Niantic's Pokémon Go is one of the best Android apps to bring outdoors. Since the app's release in 2016, Pokémon Go has sent Pokémon trainers into the wild (also known as our backywards). Thanks to its steady monthly earnings, the game has stayed afloat with new updates and features. As new generations of Pokémon get added, Pokémon Go sees a healthy amount of installs to attract new prospective players. Even today, you won't find another AR-based game like Pokémon Go.

But others who don't follow the Pokémon franchise too closely may use the game as just another glorified pedometer app. You can turn on Pokémon Go to record steps and listen to banger music through comfortable wireless earbuds. But no matter your aim, it is never too late to get into Pokémon Go. Whether you are new to Pokémon Go or a returning player, expect to see an overwhelming amount of content and features, which is why Android Police has compiled a beginner's guide covering the game's mechanics, essential tips, and helpful how-tos to take with you on your journey through Pokémon Go.

Overview of how to play Pokémon Go

Pokémon Go is its own beast entirely, so even if you are unfamiliar with the theme, Pokémon Go has evolved beyond "gotta catch 'em all" to a full-blow AR game. So we've outlined the general gameplay loop below:

  • Customize your trainer and synchronize the app with the GPS.
  • Select your starting Pokémon and catch Pokémon encountered in the wild (synchronized with the real-world environment) by throwing Pokéballs.
  • Complete research tasks (mini-objectives) that appear in your log for extra rewards.
  • Level up your trainer by doing daily tasks, research, and walking with your Pokémon using the built-in step tracker.
  • Participate in events and other modes with your collected Pokémon; battle with or against other trainers using your installed Pokémon movesets.

We break down every mechanic and mode throughout this guide; it may initially seem overwhelming to get into Pokémon Go, but remember that you don't have to do everything at once. It plays well as a step-tracking app, which lets you collect the Pokémon you encounter on the map while walking and visiting landmarks to re-stock your item bag. So no matter if you play leisurely or are a Pokémon enthusiast, this game doesn't restrict your ability to play.

How to catch a wild Pokémon

When you open up your app, Pokémon spawn around your in-game avatar. Any activity from walking, and Incense, will cause more Pokémon to appear nearby. You can catch any Pokémon in your vicinity by tapping on the Pokémon of choice.

Catching a wild Pokémon in Pokémon Go is a bit different than previous Pokémon games. You no longer have to send out your Pokémon to knock down the wild Pokémon's health to increase the odds of catching it. Instead, catching depends on your throwing technique, the items you use, and your Pokéball choice. If your assigned buddy's friendship level is high enough, your buddy may also randomly assist in helping you catch wild Pokémon!

To catch a wild Pokémon, tap on the Pokémon nearby and then watch for the transition battle screen. Select your Pokéball, and then use your finger to straight or curveball toss your Pokéball at the wild Pokémon (you'll see a circle, aim to hit inside the circle).

​​​​​​How to increase the odds of catching a wild Pokémon

Throwing berries helps the chances of catching a wild Pokémon. Start by selecting the berry type from the left side of the screen and then tap on the chosen berry. The types of berries and what they can do are summarized below:

  • Nanab berries (resembling bananas) keep Pokémon from moving on your screen, making it easier to aim the Pokéball.
  • Razz berries (resembling raspberries) increase the chance the Pokémon stays in the ball. The Golden Razz berries are the more powerful version of Razz berries but tougher to acquire — save those for Pokémon raids to catch legendaries.
  • Pinap berries (resembling pineapples) double the earned candy from freshly caught Pokémon. Silver Pinap berries will add a 2.334 multiplier to earned candy but are also much tougher to acquire.

You can only use one berry at a time until you've depleted that berry status with failed throw attempts/catches. Rambunctious wild Pokémon, such as shadow Pokémon, who appreciate Nanab berries, whereas Razz berries assist with more general cases of catching wild Pokémon.

