Hello, I know I have not been the most prolific poster on TPM recently but I have still kept my eye on the site. Recently I have powered through Pokémon Go and I thought I would write up a guide to help out fellow players.
CrazyElfBoy's Pokémon Go Guide
Version 1.0.0
Hello everyone, this is a guide which I have compiled about what I know about Pokémon Go. If you think you understand the basics, then scroll to 7: Important Tips and Tricks for hints on how to get all the Pokémon you want.
If you notice any information which is not correct, outdated or missing please tell me so I can change it.
Menu
- 1: What is Pokémon Go
- 2: The Layout
- 2.1: Character Profile
- 2.1.1: Journal
- 2.1.2 Medals
- 2.2: Menu
- 2.2.1 Pokémon
- 2.2.2 Pokedex
- 2.2.3 Shop
- 2.2.4 Items
- 2.2.5 Settings
- 2.2.6 Tips
- 2.3: Radar
- 2.4: Compass
- 3: Catching Pokémon
- 3.1: Eggs
- 4: Items
- 5: Important Areas
- 5.1: Pokéstops
- 5.2: Gyms
- 6: Evolving and Levelling
- 6.1: Evolving Pokémon
- 6.2: Levelling Pokémon
- 6.3: Levelling Yourself
- 7: Important Tips and Tricks
- 7.1: Basic Tips
- 7.2: Finding Pokémon
- 7.3: Catching Pokémon
- 7.4 Getting EXP
- 7.5 Battling Pokémon
- 8: Information Tables
- 8.1: Pokémon Information Table
- 8.2: Medal Information Table
1: What is Pokémon Go
Pokémon Go is the dream of anyone who has ever wanted to be a Pokémon Master. It is an Augmented Reality Game from Niantic (The Creators of Ingress) and of course the Pokémon Company. It allows you to walk around in your area and use your Android or IOS device to catch Pokémon.
2: The Layout.
The first thing you will notice when booting up the game is that you will need to sign in first with a Google Account, then you get to choose a name and personalise your character design. Then it will encourage you to pick your first Pokémon but more on that later.
On the screen you should see you character near the bottom of the screen as well as a map layout of the nearby area. You should also see 4 other symbols.
2.1 - Your Character (Looks like a picture of your character at the bottom of the screen to the left)
Also included are:
- A picture of your avatar.
- Your current trainer level.
- Your avatars name.
Clicking on this should bring up another menu. This is more general information about your character:
- Your character’s name
- Your character’s avatar
- Your Level
- The amount of experience you have
- Your Journal
- How much Pokécoins you have
- The date you started
- Your team affiliation
- Medal List
2.1.1 - Journal
The Journal keeps a record of what Pokémon you have captured and what items you have recently received from Pokéstops.
2.1.2 - Medals
The Medals are awarded when you reach certain milestones, most of these are capturing a certain number of Pokémon or doing something a certain number of times. The current table of Medals and their requirements can be found in 8.2 Medal Information.
2.2 - The Menu (Looks like a Pokéball at the bottom of the screen in the middle)
In the main menu there are 6 different sub menus.
2.2.1 - Pokémon
In this menu is a list of all Pokémon that you currently own, it is split into 2 sub headings: Pokémon and Eggs.
Pokémon
This contains a list of all Pokémon which you own, in the bottom right there is a button which allows you to sort it in a number of different ways.
- Recent (When the Pokémon was obtained)
- Favourite (By Pokémon which you have favourited by clicking the little star)
- Number (By National Dex Number)
- HP (How much Hit Points the Pokémon has)
- A-Z (Alphabetically)
- Combat Power (How strong your Pokémon are)
Once you have clicked on a Pokémon you will be taken to that individual Pokémon’s information.
- CP (Combat Power, how strong the Pokémon is)
- Power Arc (A semicircle with a white dot somewhere along it.)
- Favourite Star (Star in right hand corner, click it to favourite that Pokémon)
- Model of Pokémon
- Name of Pokémon (Can be changed by clicking on the pencil icon)
- HP (How much Hit Points the Pokémon has)
- Type (The Pokémon’s typing)
- Weight (The Pokémon’s weight)
- Height (The Pokémon’s height)
- Stardust (How much Stardust you have)
- Pokémon Name Candy (How much candy you have to spend on Pokémon in that evolutionary line)
- Power Up (Click to Power Up your Pokémon and how much Stardust and Candy it will cost)
- Attacks (The attacks which your Pokémon knows, their Power and how much energy they have)
- Date (The date you obtained the Pokémon)
- Location (Where you obtained the Pokémon)
- Transfer (This button sends the Pokémon to Professor Willow and receive 1 candy from the evolutionary line)
Eggs
Shows you the Eggs which you currently own. From here you can put them into incubators if you have any free, the number on the right underneath each egg is how far you need to walk in order for it to hatch.
2.2.2 - Pokedex
The Pokedex is a record of all the different Pokémon which you have obtained. Pokémon which show the models are Pokémon which you have obtained, Pokémon which have a silhouetted model are Pokémon you have encountered but not captured, while any Pokémon which just shows a number is a Pokémon you have not encountered.
By clicking on any Pokémon you have encountered it will bring up a small entry on that Pokémon giving a small amount of information on that Pokémon.
- Name (The Pokémon’s Name)
- Seen (How many of them you have seen)
- Caught (How many of them you have caught)
- Type (The typing of the Pokémon)
- Pokémon Category (Which species the Pokémon belongs to)
- Pokedex Entry (The Pokedex entry of the Pokémon)
- Evolution (The place in the evolutionary line the Pokémon holds)
2.2.3 - Shop
The shop allows you to spend Pokecoins on items as well as converting real money into Pokémon coins. The shield in the top right corner is a small shield with a number inside, this is the number of your Pokémon which are in Gyms every 21 hours you can click this and claim 500 Stardust and 10 Pokecoins for each Pokémon in a Gym.
The items which you can purchase here will be explained in 4: Items.
2.2.4 - Items
This menu shows you a list of the items which you own and how many of each item you own. By clicking on an item you are given the option to use it.
2.2.5 Settings
In this menu it allows you to change certain aspects of the game:
- Music (On/Off)
- Sound Effects (On/Off)
- Vibration (On/Off)
- Battery Saver (On/Off)
- Pokémon Go event information sent to email (On/Off)
- Quick Start (Basic Game Information)
- Help Center (Trouble Shooting)
- Report High Priority Issue (Reporting Bugs, etc.)
- About Pokémon Go (About Pokémon Go)
- Sign out (Sign out of account)
2.2.6 Tips
This option gives the same Basic Information as the Quick Start option in the Settings Menu.
2.3 - The Radar (Looks like a small white rectangle at the bottom of the screen to the right)
This keeps a list of all nearby Pokémon in the area. While it is in the right of the screen the Pokémon on the far right is the closest Pokémon to your location, middle Pokémon is the 2nd closest and the left one is the 3rd closest Pokémon.
When you click on the Radar it will bring up another menu showing all Pokémon nearby with a number of feet beneath them.
- 3 Feet: Anywhere from 100 metres to Infinity
- 2 Feet: 20 - 50 metres
- 1 Foot: Less than 20 metres
- No Feet: Extremely close by
In this menu the Pokémon in the top left corner is the Pokémon closest to you while going from left to right each Pokémon is further and further away.
2.4 - The Compass (Looks like a small circle with a silver and red arrow at the top right of the screen)
By clicking on the compass you can shift between orientating the camera to your current direction or to North.