a passenger. Your focus needs to be on driving, not watch that rustling or call was. If it is active while you are driving alone, ignore it. Save that only for when you have an egg in the incubator.

 

Most important, have fun and explore the world.

 

 

Logging into the game

 

When you are logging into the game, you will have 2 options. You can log in using your Pokemon Club account or your Google account. Even on the same device, they will register as different counts with their own unique trainer level and Pokemon Collection. The Pokemon Club will come with the added benefit of the Newletter and the occasional code for a Rare Pokemon.

 

You will be shown a brief tutorial when you log in for the first time. This is followed by you getting a chance to catch a Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle. After you catch the Pokemon, you will be able to choose a Nickname for your trainer.

 

 

Catching Pokemon

 

To catch Pokemon you will need to move to the rustling grass that you can see on the World Map. These are the areas where you are more likely to encounter Wild Pokemon. You can find them simply wandering about your place too. All you need to do is move about or have the app active. You can also collect Incense from Pokestations. These, while active, increase your chances of encountering Wild Pokemon. This can be especially helpful when hunting for Pokemon from home.

 

 

When you encounter a Pokemon, you will need to look around to find them. Once you do, simply flick the Poke (Great/Ultra) ball toward the Pokemon. As long as you are hitting them anywhere on their body, there is a great chance to catch them at lower levels. This will get more difficult as your Trainer Level improves. You can use the tab in the bottom left to see what Pokemon are close by. The footprints shown indicate the distance between you and the Pokemon. The less footprints, the closer the Pokemon is to your location. Each footprint is approximately 100 meters.

 

Location will matter with what kind of Pokemon you will encounter. Expect over time for a database to be built about what kinds of Pokemon are found where. Still, water types can be found near bodies of water. Normal/grass types are common in smaller towns. Many of these hints are already available to us through the Pokedex and other Pokemon resources that tell us what kind of habitat the Pokemon prefer.

 

Raising Pokemon

 

There are 2 things you need to improve your Pokemon: Their Candy and Stardust. When you have a little you can use it to improve your Pokemon's CP (Combat Points) and increase their effectiveness in battle. The Candies are earned by catching more Pokemon of the same kind. For example, you can catch a Bulbasaur and use its candy to improve and evolve your Ivysaur. This works for all the evolutionary chains. Evolving Pokemon will result in a massive boost to Combat Points. You can also find Lucky Eggs from Pokestations. These double XP earned by Pokemon for 30 minutes.

 

If you need to get more Pokemon Candy and you have multiples of a Pokemon then you can get more. You can transfer the Pokemon to the Prof. Each transferred will give you another Candy for that kind of Pokemon.

 

 

Naming Pokemon

 

Once you have caught a Pokemon, they will be deposited into your Pokemon Tab. You can name your Pokemon by accessing the Pokemon through this tab. Next to their displayed name is a small pencil. Tap that and you will be able to name your new Pokemon.

 

 

Raising Trainer Level

 

You improve your trainer level by catching Pokemon. You get the most Experience Points for catching new kinds of Pokemon that you have not encountered previously. You can add a few more points by doing small circles with the ball to add in the Curve Ball bonus. Until you reach Level 5, you will want to catch most any Pokemon you can. After that, you can be a bit more particular about what you are after and catching.

 

 

Hatching Pokemon

 

When you play Pokemon Go and collect eggs you can put them into Incubators. There is one you have an unlimited number of. However, it can only be used for one egg at a time. More can be purchased through the game using the in-game currency. These will break after 3 uses, but allow you to incubate multiple eggs at once. Each egg will hatch after a set distance of real world kilometers have be traveled.

 

Pokestations

 

Pokestations, or Poke Centers, are scattered throughout the world. They are marked with blue structures on the world map. These are locations you can visit every 5 minutes for a chance to get more Poke Balls, Eggs and a few other kinds of drops. This is a great way for Trainers with minimal money (or a low desire to invest into a game) to get many useful supplies.

 

Battling Pokemon

 

Presently, only battling can be done in a Gym. You will need to get close to one and then engage it. Once you have chosen a team, you are free to engage in battles. At release, this is limited to when you are attempting a Gym.

 

Healing/Reviving your Pokemon

 

Fighting with your Pokemon will do damage to them. Eventually they will faint and will be unusable. You will see them display different in your Pokemon menu. Tap on them and you will be presented with the option to revive them. They will revive with a small amount of HP. It will not completely heal them. You will need to use Potions to restore them to complete health. Depending on the level of your Pokemon, this could take a number of Potions. Evolving a Pokemon completely restores their HP but this will only work on base or middle stage Pokemon.

 

Setting up a Gym

 

Once you reach Trainer Level 5 or above, you will be able to engage in Gym Battles and join a team. You have the choice of: Red, Yellow and Blue. Once you have chosen a team, you will be able to establish yourself in a Gym. You can either work to improve an existing gym or establish your own by going to a gray unclaimed gym. In either case, you will need to deposit a Pokemon into the Gym. The more people that support your gym, the more Pokemon it will have inside it.

 

Gyms all have prestige rank. This is how difficult the gym is to conquer. You can improve an allied Gym by going into it and completing a battle through it. If you go into an opposing gym then you will decrease its prestige by completing the battle in there. If a Gym loses all prestige it will be conquered and taken from that team.

 

 

Maximizing Battery Life

 

Lower the brightness of the screen. Adjust it so you can comfortably see the screen in full sunlight but make sure it is as low as you can get it. The lower it is, the more life time you will get out of your battery. It will also help to turn off Bluetooth and Wi-fi if you are not actively using those features. These are again, an additional drain which will deplete your phone more quickly. This can easily add an hour or so to your phone's total life if done at the start of a session.

 

You will also want to minimize your in-game actions. Using the AR camera will add drain onto your battery. Try to limit zooming, interacting with the world and catching Pokemon. It also helps to at least turn off the music. Turning off the sound effects helps more, but this can let you know when a wild Pokemon appears while your are still early on. You will also want to close any apps that you are not actively using. How this is done varies from model to model. Research it for your phone.

 

For a longer day, you will want to have a battery bank. These spare batteries let you plug in your phone and recharge it to full. It can be a great boon to have one on hand. Try to use one that feeds the power out using USB slots. This makes them very compatible with a variety of phone types. It also means that you can share the power some with your friends that you are exploring with.

 

In-game Store

 

What free app would not have some micro-transaction inside it these days? Pokemon GO gives you the option to buy Pokemon Coins (Pokecoins) for real world currency. These coins let you buy the numerous in-game items to help you with your trainer's journey like Lucky Eggs, Incenses, Incubators and more. These items are not needed to finish any quests or improve your Pokemon. Instead, they make things a bit easier. If you really enjoy the game, consider buying some of the currency. It helps support the game and shows your interest in it. You also get one free item each day through the store. An icon shown in the upper right will display your unclaimed items.

 

100 Pokecoins - $0.99 US

550 Pokecoins - $4.99 US

1200 Pokecoins - $9.99 US

2500 Pokecoins - $19.99 US

5200 Pokecoins - $39.99 US

14500 Pokecoins - $99.99 US

 

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