When Pokémon GO burst onto the scene in 2016, millions upon millions of people started walking around their local areas catching Pokemon and spinning PokéStops and battling at Gyms.
As crazy as it is, in many countries, going out isn’t something you can do right now as the world battles the coronavirus. Whether you’re in lockdown or are severely restricted on your movements, there are still some ways to play Pokemon GO.
The game’s developer Niantic has already implemented quite a few changes which make it easier to play without leaving home, including the following:
- More Pokemon are spawning everywhere
- Lures last 1 hour instead of 30 minutes
- PokéStops drop more items, including PokéBalls
- Eggs require only half the usual walking distance to hatch
- You can store 20 Gifts and open 30 per day
- 1-coin boxes in the shop which rotate each week
- Bundle of 30 lures for 1 coin
The biggest problem with gameplay if you are stuck at home is a lack of PokéBalls, since you can’t get more by spinning PokéStops.
It’s also impossible to get more Gifts to send to friends if you can’t spin any stops, and this will also mean you’re less likely to receive gifts from friends as they can’t get out either.
Although Gyms and PokéStops are still present and functioning, you should abide by any local restrictions and that probably means not meeting up with fellow players for raids. But you can plan a walking or cycling route which takes in some Gyms and PokéStops, so long as you are only going out once per day – in the UK, that is.
To help lower-level Trainers, the first catch of each day will award three times the usual XP and Stardust.
What can I do at home in Pokémon GO?
Pokémon GO Battle League now free to enter
One recent addition to Pokemon GO is GO Battle League, an online PvP system which allows you to battle other players remotely even if you aren’t friends with them. This is ideal timing, as you can participate from the confines of your home.
Originally you had to walk a certain distance and pay to enter, but these requirements have been lifted until 13 April so everyone can battle straight away. (If you were already walking to unlock a set of battles, unfortunately you will have to complete the distance.)
If you’d rather battle with friends, then there’s more good news: until 1 May you can remotely battle with Good and Great Friends – they no longer have to be Ultra or Best Friends.
And if you want to battle against AI, then you can scroll down to the bottom of the Battle screen and tap one of the team leaders. Winning will build up your Trainer medal and you’ll also get rewards, so long as your item bag isn’t full.
Play Pokémon GO with family members
If you can persuade others to create an account, or revive one they haven’t used for a while, there are things you can do once you are ‘friends’ with them in the game. We’ve already mentioned battling, but once you are Good Friends – which takes just one interaction – you can begin trading.
When trading, there is a chance your traded Pokémon will become lucky, and even if they don’t this is a chance to swap Pokémon for others you don’t have and also a chance that the traded Pokémon’s IV will increase.
Use this downtime to clear our your Pokémon box and change moves
With events running practically non-stop in Pokémon GO now, it can be tough to find time to go through hundreds or thousands of Pokémon and sort out the good ones from the bad.
Pokémon GO now has a decent built-in appraisal system so you can see exactly how good or bad a Pokémon is for Attack, Defence and HP (hit points).
You can sort Pokémon in various ways, such as recently caught, or by their Pokédex number. The latter can be useful to quickly see if you have lots of duplicates.
You can also filter out the bad ones by searching your collection using these IV filters: 0*, 1*, 2*, 3* and 4*. Only those with 3* and 4* appraisals are usually worth keeping.
Find out more in our guide to using the Pokémon GO search bar.
If you have a Nintendo Switch and Pokémon Let’s Go, you can transfer Pokémon from your phone to your Switch, and also get a Mystery Box as a bonus. This is another way to free up space in your box on your phone.
Once you have sorted your collection, you can look at our guide to the best movesets and use some of the Fast and Charged TMs to change the moves of your best (or favourite) Pokémon to make them handier in battle. And you can also add a second Charged Move now.
Cancelled events
To ensure you’re not missing out, and also to dissuade groups of players meeting up, the weekly Raid Hour has been cancelled until further notice. Community Days are also cancelled, as are Safari Events.
However, ticket holders are receiving bonuses such as 8-hour incense and tasks which can be completed at home.
New Today View in Pokémon GO
Although not a great help when playing from home, but the upcoming Today View will help you keep tabs on which events are happening currently in the game, your progress towards your weekly catch and spin streaks, plus a list of your Pokemon currently defending gyms.
