Discover Pokemon in the real world with Pokemon GO!

IF you have finally given into temptation and decided to join Pokémon Go, congratulations on the best decision you will ever make in life.

While budding Pokémon Trainers might be well on their way to collecting all 151 Pokémon in the augmented reality game, those new to Pokémon Go might be struggling.

Having already done a basic explainer for the game, we have decided to take things one step further and offer the best tips and tricks to get the most out of your experience.

1. Pikachu can be your starter Pokémon

After downloading the game, you will be asked to customise your avatar before capturing your first Pokémon from the options of Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle.

While most people will likely opt for the Pokémon they selected in the original Game Boy version of the game, practising some patience will allow you to select Pikachu.

To make this happen, you will have to physically run away from Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle when they are offered as your starter Pokémon options.

The game will not be happy with your decision to not choose one of three Pokémon and will try and present you with the three options again.

Don’t be fooled by these feeble attempts to make you choose and run away again.

You will need to do this a total of three times before the game realises you have no interest in the pleb Pokémon.

By the fourth time the game presents you with the options, Pikachu will be included.

2. There is an art to capturing Pokémon with the PokéBall

During the initial stages of the game, capturing Pokémon in the wild is relatively easy — just make direct contact with the virtual creature with your PokéBall and it’s yours.

However, as the game progresses the Combat Power (CP) of Pokémon found in the wild increases.

This means they will be more difficult to capture, with some higher ranked Pokémon able to escape PokéBalls.

To capture these stronger Pokémon, you will need to press and hold the Pokéball, which will make a ring appear around the creature.

As you hold the button, the ring will start shrinking around the Pokémon and when it reaches its smallest circumference, you should throw the Pokéball for maximum success.

It is also worthwhile paying attention to the colour of the circle around the Pokémon.

A red circle will indicate capturing the creature will be extremely difficult, a yellow circle means it will be hard, while a green circle means you should have little to no problem.

Another sneaky option is turning off the augmented reality aspect of the game.

While this will remove the novelty in seeing the Pokémon in the real-world, it will stabilise them in the centre of your smartphone screen, which will make them much easier to catch.

3. How to know where to capture Pokémon

You’ve managed to capture your 14th Doduo for the day, but want to get outside to see what other Pokémon are getting around your local neighbourhood.

By looking at the bottom right of the screen you can see silhouettes of the Pokémon in your vicinity.

Footprints next to the silhouette will indicate how close you are to that particular Pokémon — one footprint means close, three means further away.

Once you are aware of the Pokémon in your area, it is a matter of heading to their exact location, which demonstrated on the map through the use of rustling leaves.

4. There is no easy fix for hatching eggs

In addition to capturing Pokémon in the wild, the game offers players with eggs containing creatures.

In order to make these eggs hatch, you will be required to walk a certain distance.

Unfortunately, the game has been designed to ensure you cannot cheat the system to make the egg hatch quicker.

As the app tracks your movement with GPS, a stationary run on the treadmill will not help your cause at all.

Additionally, the app is smart enough to know when you are driving your car or catching public transport and has speed limitations built into the app.

This means jumping in your car and driving the block will not hatch your egg, you’re only option is covering the kilometres on foot.

5. Send duplicates to Professor Willow

It’s inevitable that you are going to see the same Pokémon over and over again.

While instinct might suggest its best to ignore duplicates, it is worth your while capturing them as you can send them back to Professor Willow.

By clicking the PokéBall and then selecting the Pokémon sub menu, you would be given the choice to transfer your creatures to Professor Willow.

This will present you with a messaging warning that if you decide to complete the transfer it cannot be undone.

It is best to ignore this warning as sending Pokémon to Professor Willow will see you rewarded with some candy, which can be used to strengthen or evolve your other creatures.

6. Not all Pokéstops are created equal

Pokéstops are an integral part of the Pokémon Go experience as they provide players with items necessary to succeed in the game.

In addition to allowing you to restock your PokéBalls, these stops will give you valuable items such as potions, egg incubators and lure modules.

These Pokéstops are often stationed at well-known cultural spots including statues, public buildings and bars or cafes.

While players don’t have to enter the location to receive the goods, not every Pokéstops is created equal.

As a rule of thumb, the more well-known a Pokéstop’s actual landmark is, the more likely it will contain lucrative items for you.

7. All about that battery life

Pokemon Go is a high battery use application, which means your battery will disappear faster than you would like.

Thankfully, the game is aware of this and has a battery saving option built into the app.

To enable this, you tap the PokéBall at the bottom of the screen, choose settings and then click the circle next to “Battery Saver”.

This will dim your screen and slow the refresh rate of the app, making your phone last much longer.

8. What joining a gym means for your gaming experience

Once you reach level five in the game, you can join one of three teams and start battling other players in PokéGym.

You can now decide to protect your gym from other teams or head to theirs in order to take over.

Successfully protecting your own gym from enemy attacks will reward you a daily package containing currency, which can be used to purchase items to help your quest.

Taking over a competitor’s gym is much harder as you will have to keep beating other players to lower the “gym rep” down to zero.

Achieving this will make the gym “neutral”, which will allow your team to take ownership.

Continue the discussion on Twitter @mattydunn11