Pokemon Go Leveling Guide

In Pokemon Go, increasing your trainer level is the best way to raise your chances of encountering powerful Pokemon. While you can level at a decent pace just by playing the game, there are ways to streamline the process, effectively maximizing the experience points (XP) you gain. To help in your efforts to level, we've compiled the most important steps you need to take. Click ahead to see the tips we've gathered.

To increase your trainer level, you need to gain enough XP. Completing certain tasks or actions in the game awards you with XP. However, it's possible to earn additional bonus XP when you meet special criteria. For instance, catching a Pokemon you've never caught before grants you a bonus 500 XP on top of the XP you normally gain. It's essential to know these special values if you want to efficiently increase your trainer level. Above you can see a brief rundown of how much bonus XP you gain from the various special actions.

One of the most useful items in Pokemon Go is the Lucky Egg. This special item doubles the XP you earn for half an hour, and is incredibly effective towards raising your trainer level. Lucky Eggs are found at PokeStops or purchased with Pokecoins at the shop. Be wary; the Lucky Egg timer continues even if you close out of the app. To avoid wasting a Lucky Egg, make sure you're able to play for thirty minutes without stopping.

For maximum benefits, we recommend using a Lucky Egg in conjunction with the other tips in this gallery, especially with the techniques we highlight later on.

In the early stages of the game, don't hesitate to catch as many Pokemon as possible, especially types you already have a bunch of. Duplicates can then be transferred for candy, which is a special item that helps you evolve Pokemon.

When managing your Pokemon, make sure to keep all of your initial evolutions. Also, don't evolve them right away; it's best to evolve Pokemon under conditions that maximize your XP gain, such as when a Lucky Egg has been activated. If you Evolve a Pokémon into a species that hasn't been captured yet, you'll be rewarded the initial 100 XP as well as an additional New Capture Bonus of 500 XP.

Transfer your extra Pokemon to Professor Willow to obtain candy for that particular Pokemon. Be mindful that candy is specific to the earliest evolution of a Pokemon species, In addition, Pokemon require a specific amount of their Candy type to evolve. To better maximize your XP gain, avoid transferring Pokemon that are easy to evolve; these can be farmed to gain XP faster.

Aside from Pokeballs, PokeStops also get you Pokemon Eggs. These eggs contain a random Pokemon with more Candy and Stardust than you'd get from one in the wild. Successfully hatching an egg grants you 200 XP, as well an additional 500 XP boost if you've never caught the Pokemon it contains.

To optimize your leveling speed, try to avoid any red capture ring encounters or Pokemon with '???' CP. These Pokemon are too strong and are likely to use up a lot more time (and Pokeballs). Stick to green or orange capture ring encounters. It's good to stock up on berries--an item that reduces the difficulty of an encounter--so when you do find yourself in a red Capture ring encounter, you can use it to easily catch the Pokemon.

It's possible to gain XP quickly using a combination of the tactics we described thus far. First, catch as many Pokemon as possible, but be sure to save a couple of each before transferring them to Professor Willow. Good Pokemon to keep for this method are Pidgey, Zubat, Caterpie, and Weedle, seeing as they only require 12 candies to evolve as opposed to the standard 25 to 50 candies that other types demand. Once these Pokemon are ready to evolve, head to a PokeStop with a Lure activated; a location with multiple PokeStops bunched together is ideal but not required. Use a Lucky Egg and then evolve all of your Pokemon at once; this nets you 1000 XP for each evolution as opposed to 500 XP.

After evolving your Pokemon, use the remaining time from your Lucky Egg to catch the abundance of Lure-attracted Pokemon. Don't forget to interact with the PokeStop every five minutes to collect additional XP and items. To further maximize the XP you gain from this method, try to have your Pokemon eggs close to hatching before getting to the PokeStop. This way, you'll be able to reap the XP benefits from the Lucky Egg.

Websites like PokeVision and Poke Radar are useful resources for scouting farming locations. Both sites offer GPS maps that pinpoint the exact location of a specific Pokemon. While these locations are updated often, there is a small amount of lag between the game and the app; so if you see a Pokemon disappear from the app, it doesn't necessarily mean it's no longer available in the game. You just need to hurry to the location to capture it before it disappears for good. We recommend using these sites sooner than later, seeing as developer Niantic is considering taking them down.