Mastering Pokéball throws in Pokémon Go

The other method for increasing your odds is perfecting how you toss your Pokéballs. A Pokémon's hitbox has three locations where your throw can land. We've broken down the types of throws and how to get there:

  • Nice throws: The hitbox of your throw aligns with the largest hitbox (the circle); these throws are the most forgiving and the easiest to master.
  • Great throws: Aligns with a medium circle throw relative to the Pokémon's hitbox. The second easiest throw and most common to land for intermediate-level play.
  • Excellent throws: The most difficult to land because it requires aligning the smallest circle relative to the Pokémon's hitbox, but doable on Pokémon with larger hitboxes. But overall, it may need some luck to get the timing right.

Practicing curveball throws

Landing curveball throws will significantly increase your chances of catching a Pokémon. You can curveball throw any of the three throw types (like a nice curveball throw); be aware that it may be challenging to land an excellent curveball throw, so you may want to stick to practicing nice, and great curveball throws to up your odds significantly. Also, don't be afraid to use a Razz berry while doing it to keep upping those chances!

To begin mastering curveball throws, spin your Pokéball on screen and wait for the size of the circle to align with the Pokémon's hitbox. We recommend practicing nice and great curveball throws with Pokémon with larger hitboxes.

PokéStops and Gyms

Special landmarks in Pokémon Go allow trainers to stock up and progress in-game; pay attention to PokéStops and Gyms nearby to gain the most out of your Pokémon Go experience. Below, we breakdown the importance (and features) of visiting these landmarks.

About PokéStops

PokéStops are landmarks players visit to get free items. Once you spin for items at a stop, wait five real-time minutes to spin again. You can do this infinitely if you have lots of time on your hands! Plan outings at parks and set up shop next to a PokéStop. You can install lure modules to attract wild Pokémon at a PokéStop for 30 minutes.

Freebies from spinning PokéStops:

  • Berries
  • Eggs
  • Field research
  • Pokéballs
  • Potions
  • Stamps
  • Revives

Note: The item rarity obtained depends on your trainer level.

How to spin a PokéStop

Spinning a PokéStop may seem unnatural at first, but once you gain the hang of it, you will spam this (spin) motion on every stop you see along the way.

  • Find a nearby PokéStop. The circle radius around your avatar needs to be close to the PokéStop to interact.
  • Tap on the PokéStop icon on your map while in the app.
  • Select the photo disk and swipe in one direction to simulate spinning. Repeat until items appear.
  • Collect items by tapping on your screen.
  • The PokéStop turns purple after being used and later turns blue when it’s ready for another spin.

About Gyms

Like PokéStops, Gyms are another landmark players can visit after reaching trainer level 5. While you're at Gyms, you can spin and partake in Gym battles. Essentially, you can place your Pokémon at a Gym to net you PokéCoins. You can only do this if there's enough space for your faction or if you defeat the opposing faction's Pokémon to take over the Gym. Sometimes special events, 'raids,' can be encountered at a Gym: any gym activity gets put on hold while a raid happens. You'll know a raid is about to happen once you see an egg above the Gym.

Leaving your Pokémon to defend the Gym is how you'll obtain PokéCoins for your account. Niantic uses PokéCoins as the in-game currency, which is purchasable with real money, but that's not needed. You can earn 50 PokéCoins per day (6 PokéCoins per hour). The 50 PokéCoins per day is a hard cap, so if you brought three Pokémon to three different gyms, you wouldn't get 150 PokéCoins if all three returned that same day.

What to buy with your coins

As previously mentioned, acquiring PokéCoins in Pokémon Go may take some time to build up depending on how often you visit Gyms nearby and if those Gyms are already fully occupied or not by your alliance. If your alliance controls the Gym, you cannot place more Pokémon in the Gym reach maximum capacity. But unfortunately, with the price hike in Pokémon Go, you have to be careful about how you spend your PokéCoins.

