Mini Hacks for Pokemon GO Players

We know how to catch Pokémon, how to find them on the map, and how to evolve and power them up. Now we’re ready to battle at gyms.

Across the Pokémon map, you’ll notice tall platforms with Pokémon sitting on top, sometimes there are small sparks or flames erupting nearby. These are gyms, where you can battle other teams or train with your own team.

To join a team, your trainer will need to reach Level Five, which can be done by gaining the necessary amount of XP. At this point in the game, the XP comes from catching Pokémon or visiting PokéStops.

After that, Professor Willow will introduce you to his assistants: Spark, Blanche, and Candela. Then you’ll have the choice of joining their respective teams: Team Instinct, Team Mystic, or Team Valor. Pick whichever team you would like the most, and you’ll finally be ready.

When you look at the map, you’ll see gyms that are colored red, blue, and yellow. Those that are your own team’s color are teams you can train at; while those differently colored are those you can battle at, and even conquer for your own team. Defeating Pokémon at one of your own team’s gyms raises prestige, something that shows off how tough that gym is. Defeating Pokémon at an opposing gym reduces their prestige. If a gym’s prestige is reduced to zero, it can be controlled by a new team.

If you battle an enemy gym, you can choose up to six Pokémon to fight with. If you train at a team gym, you can only use one, like this Team Valor gym below, since I’m a member of Team Valor. You can choose to fight in either augmented reality, which shows whatever your phone’s camera is pointing at, or you can just battle on a regular stage. When the battle starts, your Pokémon will be placed on the outer edge of a ring, with your opponent sitting straight in the middle. You can move one pace left or one pace right at a time across the ring, while your opponent can only rotate while staying in the same spot. This is how you dodge and avoid attacks.

To attack your opponent, simply press your Pokémon and they’ll attack, sometimes with a move that’s based on their own type. If you have enough of the blue bar under your name charged up, you can also do a special attack by holding down on your Pokémon. Each Pokémon has a predetermined list of special attacks, but a Pokémon can only have one attack from that list, and it’s random as to which one they have. You can also see how much damage those attacks will cause by selecting that Pokémon on the menu.

You’ll notice, though, that there can be different Pokémon listed at different gyms. These Pokémon are organized by CP from lowest to highest and if you were to battle them, you’d face the weakest first and the strongest last. I didn’t defeat all the Pokémon at this Team Valor gym, but I was still able to raise its prestige based on the ones I did defeat. Gyms also gain levels with the more prestige they have, so the higher the level, the more difficult those Pokémon are to defeat.

Your Pokémon will remain at a gym until it’s defeated, so choose wisely which one you want to pick as you won’t be able to battle this Pokémon at other gyms. However, the longer your Pokémon stays at a gym, the more benefits you’ll reap. The longer your Pokémon stays at a gym, the more PokéCoins and Stardust you’ll get. Ten Coins are given for every gym you defend for twenty-one hours. And you can defend up to ten gyms at once, getting you up to a hundred Coins a day.

Pokémon will hold strengths over types that are weaker to them in battle, while those who you are weaker to will be harder to defeat. This is why you should pick a well-rounded team of different types of Pokémon when facing off in battles.

Here’s a handy list though to show what Pokémon types are stronger or weaker versus other types*.

FIRE POKÉMON are stronger against Grass, Ice, and Bug types. They are weaker against Water, Ground, and Rock types.

WATER POKÉMON are stronger against Fire, Ground, and Rock types. They’re weaker against Grass and Dragon types.

ELECTRIC POKÉMON are stronger against Water and Flying types. They’re weaker against Grass, Ground, and Dragon types.

GRASS POKÉMON are stronger against Water, Ground, and Rock types. They’re weaker against Fire, Poison, Flying, Bug, and Dragon types.

ICE POKÉMON are stronger against Grass, Ground, Flying, and Dragon types. They’re weaker against Water types.

FIGHTING POKÉMON are stronger against Normal, Ice, and Rock types. They’re weaker against Poison, Psychic, Flying, Bug, or Ghost types.

POISON POKÉMON are stronger against Grass and Bug types. They’re weaker against Ground, Rock, and Ghost types.

GROUND POKÉMON are stronger against Fire, Electric, Poison, and Rock types. They’re weaker against Grass, Flying, and Bug types.

FLYING POKÉMON are stronger against Grass, Fighting, and Bug types. They’re weaker against Electric and Rock types.

PSYCHIC POKÉMON are stronger against Fighting and Poison types, but weaker against Bug, Ghost, and Dark types.

BUG POKÉMON are stronger against Grass, Poison, and Psychic types. They’re weaker against Fire, Fighting, and Psychic types.

ROCK POKÉMON are stronger against Fire, Ice, Ground, and Bug types. They’re weaker against Fighting and Ground types.

NORMAL POKÉMON aren’t very strong against any other type, and they are very weak against Fighting types.

DRAGON POKÉMON are strong against other Dragon types, but are weak against Ice and Fairy.

FAIRY POKÉMON are stronger against Fighting, Dragon, and Dark types, but weaker against Poison and Steel types.

GHOST POKÉMON are very effective against Psychic types, but are weak against Dark types.

DARK POKÉMON are strongest when up against Psychic and Ghost types. They are weakest when facing Fighting, Bug, and Fairy types.

Strengths and weaknesses of particular types only go so far in battle. CP is the real deal breaker on how you’ll perform. Normally Water types do great against Fire types. But just because you have a Water Pokémon doesn’t mean it will definitely win against a Fire Pokémon if your opponent Pokémon’s CP is much higher than yours.

If your Pokémon gets injured or faints in battle, use a potion to heal them or a revive to bring them back to life. The stronger your Pokémon becomes, the higher its HP will rise, and then you’ll need to start using more high-powered potions to have a stronger effect.