You may have thought the craze was over. However, Pokémon GO is still a popular gaming staple. In 2016, the augmented reality app took the mobile gaming world by storm, and while it may have waned in popularity, some are still obsessed with Pokémon GO. Is that you? We understand if it is.
Today, we want to provide some helpful tips to improve your game and help you get the most out of the experience. You may know some of these hacks, or they may be features you have never tried. Either way, we hope they are helpful to your Pokémon GO experience. Without further ado, here are five Pokémon GO hacks you should never try, and five you should.
Updated by Madison Lennon on March 13, 2020: Pokémon Go released a few years ago now and yet it remains one of the most popular apps available on mobile. The augmented reality game is part of an extremely popular international franchise, so it's not all that surprising that its popularity has thrived for so long.
In that time, fans have discovered new hacks and cheats to help players advance faster. We've updated the following list with a few more hacks you should try and some that you definitely shouldn't.
15 Never Try - Using Illegal IV Checkers
A lot of Pokémon players value the IV of their Pokémon because they can tell you just how powerful your pocket monster can become. If they don't have very good IV stats then your Pokémon will always be somewhat limited so people will scour the earth to find the Pokémon with the stats they value most.
However, you need to be cautious about using illegal IV checkers as they can get you banned from the app altogether. There are legal IV calculators you can get instead which use their knowledge of the game to give you an educated guess on stats instead of hacking the system.
14 Do Try - Quickly Add Friends
During certain events and research in Pokémon Go will require you to add new friends to participate. The main reason for this is so that the game can entice new players and also motivate people to play together. The problem is, it can be tricky to add a bunch of new people quickly.
There is a workaround you can do that is, surprisingly, not patched yet. You simply need to go to your Friends List and remove your friend and then re-add them. It won't affect your relationship with them at all and will count as adding someone new.
13 Do Try - Skip Over Time-Consuming Animations
According to iMore, there is a nifty trick that will allow you to transition quickly from the lobby to a Boss battle without having to watch the pointless animation. The animations might be fun to watch the first few times, but after a while, it gets old.
All you need to do is create an empty team and join a raid. Then you'll select your empty team and wait for the raid to begin. once it starts, you pick your real team. It will send you back to the rejoin screen and then back into the boss fight, skipping the animation.
12 Never Try - Get Free Raid Pass By Changing Your Phone Time
It sounds super appealing to simply alter the time and date on your phone so you can skip a day ahead and get your free Raid pass. Doing it once or twice isn't a big deal, but once you start doing it over and over again it can just lead to a lot of confusion.
When you skip ahead to the next day, and then it actually becomes the next day, you won't get another Raid pass, it is firm that you only one a day. If you're way in the future, you'll have to keep advancing forward to get more and it becomes very confusing and difficult to keep track of. It's better to just be patient.
11 Do Try - Invest In A Portable Charger
Some people don't realize how fast that Pokémon Go saps your battery. It's especially unfortunate if you're in the middle of hunting down Pokémon somewhere far from home and suddenly get the dreaded "low battery" warning.
You'd be surprised how many people haven't considered purchasing a portable battery but it can be extremely beneficial to people who frequently play the game and don't want to constantly worry about running out of battery power, especially in a pivotal moment.
10 Never Try - Going To Secluded Areas
Now, this one is going to be a bit of a PSA (which isn't typical for this site). Nevertheless, we think it is worth mentioning. Regardless of how many Pokémon, gyms, or goodies you believe are in the area, if it looks sketchy, don't go. You may have heard from a friend that the park near your house is ripe with Pokéballs, or that you can get a rare Pokémon if you go a specific time of day. We have heard of this hack, but we advise you to stick to areas with a lot of traffic. You never know when someone can use the game to lure people into unsuspecting situations.