Items to prioritize for beginners

Many items can be bought in Pokémon Go, but you will want to prioritize the following for spending your PokéCoins:

  • Pokémon Storage (200)
  • Item Bag (200)
  • Remote Raid Pass (100)/3 Remote Raid Passes (300)
  • Egg Incubator (150)/Super Incubator (200)

Note: Regarding crates, bundles, and packs, avoid spending your PokéCoins on these unless it is the 1 PokéCoin deal. They are often overpriced and include items you can get for free, like berries and Pokéballs.

If you're hard-pressed to obtain PokéCoins, we recommend using them only on Pokémon Storage and Item Bag. Item space fills up quickly, especially if you visit PokéStops, open up friend gifts, and cash in on research task rewards, and the new additions of Pokémon make it tough to keep up. Once you've upgraded your storage, you can spend the rest on luxurious add-ons like Remote Raid Passes and Egg Incubators.

Battling in Pokémon Go

Outside of catching wild Pokémon, you'll battle against none playable characters (NPCs), in raids, and against other trainers; your Pokémon teams will change depending on the content you're targeting. Essentially, some Pokémon are better against PvE content over PvP and vice-versa. Ultimately, you'll have to raise your Pokémon CP, evolve, and arrange their moveset if aiming to become victorious while battling.

Charged and fast moves

Each Pokémon offers two attacks for use in battle: fast and charged. Fast attacks are performed by tapping on the screen, which generates energy for your charged attacks. Charged attacks require tapping a button to unleash after you've met the energy requirements.

Not all charged and fast moves are created equally

Pokémon can have more than one charged move, totaling three moves at a time, but that requires a lot of stardust to unlock. Some charged attacks cost less to fill up than others (but are weaker in power), and some fast moves are more efficient in generating energy (but less powerful). Tip: You're better off rerolling your moves using TMs to create a synergistic moveset instead of spending resources to unlock a second charged attack.

About Community day moves

As a new player coming into Pokémon Go, you'll reach a limit on how many TMs and stardust you own, so we highly recommend participating in Community day events (which occur once a month). You'll often rack up on stardust while catching the featured Pokémon and earn a special move while evolving Pokémon during Community day. And fortunately, the moves are usually very potent and rare in nature.

About raiding

Raiding happens when an egg hatches at a Gym. You must use raid passes, either remote or regular, to challenge a raid. Common raids are split into types: normal, rare, mega-rare, and legendary, where each raid spawns a higher tier boss based on type. Normal raids spawn tier 1, rare spawns tier 2, etc. The higher the tier, the more challenging the raid boss ends up being and may require a lot of muscle power from your Pokémon team and other trainers around you.

About Pokémon typing

Battling in Pokémon Go uses a rock-paper-scissors system to determine how effective your moves are against the opposing Pokémon and how weak you are against the opposing Pokémon's attacks; this is with Pokémon types and the move's element. You'll always want to plan to bring Pokémon with the maximum coverage with your Pokémon types. So we've uploaded a beginner's cheat sheet to help determine your Pokémon's strengths and weaknesses with typing; remember that Pokémon can have more than one typing.

When a move becomes deployed against your Pokémon's type, check the defenders to match with the attackers. When your Pokémon uses a move, check the move's type against the defender's Pokémon type. Damage is halved, doubled, or neutral (white square), while zero refers to not having any effect.

Team Rocket and Shadow Pokémon

As you become more comfortable battling NPCs, you may encounter Team Rocket balloons or at your local PokéStop. Team Rocket encounters are a bit different than regular NPC battling; you fight against Shadow Pokémon, which are more powerful versions than regular Pokémon.

You'll face off against Team Rocket Grunts, leaders, and Giovanni (if you have a Super Rocket Radar and met the conditions). At the end of these battles, you can earn a Shadow Pokémon if caught successfully. Tip: If the Shadow Pokémon is too rambunctious while you're throwing the Pokéball, use your Nanab berries to help stop the movement!

