As mentioned in Part 3, here are some extra tidbits I didn't include in the main writings.
This Extra Part consists of findings and realizations I've encountered, whether in this new playthrough or my years of playtime. So, if you're a newcomer to the game. And you've just decided to jump into the world of Pokémon GO? Hopefully, these may serve as a handy guide for you.
1. Choosing between teams (Mystic, Valor, Instinct) DOES help during your run.
While going for the least favored team in my area, Instinct, might have sounded silly at first, it has actually become handy. This means I have plenty of Red and Blue gyms to battle, which consecutively clears out the Item Bag capacity as I go.
How? During gym battles, your Pokémon will inevitably get KOed. That's when you can use those ABUNDANT health items you'll receive each time you level up. Doing this has prevented me from being forced to upgrade my Item Bag so far. Berries are the only items I've been throwing out, as the Potions are always put to good use. My PokéCoins can be accumulated for the Pokémon Storage instead.
Of course, the downside is your Pokémon will get kicked out by other teams somewhat fast. So, you need to play harder to occupy more Gyms to be safe. But the upside? If you assign 8 Pokémon to 8 Gyms, they only need to be there for around 1 hour each. It'll be faster to complete the daily 50 PokéCoins! 😜
2. Hey! What if you live in a rural location with only 1 gym? 😲
This one's an ongoing issue, considering Pokémon GO has openly shown a lack of effort to lend a hand to rural players. There is a workaround, though. You can ask a family member, friend, or neighbor who has an account. If not, maybe they can make one! But make sure you align with a DIFFERENT team than them. That's how you can help each other out. 🙌🏻
For example, my neighbors are all Blue Mystic members. They often complain about their Pokémon being stuck to defend a Gym for days (as I said, my area is generally Blue 🤷🏻♂️). That's where my Yellow Instinct help comes in. I can kick out their Pokémon when they ask me! Hahaha. 😆
In return, my neighbors leave me idle in that Gym for a maximum of 8 hours (or 8 and a half, to be safe). That's how long it takes for 1 Pokémon to fill the cap of your PokéCoins limit. ⏱😏
3. In this new playthrough, I haven't used any Lucky Egg. Otherwise, I probably have reached a level or two higher right now.
For the record, at the end of Part 2, I said I've reached Level 28. As of this writing, I'm already at Level 29 and halfway through to Level 30. With Lucky Eggs, I might have passed that already. 🤷🏻♂️
Lucky Egg will double your XP gain, which is delightfully efficient whenever you reach a new Friendship Level with your GO Friends. Without the Egg, Ultra Friend already rewards 50,000 XP, while Best Friend rewards 100,000 XP.
If you don't feel like buying the Lucky Eggs, you'll eventually get some from Leveling Up (Level 10, then every 5 after) or from Timed or Special Research. Step/Part 9 of "To the Next Level" will give you one for free. However, the same Step also asks you to use it.
But be patient and effectively time your Lucky Eggs usage properly. Besides the Friends Level, evolving your Pokémon also gives double XP. Some events or Spotlight Hours usually include a general bonus of double or triple XP for doing one activity (Catch, Evolve, etc.). Lucky Egg will also double that gain. Do the math, and you might be leveling up at the speed of sound. 🏃🏻
4. Likewise, I haven't done many Max Raid (Dynamax Battles). Those would have added even more XPs! 😅
Max Raids requires you to be near the den. Firstly, you must at least clear Step 1 of the "To the Max!" Special Research to obtain your first Dynamax Wooloo. Collecting Max Particles from Max Spots will give you a second Dynamax Wooloo. Max Raid only allows players to use Dynamax Pokémon. Thus, you need those free ones to even start doing one. 😐
I'm cautiously doubtful if Field Research tasks involving Max Raid are feasible for new players, though. This feature was added recently when many older players had already passed Level 40. Unlocking and leveling up Max Moves requires a lot of Pokémon candies, and it may be wise to save those for evolving or powering up Pokémon instead. ✋🏻😬
5. How about Mega Raid? Believe it or not, this Raid is possible!
Thanks to Party Play, I cleared 3 Mega Absol during "Mega Absol Raid Day" (Sunday, March 23) only as a duo with my neighbor. The Legendaries and Mythicals I got as Rewards during the "Pokémon GO Tour Unova" are enough to complete the battle.
Yes, I scored a Shiny Absol from this, too! Pokémon caught in Raids have a higher Shiny probability. That said, I failed "Mega Audino Raid Day" (Saturday, April 5). Not because it's hard. But merely because the app kept bugging and kicking me out of the Raid Battles. Those annoying things happen, unfortunately. 😑
Now that I think of it, maybe the fully Dark-type Mega Absol is among the easier ones? The Unova Legendaries are either Fighting-type or Bug-type, which are super effective against Dark-type. But Mega Audino (which has a Fairy-type) requires a Poison-type or Steel-type, which I don't have adequately yet. 🤔
6. The same success applies to 3☆ Regular Raids. Some, NOT ALL, are doable as a Duo. And they are easier to defeat under the Party Play effect.
Really, though! If you aim to clear the "Win a Raid" tasks? The easiest choice is to find 1☆ Raids. They are easy and won't need the presence of a higher-level player.
