How to Play Pokémon GO

Check out the bar next to Pokémon. If the Pokémon is nearby, you’ll see a gray bar in the bottom-right corner of the screen that shows the shadow of the Pokémon near you.

Notice the rustling grass. Looking at the screen, look for a bunch of plants moving in the distance. When you see a few, you’re getting an indication that there might be a Pokémon there.

Walk to that lawn. Yes , literally walking on foot to where you see the grass rustling on the map! When you get right there, a Pokémon will probably appear on the screen.

Touch the Pokémon. When you get close enough to the Pokémon, tap it to enter “catch” mode. It’s time to fight. ^[2]

Check your Pokémon’s battle stats. A Pokémon’s battle stat, or CP (Combat Points), is the number shown in the gray bar above its head, and this number represents strength. Pokémon with low CP will be easier to catch than Pokémon with high CP.

Use the correct type of Pokéball (a spherical device used to capture and store Pokémon). There are different types of Pokéballs you can use to catch Pokémon, and they give different stats on effectiveness. Pokéballs are the most basic and weakest ball to use – it’s also the type of Pokéball you’ll get at the start of the game.

• You can get Pokéballs at PokéStops (a stop for pet-hunting gamers) and this will be discussed a lot in the article.
• You can also buy PokéBall at the PokéShop.

Wait for the right moment. Find the ring inside the circle where the Pokémon is. Depending on the difficulty of catching the Pokémon, the bracelet will be red, orange, or blue. It is also resizable; when the size of this ring is the smallest, the Pokémon is very weak and there is a high chance that you can catch it (but only if the Pokéball is inside the ring).

When you’re ready, yank the Pokéball towards the Pokémon to catch. You will throw a Pokéball at it. If you miss, or the Pokémon breaks the Pokéball, you can try again until it escapes. If it runs away, don’t worry – get back on the map and move on to your next attempt at finding and catching Pokémon!

Master the throwing technique. The only single most important factor that affects your ability to successfully catch a Pokémon is the technique you use to throw the Pokéball at it. To throw a Pokéball, simply use your finger and flick the Pokéball towards the Pokémon on the screen. To improve your throwing, don’t forget:

• Choose a straight throw. If you happen to throw a Pokéball too far to the left or right, you will miss the Pokémon.
• Use enough force. A slow, short toss will make you throw the ball with less force. A quick and long toss will make the ball fly faster and longer. Try throwing the orb with a little force, but definitely don’t overtake the Pokémon during the throw!
• Turn off Augmented Reality (AR) . Some matches in Augmented Reality require you to have a more accurate throw when trying to catch a Pokémon. For a good throw when catching them, turn off Augmented Reality in the settings.

Find PokéStops on the map. As you venture around the world, look for some floating blue cubes on the map. These are PokéStops, where you can find valuable items for your journey as a Pokémon trainer.

Walk towards the PokéStop. Once there, it changes shape, transforming into a medallion-like Pokéball. This signals that you are close enough to use the PokéStop.

Tap PokéStops. You will get a close look at the PokéStop.

Spin the medal with your finger. Some items will appear around the medal.

Tap the item to put it in your backpack.

Find another PokéStop that is blue. After using a PokéStop, it will turn purple, meaning you just used it and it needs time to reset before you can collect more items from it. For more items, go to the blue PokéStops that appear on the map.

Reach level 5 as a trainer. Gyms are a number of locations around the world that Pokémon trainers meet to battle each other. For a few different ways to level up a Pokémon trainer, check out Strategy and Advanced Tips.

Locate the Gym on the map. The Gym is the largest object that appears on the map. You may recognize them as tall pedestals covered with light.

• Gyms can be found in some of the most prominent locations, so if you don’t see them in your immediate vicinity, try zooming out on the map.
• Gyms are usually yellow, blue, or red, indicating which team of Pokémon currently “controls” that Gym.

Walk towards the gym. When you get close to it, tap the Gym to get instructions through a dialogue with Professor Willow.

Choose a team to challenge. You will be asked to choose a Blue, Yellow or Red team. Tap on the team of your choice, note that at this point the team with the same color of the Gym will control it.

Choose Pokémon to fight. You’ll see a screen showing the first Pokémon on your team. Select any Pokémon by tapping the button in the bottom-right corner of the screen (with two Pokéballs colliding) and tapping the Pokémon you want to challenge.

Hit the GO button! when you are ready to fight. Try hard!

Touch your opponent’s Pokémon to attack. This will reduce the CP of the opponent Pokémon. When a Pokémon’s CP drops to 0, it will faint and the next Pokémon in its backpack will be dispatched to battle.

Avoid enemy attacks by sliding left and right. If an enemy just landed an attack on you, consider avoiding to save CP instead of immediately attacking them back.

Start with catching Pikachu. At the beginning of the game, you will be allowed to choose between 3 animals, Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur as a Pokémon newbie. If you ignore all three of these Pokémon and wait for them to reappear on the map near you, by the fourth time you will finally see Pikachu appear with them.

Find the best PokéStops at cultural landmarks. Not all PokéStops are created equal! PokéStops that are more centrally located tend to yield better items. To find Pokéstops that have a lot of important items, check out a few places like:

• Monument
• Some famous buildings
• Park
• Museum
• Cemetery
• College campus

Collect eggs to “incubate” Pokémon. At some Pokéstops you will be able to collect eggs. After walking a certain distance with the egg in your backpack, it will hatch, which adds a Pokémon to your team without you needing to catch them.

Level up your character. As you travel through the world, you have a number of opportunities to gain experience that will help you level up as a trainer. When you reach level 5, you can enter the Gym where you can challenge other trainers. As you level up, you’ll also start encountering rarer, more powerful Pokémon in the world , and gain access to better items at PokéStops. You gain different levels of experience for completing a number of different quests, and the amount of experience you gain increases as you become a stronger trainer. Here are a few things you can do to increase your trainer level and reward the experience you get from the start of the game: ^[3]

• Catching Pokémon (Pokémon Caught) – Get 100 XP
• Catch New Pokémon (New Pokémon) – Get 500 XP
• Curve Ball – Get 10 XP
• Throw in the middle of the ring while it’s still big (Nice Throw) – Gain 10 XP
• Throw in the middle of the ring when it’s a little smaller (Great Throw) – Get 50 XP
• Excellent Throw – Get 100 XP
• Visit a PokéStop (Checking in at a PokéStop) – Get 50 XP
• Challenge a Pokémon Trainer at a Gym (Battling a Pokémon Trainer at a Gym) – Get 100 XP
• Beating a Pokémon Trainer at a Gym (Beating a Pokémon Trainer at a Gym) – Gain 150 XP
• Defeat a Pokémon at a Gym (Beat a Pokémon in training at a Gym) – Get 50 XP
• Hatch a Pokémon (Hatch a Pokémon) – Get 200 XP
• Evolve a Pokémon (Evpve a Pokémon) – Get 500 XP

Use special attacks in battle at the Gym. While fighting another trainer, you can load a special attack by holding your finger on the screen and using it when the mana bar is full. These attacks are stronger than some of the Pokémon’s usual battle moves.

• It takes a while to recharge, so it may not be possible for all gym fights.

Challenge Pokémon by type. All Pokémon have strong types to fight and weak leave some other types respectively. When challenging, try to pit your Pokémon against a Pokémon that will give you the edge. This chart shows you which types of Pokémon are stronger and weaker than others (arrows indicate the strongest types).