THE BRITISH TECH NETWORK

Become a Pokemon Master

6 Aug 16

It’s no secret, I’m in love with Pokemon Go and over the last few weeks I have been perfecting my craft and I've learnt a thing or two which I’d like to share with you now whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned player.

Get Pikachu right out the gate

When you first fire up Pokemon Go you have the option of collecting one of three Pokemon, Squirtle, Charmander and Bulbasaur. I went for Squirtle but I would have loved a Pikachu but did you know that with a little trick you can actually get him? To do this walk away from your current location and return four times and on your fourth attempt Pikachu will appear and you can nab him.

Catching Pokemon

When a Pokemon does appear you may notice when you hold down on your Pokeball coloured rings appear around you intended target. Initially the colour of these rings indicate how hard that Pokemon is going to be to catch. But before you fling your balls keep an eye on the size of those rings. The smaller the ring gets the more XP you’ll get so be patient and you could score big.

A successful Pokeball throw doesn’t always mean that you’ve bagged your monster. Sometimes your Pokemon can escape from the ball and you have to go about catching them again. If they do prove too tricky for you check your items bag to see if you have any Razz Berries. Select one of these and throw them into the arena and you’ll find that they become easier to capture. You do however need to reach level 8 in order to use them.

One last thing and something that I only learnt recently. You can make a spinning motion on your Pokeball to give it a sweet curl. Not essential but just a bit of fun,

Let them come to you

If you’re out and about and want to do some static Pokemon hunting there a couple of things you can do. The first is to use incense which draws wild Pokemon to your location. The other is to add lures if you’re near a PokeStop. This brings in more Pokemon and also benefits all players around you.

The last thing to do on your hunt is to use lucky eggs. They last for half an hour but in that time you earn double XP for any Pokemon that you catch,

Walk it off

A couple of items you can pick up at PokeStops are eggs and incubators. Once you have these they can be joined up to hatch Pokemon. The only catch is that you need to walk a certain distance in order to achieve this. Great for getting those steps in.

Hit the gym

So once you hit level 5 you can take on the gyms the place where you can battle other Pokemon Go players in a fight to the death. First of all bring your strongest players. You can actually fave your best assets in the Pokemon menu by clicking on the star. This ensures your star players are always batting first.

Then it comes down to the fight itself. Tap on the screen to attack the rival Pokemon and inflict damage. As the other Pokemon attacks you can swipe to dodge which is invaluable especially if your rival has a higher XP score than you. Then there’s the special attack. You can unleash this by holding down on the screen but you can only do this when the four squares at the top of the battle screen have turned blue. This unleashes ultimate damage.

Also remember you can team up with friends that are on the same team. This is a sure fire way to take down the current occupant.

If you do defeat the incumbent remember to add a Pokemon right away as nearby sneaky players could swipe it from your clutches if they see it is unoccupied.

Once you’ve finished a battle whether you're successful or not remember to revive your Pokemon. Items to do this can be picked up at PokeStops.

Evolve

Whenever you catch a Pokemon you receive Stardust and candy relating to that specific species of Pokemon. These can be used to power up and evolve your Pokemon. Do this constantly as it will favour your chances in gym battles.

You can also transfer lower Pokemon to Professor Willow, so if you have an excess of Weedle’s for example you can send them to his farm. You will receive candy for doing this which will assist with your Pokemon’s evolution.

Save your battery

As you may well know Pokemon Go isn’t kind to your battery. One thing you can do is to turn on the battery saving mode in the app’s settings. Turning this on it will dim your screen when point your device downwards as you walk around looking for your next catch. Don’t worry you won't miss any of the action as your phone will vibrate if a Pokemon appears. Well worth doing.

You can also turn off AR mode but I find that it takes some of the fun out of the game not seeing the Pokemon in your context.

Be safe

Most importantly be aware of your surroundings. Be vigilant and enjoy yourself.

Hope that helps and see you on the battlefield.