us. But the game doesn’t do a whole lot to teach you about its basics, mechanics,

and other aspects. So we’re here to break it down and go over some tips so that you

can enjoy your Pokémon Go experience right away or when it’s available.

Pokémon Go is a free augmented reality mobile game on iOS and Android where the main goal

is to catch Pokémon in your neighborhood. For now, only the Pokémon from Generation

1 are available to catch. However, what’s available for players to catch is dependent

upon their location. While catching Pokémon is the main focus, there are other goals as

well, such as visiting Poké Stops and Gyms, strengthening and evolving your Pokémon,

and hatching eggs.

Pokémon can be found in a variety of places, as long as the Pokémon Go app is open. Pokémon

will appear on the game’s GPS map and your phone will buzz to indicate when a new one

is nearby. If you want to catch it, simply tap the Pokémon to initiate the capture phase.

It is also possible to use the item Incense to temporarily increase the chances of a Pokémon

appearing while walking, or alternatively, you can install a Lure Module at a Poké Stop

by tapping the blank area above the landmark emblem. This will temporarily lure Pokémon

to that Poké Stop--and not just for you, but other Pokémon Trainers too! As for finding

new Pokémon outside your immediate area--well, you’re going to have to get out there and

explore!

Aye, that’s a tough one! So as we’ve already mentioned, the types of Pokemon you can find

change depending on the region. But if you’re looking for a specific Pokémon in your area,

there is a “Nearby Pokémon” icon in the bottom-right corner of the map that will show

up to nine Pokémon that are close, along with footstep symbols, which display how close

you are to that Pokémon. Three steps means it’s within a kilometer, two steps a hundred

meters, one step means it’s within just ten meters, and no steps means you will encounter

it soon.

If you want to find a specific Pokémon, tap its icon to highlight it. This will change

the Nearby Pokémon icon to that particular Pokémon and its footsteps, making it slightly

easier to pinpoint as you roam around. The map will also show shaking grass at times

which indicates a Pokémon should be around that area though it’s not always a guarantee.

Unlike traditional Pokémon battles, you don’t actually fight the wild Pokemon in Go. Instead,

you just throw Pokéballs until one actually hits the Pokemon and captures it--but it only

counts if it hits the Pokémon first before it touches the ground. Now during battle,

a circle will appear around the Pokémon that comes in three colors; green, orange, and

red, which respectively represent easy, medium, and hard catches. This dictates how likely

a Pokémon is to break out of a Pokeball--and if a more difficult Pokémon escapes several

balls in a row, it might run away. Fortunately, there are several items that can help better

the odds of a successful capture, such Great and Ultra Balls, as well as Razz Berries that

can be fed to the Pokémon to make the next Pokéball thrown have a higher chance of capture.

The colored circles serve another purpose though; it's not just capturing the Pokemon

that matters--but how well you time the throw. So normally, each capture nets you 100 XP

by default, though you’ll get a 500 XP bonus if it’s a new Pokemon. But you can increase

that XP count even more the closer that colored circle is to the center of the stationary

white one at the time of capture: So you’ll receive a “Nice” bonus of 10 XP if it’s

close, a “Great” bonus of 50 XP, if it’s even closer, and an “Excellent” bonus

of 100 XP if its dead center. And if that’s not enough, you can net another minor bonus

of 10 XP if you catch the Pokemon with a curveball--which you can do by shaking the Pokéball until

it sparkles and then immediately flicking it. You can also double the XP you receive

if a Lucky Egg item is used and in effect.

Well, you can evolve them to start! Besides experience points, catching a Pokémon will

always net the player 100 Stardust and 3 Candies for that specific Pokémon’s evolutionary

chain. These items are required to make your Pokémon stronger, increase HP, and eventually

evolve, both of which increase their Combat Power, or CP for short, and the higher the

CP, the stronger the Pokémon. But there is a bit more to it, namely in relation to the

Stardust.

When you look at your Pokémon’s CP, you will see an arc that a white line is filling

in. This is the Pokémon’s potential and it is broken up by percentages. Every 20%

the amount of Stardust needed to increase the Pokémon’s power will increase as well.

The first 20% is 200 Stardust, 21 to 40% is 400 Stardust, and so on until the maximum

of 1000 Stardust. However, even if you have the right amount of Stardust, you won’t

be able to increase your Pokémon’s CP past a certain percentage until your trainer level

is high enough. The higher the level, the farther you can push its power on the scale.

While 1 piece of Candy is used for each power increase, the Candies are mainly used to evolve

Pokémon. Different Pokémon require different amounts of Candy to evolve, but it’s usually

either 12, 25, 50, or 100. The lone exception is Magicarp which requires 400 of its Candies

to evolve. Evolution will increase the Pokémon’s CP but it will not affect the CP scale percentage.

Whatever it was at before evolution is where it’ll stay afterward. CP is used exclusively

at Gyms which is the only place battles can occur.

