Pokémon GO is all about bringing these characters into our own world. Well, in a way. They are all only virtual. But, it’s almost like they’re becoming a part of our lives. Catching them is the easiest way to add more critters to your family and build up your library, but a bit of finesse is necessary to get these characters to their absolute best.
First, candy is of the utmost importance. Each Pokémon has a variety they like, which is tied to their earliest form. Every critter in the Weedle line likes Weedle Candy, for example, while every Tauros eats only Tauros candy. Not only do you need it to evolve your virtual friends, but you’ll eventually need it to increase the Combat Points of the ones you like best. You get at least three candy for catching a Pokémon from a line, and another candy for turning in a duplicate to Professor Willow.
Let’s use KakunaMatata, my Kakuna, as an example. Yesterday, I ended up catching enough Weedles and Kakunas to accumulate 51 Weedle Candy. I needed 50 to evolve KakunaMatata to Beedrill. Doing so raised his level and changed the Struggle attack to X-Scissor. Unfortunately, he was still rather weak and had 18CP. Figures, since Kakuna only had a CP of 10. This means it was necessary to begin spending Stardust, another currency acquired by catching Pokémon and controlling gyms, and more Weedle candy to Power Up KakunaMatata. At the start, it was 200 Stardust and 1 Weedle candy to bolster the critter. After reaching the halfway point on the line above his picture, the price rose to 400 Stardust and 1 Weedle candy.
Every Pokémon has a CP cap. It limits the heights its HP can reach and damage its moves can deal. Here’s the thing. As your trainer levels up, their CP will increase. Yes, you will absolutely come across wild Pokémon in the field with higher CP, but that doesn’t mean you should necessarily abandon the ones who’ve been with you all along. They still have potential. They can still end up being amazing gym protectors and challenges. (Especially with the new moves they’ll learn after leveling up!)
It also means you get to keep Pokémon with better moves. In Pokémon GO, each character has two moves. The weaker, default attack is used in a battle by tapping the screen. The stronger attack is executed by holding on the touch screen until you’re given a choice. The stronger attack will use a certain number of charge bars in the gauge. My first Ratata, Dirty Rat, had a CP of 10 and knew Hyperfang. A Ratata I caught later had 20CP, but knew Body Slam as its more powerful attack. Even though the CP are attractive, you should probably choose a 10CP Ratata with, say, Hyper Beam over a more recently caught one with more Combat Points.
Then, there are eggs. Eggs are wonderful things that can occasionally be acquired from a PokéStops. You’re able to hold The higher your level, the better quality egg you might get. At level 7, I was finding eggs that needed 1km or 5km worth of steps to hatch.
Keep in mind, I said steps. You can’t actually drive around to cheat the system in Pokémon GO. The app keeps track of the speed at which you’re moving. When a friend and I went for a drive in search of gyms (with her driving and my managing our phones), I noticed the Incubators didn’t register the movement when we were cruising down the road. When we were walking around a park, it picked up the steps.
Once you finally do get an egg to hatch, the number of steps that went into it help determine what kind of Pokémon you’ll get from it. Pokémon GO will switch to an animation showing the creature busting out of its shell, then reward you with Stardust and candy. As an example, my first 5km egg ended up hatching into a Psyduck. He had 120CP and came with over 1,000 Stardust and 17 Psyduck candy. (He also gave me some experience, but I was out walking and unable to mark the exact number down.) That’s not enough candy to immediately evolve him to Golduck, that would require 50 candy, but still.
Invest time into your Pokémon in Pokémon GO. Keep track of your critters’ Combat Points and abilities. Evolve and power them up. Take time to walk around, even if you’re attempting to be a more stationary player. Go ahead and invest in Incubators, because the Pokémon you get from them could give you a serious experience, Stardust, and candy bonuses. Simply relying on ones you catch won’t help you when you start trying to challenge or hold gyms.
Pokémon GO is immediately available in certain regions for Apple iOS and Android devices.