9 Do Try - Grabbing Common Pokemon
You may think it isn't worth it, but that Pokémon that you get on the regular can help you level-up your central team. As you likely know, whenever you transfer Pokémon back to a professor, you receive candy. This candy can be used to increase the power of your current Pokémon team. So, never act as if a regular Pokémon that you capture most of the time is worthless. Trading it in can help you get the perks you need in the long-run.
8 Never Try - Spoofing Your Location
We get it; maybe you feel all the good Pokémon are gone from your location. You may want to hop to another city, state, or even country. Well, Niantic is cracking down on this tactic and are pretty serious about people finding Pokémon "authentically."
If you are caught spoofing your location, any Pokémon you gathered illegitimately could be taken from you. You could also be banned from the game. While we understand the desire to wander to another location for Pokémon, we would advise against it.
7 Do Try - Tap X At A Pokéstop
You may have found this out, but we will still include it because it saves so much time. One of the most annoying parts of Pokéstops is having to spend time grabbing each goodie. You have to hit each bubble, and even though it may only take a few seconds, it can feel like a drag. Well, did you know you could bypass this? If you are at a Pokéstop, look for the X at the bottom of the screen. If you click on it, everything automatically transfers to your account.
6 Never Try - Botting
Come on; no one likes a bot. The use of one feels like an act of cheating, as well as inauthenticity. There are some users who have created fake accounts and have set up bots that float from area to area, collecting Pokémon characters. It is almost the same as spoofing but done automatically. Niantic has been shadowbanning people that are discovered to be using this tactic. So, as dull as it can sometimes be, get out there and do the walking. You never know, you might enjoy it.
5 Do Try - To Get Bonuses With A Spin
Contrary to popular belief, there is a little bit of physics involved with sending that Pokéball to your Pokémon of choice. You could throw it straight onto them and walk away with the pocket monster.
On the other hand, you can try something a little extra and walk away with a spin bonus and some extra XP. If you rotate the ball into a circle as you are throwing it at the Pokémon, you get that bonus and extra XP. It takes a little bit of practice, but if you make this a habit, those bonuses can add up.
4 Never Try - Filling Up A Gym With Multiple Accounts
This tactic is almost like having a multitude of fake Instagram followers. It's just not a cool thing to do. This "hack" consists of taking control of accounts that others may no longer be active on and using them to power up a Gym. Well, not only does this keep real players from accessing the facility, but a recent Gym update has outlawed much of this practice. Pokémon GO is at its most entertaining when real people are allowed to interact with one another. This tactic is one way to take the magic of the game away.
3 Do Try - Effectively Managing Your Incubators
We all know that the purpose of Pokémon GO is to walk. One of the benefits of taking a jog around the corner or a walk through the city is that your Pokémon eggs will incubate and hatch. The further you walk, the more you will be able to hatch Pokémon.
Throughout the game, you will receive incubators, one that is an Infiniti incubator and 3x incubators. Your goal should be to use these wisely. Take the time to try using Infiniti incubators for your 2 KM eggs, and your 3X ones for 10 KM eggs. You will maximize your incubation periods if you do this.
2 Never Try - Driving And Playing
This entry may be evident to some, but it is worth mentioning. We don't care how tempting it is to try to catch a rare Pokémon showing up on your feed. Do not take the risk of driving and playing this game. You will miss a lot of the Gyms and Pokéstops. Also, the game is now excellent at reading how fast you are going. As a result, you will not be able to incubate Pokémon if you are moving faster than 10 MPH. Be safe out there and avoid distracting yourself with this game. It's not worth it.
1 Do Try - Saving Your Lucky Eggs For When You Have The Time To Use Them
Lucky eggs are an exceptional perk that you want in this game. There are a few ways in the game that you can get them. However, when you do get one, you want to be sure you can take advantage of the perk for the amount of time it lasts. The lucky eggs will likely give you 30 minutes of a helpful skill in real-time.
Consequently, it is best to use these eggs for when you know you will be active in a busy city center. You want to have the best opportunity to use these to your advantage. As a result, if you know you are going to be active for a short amount of time, do not drop them.