Pokémon Go Beginner's Guide

Pokémon Go is becoming insanely popular, with Pokémon trainers heading outside and into Police Stations to collection these elusive creatures. For those starting their Pokémon Adventure we've constructed a helpful guide to get you started. I've been playing for a couple of hours and it's insanely addictive, this may be the first free-to-play game I actually spend money on.

Logging In

The first thing you need to do is log into Pokémon Go. The best way to do this is through Google Play using your Google Account. If you don't have one users can use the Pokémon Trainer Club entry, which comes with a monthly subscription to a newsletter which can offer special codes for rare Pokémon. I would recommend you use the Pokémon Trainer Club entry.

Customize Your Avatar and Choose a Starter Pokémon

You can choose your own Nicknames, but you're limited to letters and numbers. No duplicate names are allowed but you'll have free range of the skin tones, hair colors, and outfits.

Once designed and named players will be introduced to Professor Willow. He serves at the tutorial for Pokémon Go and will shown you how to use the map and surprise you'll get to catch either Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle as your starter.

Battles Are Not Really Battles

Catching Pokémon is the biggest draw of Pokémon Go. Here players don't battle with other wild Pokémon but instead use their ability to swipe Poké Balls in the wild Pokémon's direction. When engaged a colored ring appears, which change after each capture attempt. 

Pokémon Appear Based on the Location

Pokémon Go is an attempt to simulate a real Pokémon world. This means don't expect to find a Shellder in a town or a Magmar next to the water. Based on the location you're in expect to find Pokémon based on that location.

Microtransactions Help You Train

There are items available for purchase that help in capturing and upgrade your Pokémon. These can be found in the shop and are available for real-world money. You'll need to purchase Pokécoins to buy these items so expect to spend a lot of money if you intend to catch them all, especially the baby Pokémon.

- Lucky Egg - Earn Double XP for 30 Minutes
- Egg Incubator - Helps hatch eggs, breaks after 3 uses
- Incense - Help lure wild Pokémon
- Lure Module - Attract Pokémon to PokéStop for 30 minutes, works for all Pokémon Go trainers in the area

PokéStop

PokéStops are represented as blue markers on the map. Clicking the marker shows a picture of a specific location. Once swiped you'll gain some helpful items to aid in your journey.

Pokémon Gym Battles

Pokémon Gyms are real in Pokémon Go and you can start facing off against these trainers at Level 5. You'll need to go to specific locations to challenge these trainers but these aren't AI opponents. Instead they're another trainer's team.

Pokémon strength are determined by Pokémon combat power. Increasing this requires items and victory is determined by the Pokémon's combat power. Attacks are triggered by tapping the Pokémon and swiping to dodge, not choosing from one of 4 attacks like in the Gameboy games.

You cannot fight other trainers outside from Gym Battles, hopefully this will change in a future update.

Pokémon Trading

Trading is not offer at the moment.

Be Aware of Your Surroundings

This is a safety concern, DO NOT KEEP YOUR EYES ON YOUR PHONE AT ALL TIMES! Pokémon Go is a game that requires you to constantly look at your phone but don't be foolish. Be aware of where you're going and your surroundings. Every few seconds I would look up to make sure I wasn't about to cross the street while the light was green or knocking into a person on the street. Have fun playing Pokémon Go but be safe.

So that's everything you need to know about Pokémon Go, if you have any other tips feel free to leave a comment below for your fellow Pokémon trainers.

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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