Pokémon GO has quickly become one of the most popular mobile games for both the iOS and Android platforms within just the few weeks that it’s been available to play.
Some players have been playing since day one, while others have only been playing for a few days. Nevertheless, there are two main goals in this game: catching Pokémon, and leveling up your character.
In this piece, we’ll discuss what you can do to speedily level up your character without wasting any time.
Why to level up quickly
There are a lot of perks to leveling up your character. Just to name a few:
- You unlock new items
- You unlock new features like gyms
- You enable higher combat power capabilities for your Pokémon
- You can find and catch higher-level Pokémon
- And more…
Leveling up gives you a goal to work towards, and is done by collecting XP (experience) throughout the game. This can be done by performing various activities in the game, including:
- Catching Pokémon
- Evolving Pokémon
- Competing in gyms
- Visiting PokéStops
- Hatching Pokémon eggs
- And more…
So if it’s so clear-cut how to get XP, is it really that hard to level up? Well, not really, but it takes time and there are some tips and tricks we can give you to make it so you can level yourself up even faster. So let’s get right into that.
Level up quickly and efficiently
There are a number of things you want to do in order to level up your character both quickly and efficiently. You will need time and resources, so don’t expect to be able to just buy your way up to higher levels.
Here are some of the things you can do:
1. Lots of PokéStops: Make sure you’re playing Pokémon GO in a PokéStop-rich area. These places are usually crowded with people who place lots of Pokémon lures on all of the stops for you, so you can just move from PokéStop to PokéStop and collect items and 50 XP for each visit from this alone. An ideal Pokémon GO area will have more than 5 PokéStops; I’ve found some good places that have more than 10 within a half-mile walking radius.
2. Lots of Pokémon: I recommend this to everyone, but make sure you’re catching every single Pokémon you spot, no matter if you have it already or not. You can always transfer duplicates to the professor later on for candies, which can be used to level up or evolve your Pokémon, and you get XP from catching Pokémon, whether you have one already or not.
3. Evolve and Evolve: As you’re collecting Pokémon, many of which are sure to be duplicates, make sure to evolve them whenever possible. Each evolve you’ve already performed is worth 500 XP, and new Pokémon you’ve never evolved before are worth 1000 XP. Pidgeys are great for this because they are so common and require so little Pokémon candy to evolve.
4. Breed Pokémon: Sometimes you will find or collect eggs as you level up or visit PokéStops. Eggs are used to hatch Pokémon by being used with incubators and walking around, and because you’re already walking around to visit PokéStops, you will easily hatch any eggs that you activate. Depending on what you get, a new or already-known Pokémon, you’ll get XP from breeding.
5. Use Lucky Eggs: Lucky eggs are items that you may collect from leveling up or from visiting PokéStops. These items let you earn double-experience for up to 30 minutes. If possible, save all of your evolutions for when you enable the Lucky Egg, because this will double your evolution experience and level you up ultra fast. Pokémon-catching XP is also doubled, as is XP from PokéStops and gyms.
6. Use Lures and Incense: When you’re in the middle of the wild looking for Pokémon, you should utilize lures at PokéStops and use incense whenever possible. Using these items helps attract Pokémon over to you, and you’ll then be able to catch more at a time, which adds up in terms of XP.
7. Compete in Gyms: If you battle in gyms, and you win, you will get XP from competing. It’s not particularly as time-efficient as catching Pokémon and evolving them, especially those Pidgeys, but it can be a fun way to get more XP and level up.
My advice
I went from level 0 to 20 within about 5 days by just walking around PokéStop-rich areas and catching everything in sight, then evolving as much as possible. Level 20 is really where you want to be at, because that unlocks the Ultra Ball. Any level beyond 20 is basically just for fun.
I recommend using those Lucky Eggs whenever you’re expecting large amounts of XP, such as when you have a lot of Pokémon to evolve, or when you’re in PokéStop-rich areas with lots of lures for Pokémon-catching. Don’t waste them in spots where you’re not going to earn much, because they’re not particularly common items, and if you want more, you may have to buy more with in-app purchases.
If you stay in PokéStop-rich areas, you will never have to worry about running out of Pokéballs because you’ll always have a fresh supply as you catch Pokémon. PokéStops will even re-supply your Great Balls and Ultra Balls too, which helps with those rarer and higher-level Pokémon that you may occasionally come across in the wild.
Pidgeys seem to be some of the most common Pokémon in any location, and they require little Pokémon candies to evolve, so if you want to save up these Pokémon to trade to the professor for candies for level-up purposes, that’s probably going to be one of the fastest ways for you to evolve. Rattatas are also very common, but they require a little more candy than Pidgeys.
Wrapping up
Leveling up in Pokémon GO isn’t tough, but it takes time. Fortunately, there are ways to make it go faster so you can unlock better items, Pokémon, and abilities.
If you’re not already playing Pokémon GO, you can download it for free from the App Store.
Also Read:
- The importance of PokéStops in Pokémon GO
- Trouble finding good Pokémon in Pokémon GO? Try this
- About the different kinds of items you can collect in Pokémon GO
What level are you and how do you prefer to level up in-game? Share in the comments!