Shadow Pokémon versus regular Pokémon

Shadow Pokémon all have the same charged move known as Frustration. You cannot overwrite Frustration unless you purify your Pokémon or change the move with a TM during special events (these events only occur a few times a year).

The advantages of keeping a Shadow version are how hard the fast attacks hit compared to the regular Pokémon version and inherently having a potentially higher CP and IV. The downside is they take more damage due to having lower defense scaling. If you have high IV Shadow Pokémon and legendaries, do not purify your Pokémon, chances are, it will be stronger than the regular versions. Remember that you can save your TMs to remove the Frustration when those special events go live (these get announced).

Giovanni and the Team Rocket leaders

By default, you battle against Team Rocket Grunts until you've acquired the items needed to summon out the Team Rocket leaders and Giovanni (in exceptional cases). Every time you defeat a Grunt, you'll earn a Mysterious Component; combining six is enough to create a Rocket Radar. Using the Rocket Radar will summon a Team Rocket leader in your subsequent encounter; note that the leaders and Giovanni are much more challenging to face than the previous Grunts. So prepare Pokémon with the appropriate typings and high CP to take those baddies out!

Farming candies and experience points efficiently

Part of the fun is seeing your stable of Pokémon grow. Pokémon can't evolve without using candies, stardust (power-up currency), items, and sometimes they even need to meet unique conditions.

Neglecting your trainer level is a big no-no. The best goodies come from the leveling rewards you earn as you level up. Important tip: Hoard your incubators and never throw them away. To replenish your stock, you need PokéCoins – and that's extra work for free-to-play players.

Farming candies

Walking your Pokémon buddy is how you earn candy. The distance (in kilometers) isn't fixed – it's based on who your assigned buddy is.

  • Tier 1 – 1 km
  • Tier 2 – 3 km
  • Tier 3 – 5 km
  • Tier 4 – 20 km

Navigate to your buddy’s page and check under walking progress to find which tier your Pokémon falls under.

In general, the distance is tied to a Pokémon's rarity. Legendary Pokémon fall under Tier 4. Keep in mind walking your legendary Pokémon is inefficient – just use rare candies instead.

How to assign a new Pokémon buddy

Assigning new Pokémon buddies requires only a few easy steps, read below to learn more.

  • Head over to your buddy’s page and tap Swap buddies.
  • Tap Yes to confirm swapping out your buddy.
  • Scroll through your list or use the search function to find your new Pokémon.
  • Tap on your new Pokémon. Now you have a new buddy!

Farming trainer experience

We've summarized the expected amount of experience points required to level your trainer (from levels 1 to 40) using data collected from TheSilphRoad.

Trainer Levels 1-40 (data from TheSilphRoad)

  • Levels 1-10 (require 165,000 XP points)
  • Levels 11-20 (require 1,195,000 XP points)
  • Levels 21-30 (require 9,300,000 XP points)
  • Levels 31-40 (require 84,000,000 XP points)

Looking at the aggregate data, the numbers grow exponentially. The higher level you are, the longer it takes to reach the next level. Note: Levels are not capped at 40.

Tips to ease trainer experience farming

It may seem cumbersome to work your way up to level 40, but there are some methods to ease the experience. Check below for some tips on how to farm trainer experience efficiently.

  • Make friends on Pokémon Go and send gifts daily. You gain 100,000 XP for reaching ‘Best Friends.’ Pop a lucky egg, and you double that.
  • Save your lucky eggs. Use lucky eggs during XP rate-up events. Niantic isn’t that generous to frequently hand out lucky eggs - use sparingly and smartly.
  • Participate in Community Day. Catching Community Day Pokémon offers perks, including XP rate up.
  • Play the game. Just about anything nets you XP, like hatching eggs, new Pokédex entries, catching Pokémon, battling in Gyms, and more.

