Terms to know
Pokeball — a red and white orb used to catch Pokémon
Eggs — objects found at Pokéstops that hatch into Pokémon when the player walks a certain distance in the real world
Stardust — an item found at Pokéstops used to power up Pokémon
Pokéstop — stations on the map that give items like Pokéballs and eggs
Gym — stations on the map where players can battle for control and gain experience points
HP — "hit points" are a measurement of a Pokémon's health and how much damage it can take in a battle
CP — "combat power" is a measurement of a Pokémon's strength and how much damage it can dish out in a battle
Pokémon Candy — a Pokémon can be "transferred" in exchange for one candy corresponding to that Pokémon, useful in powering up or evolving other Pokémon
If you are waiting for the "Pokemon Go" craze to die down, keep waiting.
While you wait, you may want to consider giving in to the hype and downloading the app on your phone.
If your hesitation has been that you don't know how to play, we've got you covered with this how-to guide. (There's also a nifty mini-glossary of importent keywords as you scroll down.)
How to catch a Pokémon
1. Your phone will vibrate when a Pokémon has appeared within range of your avatar.
2. Tap the Pokémon and switch to a view through your phone's camera. Now, you can see an animated Pokémon sitting on your desk in front of you.
3. The Pokémon has a circle that changes size constantly. Wait until the circle is the smallest.
4. Tap the Pokeball with your finger and swipe upward to toss it at the Pokémon. When it hits the creature and it stays in the orb, you've caught it!
5. A screen will appear with the Pokémon's stats, like its CP (combat power) and HP (hit points). You can scroll down to the bottom and tap the checkmark to keep the Pidgey. If you already have enough of that Pokémon, you can instead tap the "transfer" button. You will lose the Pidgey, but you will gain what's called a "Pidgey candy."
Finding Pokéstops
1. Pokestops appear as short blue towers on your map in the game. When you're in range of the Pokéstop, it will transform and show a Pokeball symbol at the top.
2. Tap the Pokestop to zoom in, and it'll show you the name of the location and sometimes a short fact about it.
3. Swipe your finger to spin the dial and watch the goodies drop out like candy from a piñata. The most common items are Pokéballs, but you can also get eggs and potions.
For those who plan to hang out in one spot for a while, the lure is an amazing tool. Lures can be purchased in the game for .99 cents, and they attract Pokémon to a specific Pokéstop for half an hour. A Pokéstop with a lure attached shows up on the map with hearts all around it, alerting players in the area to the treasure trove of new creatures to catch. Some businesses in metro Atlanta are using this as a way to catch more customers.
Using Pokémon “candy”
Each Pokémon can be “transferred” to get one respective “Pokémon candy” in return. This candy is important, because you can use it to evolve and power up your Pokémon.
•When you are viewing its information on the screen, there will be two buttons that give you the option to “power up” and “evolve.”
•Powering up your Pokémon makes it stronger and gives it more health, increasing its CP and HP. For your Pidgey, this would require one Pidgey candy and 600 “stardust,” another item in the game.
•Evolving your Pokémon changes it completely. Think of it as trading in your old car for a new one. You can spend 12 Pidgey candy to evolve him into a better, stronger Pokémon with more health.
Fighting in Gyms
Once you reach level five, you can choose a team to join and start fighting in gym battles. You're either Team Instinct (yellow), Team Mystic (blue) or Team Valor (red).
- When you find a gym that's another team's color, you have the option to fight the gym leaders to try to take it for yourself. There's no tutorial for the gym battle, but you just frantically tap the other Pokémon until one of you loses. You can switch out your Pokémon if they start to get low on health or run away if you're losing.
- If you see a gym that's your team's color, you can join that gym if there's an open slot. Station one of your Pokémon at the gym to help protect it.
- If there isn't an open slot in a gym that's your team's color, you can choose to challenge one of the team members — fight one of your Pokémon against theirs to win their spot on the team.
Hatching Eggs
You can get eggs, objects found at Pokéstops that hatch into Pokémon when the player walks a certain distance, from Pokestops and hold up to nine at one time.
• Each egg in your inventory will show the distance you need to walk to hatch it — either two, five or 10 kilometers.
Place your egg in an incubator and walk to hatch it and get a new Pokémon. Just make sure that the app is open while you’re walking to make those kilometers count.
(Of course, players are doing everything they can to hatch those eggs with as little walking as possible.)
Now, that you have logistics, go catch 'em all.
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