‘Pokemon GO': Advanced Tricks to Step Up Your Game (Photos)

So you’re getting the hang of “Pokemon GO.” You have several Pokemon in your collection, you’ve chosen your team, but now you’re struggling to get to a level where you can challenge those Nidoqueens and Charizards dominating the gyms. Here are some tricks you can use to improve your catching, training, and breeding, as well as some tools to help you become the top trainer in your neighborhood.

If you’ve played previous Pokemon games, then you know how pathetically easy catching is in “Pokemon GO”…at least at first. Just one swipe of the finger and that Pidgey is yours. But as you level up, you’ll notice that the green ring that appears on the Pokemon you encounter will change to yellow, orange, or red. To capture rarer and stronger Pokemon, consider practicing the art of the curveball.

To throw a curveball, make circles on the screen with your finger before launching it at the Pokemon. Not only will it increase the chances of a successful catch, but it will also reward you between 10-100 XP depending on the size of the colored circle before you launch it. Mastering this technique will save you Pokeballs and allow you to save your Great Balls and Ultra Balls for the rarest of Pokemon.

If you’re having trouble finding those rare Pokemon, there’s an app for that. PokeRadar is an independently made app that allows “Pokemon GO” gamers to report where they’ve found certain Pokemon. The app allows you to narrow your search by specific Pokemon, and has a user review system to call out any trolls claiming they saw a Moltres at a strip club. Be advised, though: running this app with the game will drain a lot of battery, so bring a battery pack with you.

If you want to become a gym juggernaut, you’ll need to focus on raising your trainer level. Doing so will increase the CP of both the Pokemon you caught and the Pokemon you could potentially encounter. There are many ways you can approach this, and it depends on how you want to play the game.

One way to level up quickly is to just go on a catching spree. Even if you’re catching nothing but Pidgeys, you can trade these in to the Professor for candies that let you evolve your Pokemon. Then, at higher levels, you may be able to encounter a Pidgey or Pidgeotto with a higher CP that you can pour all your candies into to form a powerful Pidgeot. If you use the aforementioned curveball technique, you’ll level up even faster through catching.

The other way to raise your trainer level is through hatching eggs, which will require you to get out and really do some exercise. To hatch eggs, you will need incubators, one of which you get by default. That default incubator can be used infinitely, while additional incubators that you pick up can only be used for a limited time. Once you put an egg into the incubator, you’ll have to travel 2 km, 5 km, or 10 km, depending on the egg. 10 km eggs have more CP and a better chance of containing rare Pokemon, though 2 km eggs have also be known to have some very special Pokemon inside.

When focusing on your eggs, be sure to use your infinite incubator on 2 km eggs only. You’ll grab a lot of those smaller eggs from PokeStops, and since you only have nine egg slots and the contents of the egg are based on your trainer level at the time you collect them, you’ll want to hatch them quickly. Save the limited incubators for eggs requiring longer distances, and keep a 2 km egg in your infinite incubator at all times. Each 2 km egg hatch nets you 200 XP, and a 10 km hatch will get you 1,000.

There’s another trick you can use to make hatching easier, but it’s not reliable. Riding a bike is an easy way to pick up the distance needed to hatch eggs, but “Pokemon GO” stops counting distance above a certain speed. What that speed limit is exactly isn’t clear. Some gamers have been able to ride bikes to hatch eggs, while others say th at the game’ s speed limit kicks in at 10 mph. There’s a push among bikers to get Niantic to increase the speed limit to allow for them to both train and pedal around. After all, bicycles are a big part of the Pokemon world!

The biggest potential for EXP comes through use of lucky eggs, which are awarded at levels 9 and 10, with additional ones awarded every five levels thereafter. When a lucky egg is activated, a 30 minute clock starts, during which all EXP accumulated will be doubled. This allows for some fun strategy when it comes to getting the most value out of the egg.

There are many approaches to lucky egg XP hunts. You can go to an area with lots of PokeStops and just run through all of them. You can accumulate candies and weak Pokemon and then use a lucky egg just as you’re about to evolve them all. Each evolution is worth 500 XP, which turns into 1,000 XP while the lucky egg is in effect.

When you’re ready to enter into a gym battle, there are a couple of important techniques that will give you an edge. One is a strategy familiar to anyone who has played Pokemon before: type advantages. Have a stable of six strong Pokemon with various types, and find gyms with Pokemon that have a type weakness against the Pokemon on your team. Flying types beat ground types, water types beat fire types, fire types beat grass types, etc. A balanced team is key to being able to take on any gym, regardless of opponent.

When you enter a battle, make sure you have a technique down pat. Tapping furiously on the screen will be enough to beat opponents your Pokemon easily outclass, but tougher opponents require more finesse. When the screen flashes yellow, immediately swipe left or right to dodge your opponent’s attack. Over time, you’ll be able to build a rhythm of attacking and dodging that will be much more effective than screen mashing.