Managing your stardust

Stardust is an upgrade currency system in Pokémon Go. You cannot power up and evolve your Pokémon without stardust. New and inactive players will likely be low on stardust, so we've listed ways to acquire more stardust.

  • Hatching Pokémon from eggs
  • Opening gifts from your friends
  • Participating in Community days (potential rate up for stardust)
  • Catching Pokémon
  • Completing research field tasks
  • Battling Team Rocket
  • Using Star Pieces (not recommended at the start)

We strongly recommend being selective about which Pokémon you decide to raise. Pokémon with low CP often require more stardust to catch up to higher CP values. However, raising Pokémon with the maximum IV is a priority, and having a high CP won't necessarily match up, anyway.

Practicing space management

Let’s be honest, Niantic does a good job incentivizing players to upgrade space early (only having access to 350 bag space); effectively, 348 is on the cheap end. Don’t be fooled. You won’t need to buy any upgrades on day 1, and since some items can be disposed of, you can easily clear out some space.

Eventually, you acquire PokéCoins for upgrades, but pre-level 20 trainers shouldn't feel pressured to rush.

Item management

Consistent item management is a good skill to have in every game. The below list is made up of commonly collected items – if your item is not on this list, do not throw it away.

  • Berries: Razz Berry, Pinap Berry, Nanab Berry
  • Pokéballs (regular)
  • Potions: Potion and Super Potion
  • Revives (regular)

You're not done yet, either. Clearing your item bag is only one step. Pokémon storage management is next. You only have 300 storage bases to work with. Even with 700+ Pokémon to catch, Niantic does a good job controlling the spawns every week, meaning you won't be filling your Pokédex in a single sitting.

Managing your Pokémon

Your storage fills up fast if you keep catching Pokémon unfiltered. So you won't be able to collect every Pokémon you encounter. We recommend prioritizing checking quality and rarity before accepting your catches. Don't just go out there catching 'em all; choose wisely.

Sending your Pokémon to the Pokémon Home app

Sometimes it's heart-breaking to toss away some of your favorites, even if their CP is low and you already have too many duplicates to justify holding a spot. Your starter will likely fit these criteria as you become a more experienced trainer. Not all hope is lost, however. You can download the Pokémon Home app and transfer your Pokémon from Go to Home. But there is a catch when you move your Pokémon from Go to Home — it is only a one-way transfer between apps, meaning these Pokémon will never return to Pokémon Go.

How to use the appraisal system

The appraisal system denotes the IVs and CP of your Pokémon. You may prefer to keep Pokémon with high CP and IV values, and remove the duplicates that don't make the cut. To investigate the Pokémon's IV and CP, you will use the appraisal system, so we've summarized the steps on how to find it.

  • Head to the Pokémon’s page and tap the three horizontal lines.
  • Tap on appraise.
  • This opens the dialogue with a professor, and the next dialogue page shows three categories: Attack, Defense, and HP. To get the best IV it needs three stars, and all three lines have to be red.
  • Check for shiny Pokémon.

The three-star symbol under CP indicates the Pokémon is shiny. Shiny Pokémon are harder to get – keep them if you can!

  • Check your research tasks.

Some tasks require you to evolve certain Pokémon.

How to favorite Pokémon

You can sort your Pokémon by using the favorite feature, here's how.

  • Head to the Pokémon’s page. Check top right for an unfilled star.
  • Tap the star to fill. This adds the Pokémon as your favorite.
  • Return to the Pokémon menu and tap Tags. Under Tags lists your favorited Pokémon.

Final tip: Always favorite Pokémon you keep. This way, you won’t accidentally delete important Pokémon.

