Do you want to be the very best? Use these Pokémon Go tips

Catching ‘em all has been a dream for every single person, in the whole world, since the first days of Pokémon (Editor’s note: NOPE). Now, it’s a reality with Niantic’s revolutionary Pokémon Go. If you haven’t played or heard of Pokémon Go, it’s a geomapping mobile game which allows you to walk (or drive) around catching Pokémon in the real world. Naturally, we all want to be the very best, and while walking around catching Pokémon is fun, there are ways you can be a lot more efficient and save time, battery and data.

Download the offline Google Map for you area

Pokemon Go uses very little data compared to other applications. Niantic have done an amazing job at ensuring you’re able to spend less on data, and more on coins. You can cut that down even more by downloading the offline Google Maps, since that’s where most of your data is coming from – continuously updating the Google maps. Depending on whether you have an Android or iOS device this tip might vary, but if you’re able to do it, do it now.

1. Head to Google Maps on your mobile device
2. Go into your settings
3. Head to the Offline Maps tab
4. Add your area by tapping the “plus” sign. (it may be a recommended area already)
5. Download the offline map

It’s not a massive download, and doesn’t take too long, but I’d recommend doing it on WiFi when at home. This does not allow you to play offline.

Disable “Augmented Reality” when catching Pokémon

Sure, it’s cool to snap pictures of Pokémon in great locations, but keeping AR enabled does make it particularly difficult when driving in a car, or moving around a lot. Disabling AR means the Pokemon will stay in one place, and they will be easier to catch.

Catching Pokémon made easy

That little circle you see when catching Pokémon actually has a purpose. The colours vary, but this time around size does matter. The circle will decrease in size, and hitting it in that sweet small spot makes the catch more effective. The colours vary as well: Green (easy), Orange (medium), and Red (hard). Allow the circle to get a bit smaller then throw your ball for the good catch. If the Pokémon are breaking out, throw them a Raspberry to keep them happy.

Keep your Pidgeys and Weedles

Yes, we all know how annoying it is catching Pidgeys every step forward, but they’re actually really useful for leveling up. Once you hit level 9 and 10 you get a “Luck Egg.” This doubles your experience for 30 minutes and all those annoying Pidgeys could be used to upgrade and boost your experience. They only cost 12 Candy, and once you’ve collected enough you can pop your egg and evolve them all to get 1000 XP per evolve. There have been people who have gone up 6 or even 7 levels using this, and the same applies to Weedle, who also costs only 12 Candy to evolve. It’s actually beneficial to save ALL your evolutions for a Lucky Egg, but if you’re chasing gyms and want to evolve and power up your Pokémon, then be my guest.

Stuck between Pokestops? No problem

You may work near, or in, two or more Pokestops, but just outside their range. This can be annoying as moving around your office or home every five minutes may be counter-productive. There is a small hack, however, which you can use to allow your avatar to do the walking for you. In your GPS settings (on most phones) you can set your GPS to use your WiFi, Data and GPS location, which is the most accurate. Setting this to GPS only means your guy will constantly move around making those Pokestops within your range.

Use your Lures effectively

Dropping a Lure is great for farming Pokémon, but be smart about it. Some locations have multiple Pokestops next to each other. This means you can drop them, sit in the sweet spot, and farm Pokémon. If you don’t have enough Lures, bring a friend. Also, PLEASE be careful of Lures in areas which are unsafe. There have been reports overseas of people being mugged, so if you see one late at night in a dodgy area, best stay away.

Go out at night

Certain Pokémon are nocturnal, and this means once you’ve farmed you 50 Pidgeys during the day, there may be a few more night Pokémon available at night. Be safe, travel in pairs, and go hunt Pokémon when the sun is down. Pro-tip: Snorlax comes out to eat around 6pm and 7pm, so if you’re looking for a Snorlax (who’s incredibly strong) catch him around dinner time.

Use the buddy system

If you thought this generation had a problem with walking around and looking at their phones, you’re in for a big surprise – it’s worse now. Be respectful when walking around malls and streets catching Pokémon. If you continuously look at your phone, you’re bound to get run over, or have an awkward encounter with someone. We’ve been using the buddy system, since Pokémon show up for everyone within your radius. One person keeps an eye on the phone every now and then, while the other watches out for obstacles. It sound ridiculous, but it works.

There you have it. Just a few tricks and tips for becoming the very best. If you have a few more, please feel free to drop them in the comments. Go catch ‘em all!

If you haven’t joined already, there is great community page and Discord server for all your Pokémon needs.

Last Updated: July 12, 2016