Overview
With the release of Pokemon GO on the horizon, it’s important to know a couple things before becoming a Trainer. If people are going to be catching Pokemon through their phone, what will it take to gain XP and level your Trainer in the game?
How to Level Up in Pokemon Go
There are two leveling mechanics, your trainer and your Pokemon. Keep in mind that earning EXP in Pokemon Go is not the same as the classic battles in which you can gain EXP by defeating other trainers and Pokemon.
Trainer’s EXP can be gained by combining items. Items such as Incense and Lucky egg. Using real money or doing P2W can help you gain enough EXP to reach level 5 and earn you a gym access. Catching every Pokemon that you see can help you too – aside from earning stardust.
Catching a new Pokemon can give you 500 Trainer XP and catching a duplicate can add 100 Trainer EXP and definitely help you earn stardust that can help you evolve the same Pokemon.
Reaching Trainer level 5 can give you access to Pokemon Gyms in which you can challenge the Gym leader and become one! This can give you big EXP too!
Pokemon Evolution can be attained by gaining candies specific to a Pokemon. Capturing a duplicate Pokemon, for example another Rattata can give you 3 Rattata candies that can help you evolve your Rattata. Aside from that, you can gain an additional 100 trainer EXP!
There are a couple of ways to level, so here is a list of a couple of ways that can help you get those experience points quickly.
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Catch Pokemon
Probably one of the most efficient ways to gain XP is to catch Pokemon. There are three different “throw types” (nice throw, great throw, excellent throw). The better your throw with the Pokeball, the greater the XP for the throw.
There is a set amount of XP for each Pokemon captured. If you haven’t yet encountered the creature you are about to catch, there is an added bonus for the successful capture.
This is the most effective way for lower level players to gain experience points.
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Hatching Eggs
After carrying an egg picked up from a Pokestop for a little while (about 0.621 miles), your egg will hatch and you’ll have a brand new squishy baby Pokemon. Not only will you gain XP for the egg hatching, but you will also gain it if you have hatched a new creature you haven’t caught or encountered.
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Evolve Pokemon
Capturing Pokemon will award Trainers with “evolution shards.” These are used to help evolve your Pokemon (a shard is earned for each Pokemon captured). Once the required number of shards is acquired for a particular species, its crystal will be filled.
Because it takes so much time to gather evo-shards, the XP gained from evolution is much higher than other methods. Don’t hesitate to continue evolving Pokemon whenever you can, because at the same time your team gets stronger, you will be rewarded with a large amount of experience.
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Training and Gym Battles
Going to Gyms are a great way to gain lots of XP, but are not as easy to find as Pokestops. It is probably a good idea to stop at friendly Gyms, especially if you’re new to the game. Friendly Gyms are more likely to let you gain experience without having to fight their typically stronger Pokemon.
If you manage to find a Gym controlled by someone else’s team, you can train your Pokemon. However, it’s almost a guarantee the Pokemon defending will be very powerful. You can preview which creatures are defending the Gym. If your current line-up has the elemental advantage, you can initiate the battle.
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Visiting Pokestops
Think of Pokestops as a “resupply point” in Pokemon GO. At these locations, players can acquire Revives, Pokeballs, Eggs, and other items tba.
It’s also possible to gain experience from these locations, but the XP gain isn’t great. But, if you are a lower level trainer and visit tons of these places, the XP will surely add up.
Make sure your idle time is as low as possible in order to maximize your XP gain (but don’t ignore your real life). Visiting Pokestops, capturing wild Pokemon, and fighting in Gym battles will add up the experience as you progress. If the action doesn’t award XP, try doing it as little as possible.