How to fill out your Pokédex

As part of any Pokémon game, you must complete your Pokédex. Entries are filled out after you catch, hatch, and evolve your Pokémon. We have a few tips when it comes to completing your Pokédex:

  • Spin PokéStops daily; sometimes, you'll acquire an egg.
  • Always place an egg in an Incubator.
  • Go on daily walks to hatch your eggs.
  • Catch lots of Pokémon, even if it's just to collect candy.
  • Join raids to catch legendaries.
  • Complete research tasks to receive Pokémon.
  • Farm candy on Community Day and evolve your Pokémon the same day.
  • Play Pokémon GO monthly to keep up-to-date on new Pokémon releases.

Research tasks are your best assets

Research task rewards help you gain higher quality Pokémon (better IVs), higher rarity items, and lots of XP/stardust — important milestone progressions for your account.

Be aware that some research tasks are limited time only, and others take multiple steps. You may need to devise a schedule so you don't miss out on these events; we advise you to start early as some require collecting specific Pokémon types, which may only spawn periodically throughout the week.

Types of research tasks

Research tasks are split into types, below is a summary of the research tasks you'll encounter in Pokémon Go.

  • Field research (from PokéStops)
  • Special research (Professor Willow’s tasks)
  • Timed research (limited time special research)
  • Level-up research (for level 40+ trainers)

Mega Evolutions

Your Pokémon can mega evolve in Pokémon Go. It's treated as a temporary transformation (8-hour duration) for Pokémon to increase combat power during raids and trainer battles. Not all Pokémon have the ability to Mega Evolve, and you can Mega Evolve a Pokémon more than once to increase the Mega Evolution level. Your first use is free, but additional Mega Evolutions will cost you Mega Energy.

How to Mega Evolve your Pokémon

Mega evolving your Pokémon requires some steps to get started. Below is a summary of the general process for how to mega evolve your Pokémon.

  • Navigate to the main menu, and tap on Pokémon.
  • Tap on the search bar and select Can Mega Evolve.
  • Select the Pokémon you wish to Mega Evolve and tap Mega Evolve > Yes.

Where to get Mega Energy

You earn Mega Energy by defeating Pokémon during Mega raids. You can also collect Mega Energy during research tasks, although you are never guaranteed to get the type of Mega Energy you need for a specific Pokémon by this method. The last way is to walk with a Mega Evolved Pokémon the same way you would earn candy, although this method may not be as feasible as the other two.

Why Mega Evolve your Pokémon

Besides the significant power boost during sweaty battles, you also earn more rewards. Rewards include bonus candy, the potential to get XL candy drops, and bonus XP for every Pokémon that share the typing as the Mega Evolved version. The higher level you Mega Evolve your Pokémon, the better the rewards (and stronger your Pokémon becomes).

The best Pokémon to spend for Mega Evolution

Considering that Mega Evolving a Pokémon is more of a luxury than a necessity, you may consider trying a few Mega Evolutions at a time. Below we've devised a list that contains some of the best Mega Evolutions:

  • Mega Gengar
  • Mega Blaziken
  • Mega Sceptile
  • Mega Alakazam
  • Mega Charizard Y

Note: Primal Reversion may resemble Mega Evolutions in functionality, but the evolution conditions and the bonuses you gain slightly differ. As a result, we've omitted all Primal form entries.

Keep an eye on Mega Rayquaza, as it will likely become one of the best flying and dragon Mega Evolution forms to obtain. Note that the Mega Evolutions requirements may be tricky for the new player. It requires getting Meteorite, an item used to teach a Rayquaza, Dragon Ascent (charged move), which is the primary requisite for the Mega Evolution.

The strongest Pokémon in Pokémon Go

If you're a serious trainer looking to max invest in only a handful of Pokémon. We've devised a short list of some of the best Pokémon that have steadily remained top tier even after new generations getting added in:

  • Mewtwo (best attacker)
  • Gengar (in mega form, strong raider)
  • Metagross (great attacker and defender)
  • Blissey (top Gym defender)
  • Registeel (strong in Ultra and Great League)

For Mewtwo, if you can knab a shadow form, you will have the best attacker in the game.

