Scribbled Notes for fellow Trainers

[monanotlisa]

This may replicate some previous tips and tricks from all over the place, but to share with y'all in any case, my

Pokémon Realizations, Occasionally Belated, on PokéStops, Collecting, and Training/Battling

POKÉSTOPS

:: When approaching, you don't need to wait for a Pokéstop to turn into a disc; you can one-click the Stop and start spinning while it still looks like a square.

:: What hatches out of your eggs seems to be related to the location of the Pokéstop that gave you the egg, so it may well be worth trying to spin out eggs at Stops in places desirable to you, e.g. near water (for Magicarp or Dratini) or on a university campus (for Snorlax).

COLLECTING

:: It's worth perfecting your curveball; there may not be an official Niantic statement on capture rates, but anecdata supports that a curveball more often than not means the pokémon stays put.

:: If you'll be battling at a Pokégym or want to keep your Storage small, use the (new) Appraisal function immediately after a catch or a hatch -- just turn all Pokémon that are not the highest category ("Overall, your Pokémon looks like it can really battle with the best of them!" / "Overall, your Pokémon is a wonder! What a breathtaking Pokémon!" / "Overall, your Pokémon simply amazes me. It can accomplish anything!") into candy...except for the ones you want to use for the Lucky Egg pidgey/weedle/caterpie party to gain XP points, of course.

TRAINING AND BATTLING

:: In friendly Pokégyms, you don't need to beat as many friendly Pokémon as you can; beat the first one only and run away -- quickest way to level up the gym. You will get solid Prestige points (and will not need as many revives or healing potions).

:: In any Gym, try beating the opponent with a Pokémon of yours that has (even just slightly) less CP than the opponent mon -- muuuch more rewarding.

:: In any Gym, use the opponent mon's* weaknesses and play to your mon's strengths: Use Electric or Grass against Water types; use Water, Rock, or Ground against Fire types, and so on. (The increase or reduction is supposedly around 25%. Simply check a tool like this.)

:: In any Gym, if you're really competitive? Pokémon GO does give a 25% Same Type Attack Bonus aka STAB; this means if your Golduck (water) has, say, Water Gun as a Water attack, it will yield 1 x 25 of Damage compared to a Golduck with Confusion as a Psychic attack.

* The plural of "Pokémon" is officially "Pokémon".



No TOS-breaking, promise. And feel free to ask questions! :)

Comments

[inkstone]

Oh, curveballs definitely improve chances of capture. Someone looked at the code. It's written in there.

[soc_puppet]

Only if you can actually aim them properly, unfortunately :P At least 90% of my curveballs curve right off the screen, and any correction I try to do turns right into over-correction. One of these days I'll figure it out, I'm sure.

[untonuggan]

i can only accidentally throw curveballs apparently

[monanotlisa]

Well, it's not just you -- depends on your phone, too: I have an old iPhone the screen of which I cracked once; it never regained 100% sensitivity.