Even the most addicted "Pokémon GO" players crave tips and tricks to help them cheat and level up.
And no, we don't mean the creative kind of cheating, like strapping your phone to your dog or a drone until the eggs you've collected hatch.
The problem is, there's a ton of misinformation out there that might be stearing you off course as you desperately try to reach level 30.
No, your friend's friend didn't catch a Legendary Pokémon. And no, there is no mathematical calculation to determine what those footprints mean in your Nearby menu. Sorry! We wish there was just as much as you do.
The game does, however, have a plethora of secrets hiding just beneath the surface. We've gathered the best cheats and hidden features and put them right here! Happy hunting.
Start with Pikachu!
The trio of Pokémon will pop up again on your map when you get far enough away from them, and you have to continue to ignore them four times.
The fifth time they respawn on your map, they'll have Pikachu with them! Pick Pikachu instead of one of the original trio, and voila! He's yours." BOOM!
Keep getting the same Pokémon? Keep them! Evolve them! Level up your Trainer!
So, how do you get there quickly? Be recycling your duplicates. Pokémon like Rattata and Pidgey and Weedle — Pokémon that you run into frequently, that cost very few candy to evolve. Evolving Pokémon gives you a fat payout of 500 XP. You see where I'm going with this?
Every time you collect a Pidgey or a Weedle or whatever else, you get a few candy. When you evolve them, you can then transfer them to Professor Willow for a bonus candy, thus enabling further evolution.
Maximize on your Lucky Eggs and Incense to help with Trainer leveling!
So maybe save those oft-found Pokémon for a special 30 minutes of evolution frenzy? If you're feeling up to it, perhaps add an Incense use to your Lucky Egg time. For every new Pokémon found that you've never found before, you get 500 XP (which then gets doubled). You can see how this could turn into an XP windfall very quickly.
In general, using Lucky Eggs and Incense together is a pretty solid idea to maximize on the use of both.
Hit Level 12 or 15 (at least) before you start using Stardust!
Drag the Pokéball and swirl it around to throw a curve ball!
When you're capturing a Pokémon, you can tap the Pokéball at the bottom of the screen, drag it forward, and swirl it around in a circle. It'll start spraying sparks and that's when you should toss it diagonally towards the Pokémon in question. With any luck (and some practice), you'll start nailing curveball bonuses every capture.
Throw it into the smallest possible yellow/orange/red circle to maximize throw bonus (more XP!)
The closer you get to hitting in the center of that circle, and the smaller that circle is, the more of a throw bonus you will get when — nay, if — you capture the Pokémon. And as we already know, the more XP you get, the higher level your Trainer becomes, thus securing better Pokémon to capture. It's a glorious cycle.
What to do with your eggs: incubate! Constantly! Target longer walks for better Pokemon
You can find them under the main menu if you click on the Pokémon submenu, then swipe to the left. Tapping on any of them will allow you to select "Incubate," which then starts a counter that's connected to how far you walk while the game is open on your phone (and the screen is on, unfortunately — you have to be actively playing for it to be measured).
When you've walked the distance there, your Pokémon will hatch and much rejoicing will be had.
Go out to places where people are congregating to play, as there will be lures and you'll find amazing Pokémon!
There is a constant barrage of Pokémon showing up, and huge crowds of people are coming together and sharing space while capturing Pokémon. You may not live in NYC — our condolonces to you and yours — but you're likely near some form of major congregation point. There are crowds of hundreds in downtown Bellevue, Washington, so this certainly isn't a NYC-exclusive activity.
Go to different regions to catch different types of Pokemon (and play at night)!
That said, get out of your neighborhood! There are a million Doduos near our office. I've got a freakin' Doduo farm upstate from the non-stop flood of Doduos in Manhattan's Flatiron district. But back at home, near Prospect Park? Jigglypuff for miles. I've got a Wigglytuff now. Jealous?!
Select which Eevee you want to evolve into with this easter egg!
"The Eevee Brothers from the original anime were named Rainer, Pyro, Sparky and they owned a Vaporeon, Flareon and Jolteon respectively. If you nickname your Eevee either Rainer, Pyro or Sparky, your Eevee will evolve into that desired Eeveelution!"
Heads up that this will only work on your first Eevee, reportedly, so choose carefully.
Use this trick to win Gym battles nearly every time!
Remember that rhythm! Flash: dodge! Attack! Repeat.
NOTE: If you encounter a lot of network server issues in "Pokémon GO," this may not work out so well for you. But then again, battling in general is a mess when there are network issues.
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