Beginners guide to Pokemon Go (January 2023)
Since 2016, Pokemon Go has been one of the best mobile games in the Android community. Over the years, the company has introduced several new features to encourage players and keep players entertained. Joining the game at this stage can be overwhelming, but not impossible. Here is a beginner’s mobile game guide to Pokemon Go to help you kickstart your journey.
Catch Every Pokemon Especially if it Falls Under a Rare Evolution Tree
You can never have enough Pokémon. Even if they are completely useless, catch them for the XP. That’s because catching them gives you candy, which you can later use to unlock secondary moves or power them up.
There is also the IV system. All Pokemon have an IV score (more on this in the next section). A higher IV means the Pokemon will have better overall stats (attack, defense, HP) and catching a bunch of them increases your odds.
Use the Appraisal System for every Pokemon
The appraisal system measures the overall potential of every Pokémon. You can either use a third-party app or refer to the in-game team leader. The in-game rating system is as follows:
| Status | IV Range* |
| Three Stars with Red Stamps | 100% |
| Three Stars with Orange Stamps | 80-90% |
| Two Stars | 50-65% |
A Pokemon with a higher IV rating has a significant advantage over lower IV Pokemon, so if you want a perfect one catch as many Pokemon as possible.
How to Catch Wild Pokemon
You can catch Pokemon by simply lobbying pokeballs at them, but there is more to it than that. One, you can use berries to increase your chances of catching a Pokemon.
| Berries | Description | Catch Modifier |
| Pinap | It doubles the candy you get from catching a wild Pokemon. | None |
| Silver Pinap | It combines the effects of a normal Razz Berry and a Pinap Berry. | 1.50 |
| Razz | It decreases the chances of a Pokemon escaping the ball once you’ve captured them. | 1.50 |
| Golden Razz | The same as Razz but with a higher catch multiplier. | 2.50 |
| Nanab | It makes the wild Pokemon docile, making it easier to land an excellent throw. | None |
Two, you can use curve throws to gain more XP and increase your chances of catching a Pokemon. A curve ball gives you an additional 1.70 catch multiplier over a normal throw.
| Throws (Normal) | Description | Bonus XP | Ring Size | Catch Bonus |
| Nice | It’s the largest hitbox, which is also the easiest to land. | 50 | 70 – 100% | 1 – 1.3 |
| Great | It’s the medium circle, which is a bit more difficult to land, but grants higher XP. | 100 | 30 -70% | 1.3 – 1.7 |
| Excellent | It’s the smallest colored circle and is the hardest to land, especially when using a curved ball. | 1000 | 5 – 30% | 1.7 – 1.95 |
Capture Rates and How to Maximize when Catching Legendary Pokemon
Pokeballs
Different pokeballs have different capture rates. Save the ultra for legendaries. The rest is up to you.
| Poke Ball | Location | C |
| Regular | Shops, Gifts, PokeStops | 1.00 |
| Great | Gifts, PokeStops | 1.50 |
| Ultra | Gifts, PokeStops | 2.00 |
| Premiere | Raids Only | 1.00 |
Colored Circle Capture Rates
The shape-changing circle when throwing a pokeball also determines your odds of capturing a pokemon as mentioned below:
| Color | Capture Rate |
| Green | 100% |
| Orange | 65% |
| Yellow | 35% |
| Red | 25% |
If you want to maximize your chances of catching legendary/raid pokemon, make sure to refer to these charts mentioned in this Pokemon Go beginner guide before setting out for the hunt.
How to Farm Candies Efficiently
The goal of the game is to consistently level up all of your Pokémon. Whether it’s raids, gym battles, or 1v1 skirmishes against your friends, having a leveled-up squad at your disposal is necessary.
You’ll need candies and lots of them to level up newly caught Pokemon and unlock new moves for your leveled-up members. The most efficient way of farming candies is to catch any Pokemon that crosses your path.
Another way to farm candies is to buddy up with one of your Pokemon. You can only have one buddy at a time, and the longer you walk, the more candies you’ll earn. Here is the list of how long you have to walk with each Pokemon tier to earn a single candy.
| Pokemon Tier | Distance |
| Tier 1 | 1 km |
| Tier 2 | 3 km |
| Tier 3 | 5 km |
| Tier 4 | 20 km |
Note: Buddying up with a legendary Pokemon is inefficient because you’ll have to walk 20 km for a single piece of candy. It’s better to use rare candies for leveling up legendaries.
How to Level Up Efficiently in Pokemon Go
Leveling up in Pokemon Go gives access to higher CP Pokemon. Additionally, each level-up gives you several rewards such as ultra balls, incubators, lucky eggs, TMs, lures, rare candies, and exclusive cosmetics. Here are a few ways you can farm XP:
- Making Friends – Having several in-game friends is a slow but consistent way to earn XP. You can send gifts to increase your friendship level, and once you become Best Friends both of you will receive 100,000 XP (doubled with an active lucky egg).
- Saving your lucky eggs – Lucky eggs are rare in Pokemon Go. Only use them during special events such as community days, leveling up multiple friends at the same time, and when using lures.
- Community Days – In addition to extra spawns, community days offer special perks like 3x catch XP, extended lures & incense, double candy, etc. It is the best time to farm a ton of XP, especially if you have a lucky egg. Here is a list of trainer-level XP requirements from 1 to 50.
| Levels | XP |
| 1-10 | 45,000 |
| 11-20 | 165,000 |
| 21-30 | 1,790,000 |
| 31-40 | 18,000,000 |
| 41-50 | 156,000,000 |
Save your Stardust
Avoid spending your stardust until you reach level 50 or you catch the perfect Pokemon. This is because as you level up, you’ll encounter high CP pokemon in the wild. Therefore, spending stardust to power up your low CP Pokemon isn’t worth it, especially if they have a low IV rating.
Participate in Raids as Often as Possible
Raid battles offer a bunch of rewards, such as golden razz berries, fast & charged TMs, rare candies, and XP. Participating in at least 23 raids per day will give your account a massive boost in the long run.
Devise a Routine
Pokemon Go is a game for life. As a Pokemon Go Beginner, you won’t get far if you aren’t completing your daily/weekly activities. The repetitive nature can get boring very quickly, and that’s why it’s important to develop a routine to help you level consistently without losing interest in the game. Here is a small to-do list to help you get accustomed to Pokemon Go:
- Check daily research tasks.
- Check your buddy and complete all available tasks.
- Catch every wild pokemon that crosses your path.
- Send gifts to friends daily.
- Get your daily free box from the shop.
- Remember to have adventure sync on at all times.
- Prioritize limited-time research tasks.
- Always leave a Pokemon in the gym.