Be advised that every Pokémon on this list has a meta moveset, some of which can only be obtained during Community Day, and others may require using TMs to change the charged and fast attacks. Below we've also outlined the meta movesets for each Pokémon:

  • Mewtwo (Confusion, Psystrike)
  • Gengar (Lick, Shadow Ball)
  • Metagross (Bullet Punch, Meteor Mash)
  • Blissey (Zen Headbutt, Dazzling Gleam)
  • Registeel (Lock-on, Zap Cannon)

Keep in mind that these meta movesets were developed based on the type of content these Pokémon excel in; for example, Blissey's best moveset for offense might be Pound and Hyperbeam, but Blissey is a much weaker attacker compared to the role as a defender — so the chosen meta movesets would be based off as Blissey's top-tier role for defending Gyms.

Social features in Pokémon Go

In the long run, making friends in Pokémon Go will prove to be helpful. To get started, try asking your family and friends if they play Pokémon Go, and then share your trainer's code.

Tap your trainer's icon > Friends > Add Friend. You can copy your code or share. Alternatively, you can add a trainer's code on the same page.

Adding friends in Pokémon Go brings bonuses

Adding friends means you can invite players to raids, either remotely or in person, send and receive gifts, battle, and build a relationship to receive trading perks. Unfortunately, trading is reserved for close distances and may cost you a lot of stardust.

About lucky friends

You and another player may become lucky friends. It requires becoming best friends before becoming eligible to earn the lucky friends status. Note that this only occurs by chance and is calculated as very low (slightly above 1%), so it may require several exchanges of gifts to acquire this status.

Advantages of a lucky friend

Trading with a lucky friend means the Pokémon received and sent in a trade with that friend will become lucky. Lucky Pokémon use less stardust for upgrading, are inherently stronger, and receive a special shimmer effect. Note: Completing trades will reset the lucky status between you and your friend.

In-game chat feature

Niantic has never included an in-game chat feature in Pokémon Go. However, you can chat with Niantic friends by downloading the official Niantic Campfire app; the app helps set up raids, coordinate in-person meetings, and connect with your local Pokémon Go community. Otherwise, the best option is to send expressive stickers with our gifts.

Developing a routine

Pokémon Go thrives on the sense of progression. If you aren't participating in weekly or daily activities, you just won't get anywhere in Pokémon Go. However, how you spend your time in the app is entirely subjective — whether that means you are an avid Pokémon collector, a PVP/PVE battle addict, or maybe you're a Research task completionist. There are many hats to wear, and the choice is yours.

Follow the approach below if you aim for a balanced experience:

  • Check on your buddy. Do tasks for your buddy to get hearts.
  • Check your daily research task to get a stamp.
  • Go catch a wild Pokémon that appears near you.
  • Send and open Pokégifts.
  • Open the Shop and get your daily free box.
  • Work on special research and limited-time research tasks.
  • Turn on adventure sync and go on a short walk.
  • Spin at a PokéStop and put Pokémon in a Gym nearby (if possible).

How to turn on adventure sync

Check the steps below to learn how to turn on the handy adventure sync button to start tracking your steps while inactive in the app.

  • Open the main menu. Tap on Settings at the top.
  • Navigate to General and ensure the Adventure Sync is toggled on.
  • Adventure sync is now turned on.

Turning on adventure sync means any steps you take without having the app open will count towards steps later on. This is great when you can’t actively play as you can still progress while doing other things.

Over time your routine may change and tailor what you can do that day. Always check ahead when special events are happening, so you don’t miss out!

Pokémon Go is here to stay

Pokémon Go was always a unique entry in the series. Thanks to how dynamic the Pokémon franchise remains, the app will only continue to grow as more Pokémon join the fray. The game's clever design of pairing app progression with augmented reality also enables Pokémon Go to be a handy pedometer app for step-counting your daily walking routine. But, of course, you can't start recording your progress until you've installed the app. To help trainers get started in Pokémon Go, we've added the widget below.