Pokemon Go: Guide for Beginners

Pokemon Go is finally released in Malaysia! The long-anticipated game has caused much excitement over the weekend to fellow Malaysians. Like many other Pokemon Masters, I installed the game and went outdoor for some actions as soon as I found it available on App Store. As for those who have no clue yet, I have listed down 10 basic guides for beginners:

1. You can get Pikachu as your starter Pokemon. When you first joined the game, you will see 3 Pokemon: Squirtle, Bulbasaur and Charmander by your side. However, did you know that there is actually a 4^th Pokemon, Pikachu? Just walk away from these 3 until they disappeared, reappeared repeatedly, and at the 4^th time they reappeared, you will see Pikachu shows up. Capture Pikachu as your first starter Pokemon, not just ecause its cute, but its rare and almost impossible to be found unless it is hatched from Pokemon Egg.

2. Stop by every PokeStop you come across to collect PokeBalls, Pokemon Eggs and other items. PokeStops are those with blue icons which will change shape when you are close by. Tap it, spin it, and you will see items falling out. Once the icon turns purple, the items will automatically fall into your bags (don't need to tap on them one by one).

3. Switch off the camera function (AR at top right corner) for easier catch and throw your PokeBalls towards the Pokemon when its ring appears smaller. This would increase your chance of capturing it. There are different colours of ring, each with different level of difficulties by increasing order: green, yellow, orange, red. Some suggest spinning the PokeBall before throwing it out, but if you aren’t that skillful yet, this may cause you to lose control of the angle and end up missing an easy target.

4. Transfer duplicate Pokemon to Professor in exchange for 1 candy. But first you need to arrange your Pokemon by A-Z order. This would give you a clearer view of your catch. The candies are essential for your Pokemon to evolve later on.

5.  Place the Pokemon Eggs you have collected into the incubator to hatch. There are 2km, 5km and 10km eggs. Driving does not work as the speed limit is capped at 20kmh. So get your lazy ass out there and walk! Who knows you might be able to hatch a rare Pikachu? 

6.  At Level 5, you are to pick your team: Instinct (yellow), Mystic (blue) or Valor (red) before you are granted access to gyms for fights and trainings. According to many articles online, Mystic is the most popular team followed by Valor and Instinct. Most of the fights at the gyms overseas involved between Mystic and Valor whereas Instinct is just minding its own business most of the time. Based on my observation in Malaysia, I have come across gyms dominated by Team Instinct though. Choose your team wisely as there is no switching later on. In case you are wondering, I am from #TeamValor ^^

Source: SGAG

7.  Don’t hesitate to catch all Pidgeys, Caterpies, Rattatas and Weedles which could be found anywhere. You will need them for mass evolution later on (read point No. 9). Just catch as many as possible, transfer some to accumulate enough candies, and leave some to evolve when time is right.

8.  Never evolve your Pokemon at the early stages or you will end up wasting your candies. When you are at a low level, the Pokemon you catch are all with lower CP compared to those caught after you leveled up. If you evolve a Pokemon with low CP, chances are you will catch another same Pokemon with a higher CP and the evolved one will end up in Professor’s possession.

9.  Make the full use of Lucky Egg given after Level 9 to level up fast. You have 30 minutes to use that Lucky Egg. First, make sure you have enough Pokemon and candies to evolve. Then, you need to find a PokeStop. Place a Lure Module at the PokeStop as well as Incense around you. Both Lure Module and Incense will attract Pokemon around you (can be used at the same time cause both would attract different Pokemon). Evolve as many Pokemon as you can during this crucial 30 minutes as each evolution grants you 1000XP (500 XP only without Lucky Egg). During the 30 minutes, I managed to evolve over 20 Pokemons and jumped up from Level 11 – Level 14! In between that, catch all the Pokemons that are attracted by the Lure Module and Incense. Lucky egg doubles up the XP gained for catching them too.

  

10. Pokemons are more likely to show up around PokeStops and places where Pokemon Master gather. Despite the idea that wild Pokemon should be found at secluded forests or lakes, most of the Pokemon can be found at popular areas such as KLCC. In fact, KLCC park is like a wild life sanctuary with numerous Pokestop! Chances are you will run out of PokeBalls so make sure you keep walking and spinning those PokeStops. During my visit there, I noticed that fellow Pokemon Masters have used the Lure Module function on some of the PokeStops which as its name suggests, would attract Pokemon and benefit the public. It was no surprise we noticed there was a mass hunting outdoor throughout the entire afternoon like never before.

Let’s catch them all! XD