Legendary Raid, though? Nope! Until I get more high CP Pokémon, I doubt I can clear them without a group of at least 3 other players. I cannot even Duo-tag team them with my main account. And, again, that's an 8-year account. 🙄🙅🏻♂️
There's always the option of using the Remote Raid Pass. Using one on apps like PokéGenie or sites like LeekDuck will breezily put you in the lobby with a surefire victory (the successful rate of catching the Legendary Pokémon is a separate issue entirely). 😉
Yet, so far, I haven't used a single Remote Raid Pass. If today were 2020, I'd have received the super handy Pass almost daily. However, now they are locked behind reasonably high-cost PokéCoins. True, you can obtain one for free as a reward for the 7-Day Field Research Stamps. But that reward is muddled with other items. So, luck becomes an inevitable currency. 😞🤷🏻♂️
7. There WILL be Field/Special Research tasks asking you to "Evolve x Pokémon."
For long-time players who have racked up huge numbers of catches, hence, loads of Pokémon candies, this shouldn't be hard. But new players may need to grind more catches first. Community Day events are the best venues for this goal, as the same species will appear continuously throughout the duration. 🙂
I do have some advice that can make this process less exhausting. Look for Pokémon whose evolution requirements are cheap. Bug-types like Caterpie, Weedle, and Wurmple only need 12 candies to evolve into their 1st stage evolution forms. Pidgey and Pidove work, too! Go with those! ✌🏻😁
There is a much cheaper option, even if it may cost you Stardusts instead. Some Pokémon have a trade evolution that requires ZERO candy to evolve if you receive it from other players. So, ask your friend/family to trade their spare Haunter, Machoke, Graveler, Kadabra, Boldore, and Gurdurr to you. Hoard the trade results, even if you'll eventually delete them anyway. You can evolve them for free. 😝
And my favorite for this method? Shelmet, Karrablast, Pumpkaboo, and Phantump. Unlike the previous names I wrote, their base forms are accessible in the wild, usually during Ghost-type events. 🤭
8. I didn't mention GO Battle League because I haven't touched it in this account. I really don't like that laggy feature. 😒
Besides, winning enough battles to trigger a Pokémon encounter isn't as simple as it seems. Generally, this feature relies more on luck in making the right decisions. And the better Pokémon encounters only show up if you've reached higher ranks. But hey, if you're into the competitive scene, enjoying battles with other players from around the world? Go ahead! You do you... 😉👍🏻
9. I lost a Shiny during the Community Day Classic featuring Totodile (Saturday, March 22). It showed up from an Incense, and I ran out of Pokéballs to use. If memory serves, this is only the 2nd time I've experienced such an annoying loss in Pokémon GO. I forgot which species was the first, but at the time, the Shiny I caught suddenly changed into a regular color inside the Storage.
Mind you, I still acquired 2 Shiny Totodiles, though. Ironically, my main/original account didn't even encounter any, proving once again that luck is your betting horse. Oh, well, I guess that Shiny Absol served as a replacement. 😐
My point is that a Shiny Pokémon isn't a guaranteed catch. You may need to be extra cautious with your catching items if you're aiming to become a Shiny Hunter. Don't make the same ridiculous mistake as me! 😂
10. Size! Pokémon comes in XXL and XXS now. If you want to participate in the Showcase appearing in PokéStops, you must collect these, too. They even have Dex entries to fill. Collecting them fills up Pokémon Storage, naturally. That's always the sneaky goal. 😅
This Showcase feature is still unbalanced until now. Most of the time, it only asks for the biggest Pokémon. But if you can keep scoring the top rank of each Showcase, you'll be rewarded with a special Costume Pikachu. That Pikachu is stuck on Pokémon GO, though, so I couldn't care less. Hahaha. 🤪
11. Aaaah, yes! Medals! There are achievement medals to complete, and the developer sometimes adds new ones. So, this game will give hardcore completionists or perfectionists an ongoing headache. 🏅
12. Lastly, Pokémon HOME and "Nintendo Switch" connectivity. If you transfer a Pokémon to Pokémon HOME (be careful because it's a one-way street), you'll receive an item called Mystery Box. This item acts like Incense to attract Meltan, a Mythical with special treatment (unlike other Mythical, you can put them in Gyms and even trade them!), exclusively available in Pokémon GO.
But what if you don't have Pokémon HOME? The Basic Plan, as in a non-paid account, for Pokémon HOME gives you 1 box containing 30 slots. You only need to make a Nintendo Account to connect Pokémon GO and Pokémon HOME.
Does that still sound like a hassle? In that case, you can easily send it to your friend/family member's Pokémon HOME account. With their permission, of course. They must input their Nintendo Account credentials into your Pokémon GO settings. My paid Pokémon HOME account has actually been accepting "unneeded" Pokémon from my main account, my nephew, and my neighbors. Hahaha. 🤟🏻😁
I haven't connected it to my new playthrough, though. I'm thinking of setting up a separate Pokémon HOME for that. 🤔
Switch's connectivity is precisely what it says. You need the console that contains any of these games:
- Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Eevee!
Sadly, I do not have Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu/Eevee!, so I cannot share my experience of connecting Pokémon GO to them. However, for Pokémon Scarlet/Violet, you can send Postcards (yes, NOT Pokémon) you saved from other players' Gifts (or your own). The Postcard will enable a specific Vivillon Pattern in the Pokémon Scarlet/Violet's overworld. You'll activate the Coin Bag in your Pokémon GO account in return.
Like Meltan, Coin Bag attracts an exclusive Pokémon: the Roaming Form Gimmighoul. These ghostly creatures are available only in their Chest Form in Pokémon Scarlet/Violet.
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I know this list may still not be complete. Therefore, feel free to add other things I missed in the Comment section below. It will provide any reader with more, if not the most, knowledge to thrive in Pokémon GO.
Thanks for reading! 👋🏻😃
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