While Pokémon gain CP, Trainers gain Levels. Those levels mark when certain things become

available. The best example is how Gyms cannot be claimed until the player has reached level

5. But this level also marks when new items become available such as Potions and Revives,

both of which are necessary now that battles can take place. Each level will give the player

more of these items as well as allow you to further increase the power of your Pokémon.

In short, Pokémon Gyms are essentially control points for players to claim on behalf of their

team by assigning it a Pokemon. It’s here that battles take place and currency can be

earned. However, Gyms can’t be accessed until you reach Level 5. And once you access

one for the first time, you’ll be prompted to pick one of three Teams: Team Valor, Mystic,

or Instinct aka Teams Red, Blue, and Yellow. Each has a leader and are represented by one

of the Legendary Birds though it mainly serves as a way for players to divide themselves

into groups. Each group can attempt to claim a Gym as their own which will net them Poké

Coins for use in the Shop. The coins are earned based on the number of gyms under your control

though, and unfortunately, you only earn 10 coins per Gym with a max of 10. This makes

earning Poké Coins rather tricky since it’s the only way to obtain them in-game. The other

option is to purchase them with real-world money in the form of microtransactions. The

Shop holds all the items we’ve mentioned before along with Egg Incubators, an upgrade

to your Bag to hold more items, and a Pokémon Storage Upgrade to hold more Pokémon.

Gyms that are unclaimed are shown as Silver, but if it’s any other color, it’s controlled

by that Team. To claim an empty Gym, simply tap the icon on the left side of the screen

to pick one of your Pokémon. That Pokémon will then defend the Gym, but you will be

unable to interact with it unless it’s been defeated so there’s no way to further evolve

it or increase its CP. Now when under a Team’s control, the Gym can gain levels in the form

of Prestige, which is earned when the controlling Team wins battles against challengers. Obtaining

Prestige will increase the Gym’s Level and allow for more players from your Team to place

their Pokémon in the Gym in an effort to better defend it.

On the other hand, if you challenge a Gym, you’re able to choose up to six Pokémon

from your collection. Battles are incredibly simple, mainly consisting of the player tapping

the screen to have their Pokémon attack, and swiping left or right to dodge enemy moves.

Yeah, it may be simple, but dodging could really save your Pokémon! Now every Pokémon

has two attacks; their primary move and a Special Move that’s charged during battle,

which is automatically used as your next attack when ready. A Pokémon’s special attack

can be different even within the same species. One Pidgey could have Aerial Ace while another

has Air Cutter.

However, winning a battle does not automatically make the Gym yours--instead, it’ll lower

its Prestige Points--and it’ll remain in their possession until their Prestige reaches

zero. Now it is possible to challenge a Gym again right away in order to quickly accomplish

this although your Pokémon’s damage does not recover. The only way to currently heal

your Pokémon is by using Potions or Revives, which are obtained through Poké Stops and

leveling up your Trainer. It’s also possible to battle against your own Gym in order to

test the defenses, raise its Prestige, and earn XP. Of course, the higher your Pokémon’s

CP, the better chance it has in battle.

Poké Stops are places of interest near you where you can get free stuff! Who doesn't

like free stuff?! They can be buildings like churches, small local monuments or historical

signs, and even public art projects. They are marked by a blue landmark emblem that

enlarges once you are within range. By tapping on it, you can see what the point of interest

is and sometimes even get information about it. Swiping across the marker causes it to

spin and drop random items like Pokéballs, Pokémon Eggs, Potions, and Revives, as well

as a small amount of experience points. After using a Poké Stop, its color will change

to purple to show that it’s already been used. However, it only takes a few minutes

for it to refresh, allowing you to continually get new items if you so choose.

When you receive a Pokémon Egg, you can look at it in the Pokémon screen under the Egg

tab. From here you can place it in your incubator which begins the process of hatching it, and

is powered by you walking. The distance is different for each egg, and we’ve seen them

range from two kilometers to ten so far. Once you begin Pokémon Go, you will have an incubator

right away that can be used an infinite number of times. It is possible to find or buy more

but they have a limit of three uses. Finally, eggs will only hatch if the player is walking.

Thanks to the GPS, Pokémon Go is able to determine your speed so trying to cheat by

riding in a car, train, or plane will not be counted toward the required distance. In

addition, the app must be open while walking or it will not be counted.

Medals are the achievements of Pokémon Go. They track how far you’ve walked, how many

Pokémon you’ve caught and their types, how many Gym Battles you’ve won, and various

other aspects. Each medal has a bronze, silver, and gold requirement that gradually increases

the number needed to earn that achievement. Upon earning a medal, you will also obtain

some XP.

And that covers the basics of Pokémon Go. It’s not too difficult to learn once you’ve

got the hang of it and can be addicting in its own way. Let us know if you have any tips

of your own in the comments. Thanks for watching and be sure to subscribe to GameXplain for

more on Pokémon and other things gaming!