The 11 best 'Pokémon GO' cheats only expert players know — REVEALED

Even the most addicted "Pokémon GO" players crave tips and tricks to help them cheat and level up.

And no, we don't mean the creative kind of cheating, like strapping your phone to your dog or a drone until the eggs you've collected hatch.

The problem is, there's a ton of misinformation out there that might be stearing you off course as you desperately try to reach level 30.

No, your friend's friend didn't catch a Legendary Pokémon. And no, there is no mathematical calculation to determine what those footprints mean in your Nearby menu. Sorry! We wish there was just as much as you do.

Zapdos is a Legendary Pokémon, which are currently not in the game.

The game does, however, have a plethora of secrets hiding just beneath the surface. We've gathered the best cheats and hidden features and put them right here! Happy hunting.

Start with Pikachu!

There's a simple trick to getting Pikachu right at the start of the game: disobience! As my colleague Tim Mulkerin wrote, "You have to initially rebel against Professor Willow and refuse to pick a Pokémon when he asks you to. Instead of picking one of the three Pokémon he offers, keep walking until Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur disappear from the map.

The trio of Pokémon will pop up again on your map when you get far enough away from them, and you have to continue to ignore them four times.

The fifth time they respawn on your map, they'll have Pikachu with them! Pick Pikachu instead of one of the original trio, and voila! He's yours." BOOM!

Keep getting the same Pokémon? Keep them! Evolve them! Level up your Trainer!

The most important thing you can do in "Pokémon GO" is level up your Trainer. The higher the level you are, the better Pokémon you'll find. They'll have higher CP and HP, and thus they'll be more capable of going to gyms and winning in battle without you having to power them up.

So, how do you get there quickly? Be recycling your duplicates. Pokémon like Rattata and Pidgey and Weedle — Pokémon that you run into frequently, that cost very few candy to evolve. Evolving Pokémon gives you a fat payout of 500 XP. You see where I'm going with this?
Every time you collect a Pidgey or a Weedle or whatever else, you get a few candy. When you evolve them, you can then transfer them to Professor Willow for a bonus candy, thus enabling further evolution.

Here's a bunch more info!

Maximize on your Lucky Eggs and Incense to help with Trainer leveling!

Consider this: If you get 500 XP for evolving Pokémon, and Lucky Eggs double your XP for 30 minutes, you'll get 1000 XP for every Pokémon you evolve in that time period.

So maybe save those oft-found Pokémon for a special 30 minutes of evolution frenzy? If you're feeling up to it, perhaps add an Incense use to your Lucky Egg time. For every new Pokémon found that you've never found before, you get 500 XP (which then gets doubled). You can see how this could turn into an XP windfall very quickly.

In general, using Lucky Eggs and Incense together is a pretty solid idea to maximize on the use of both. Here's a bunch more info!

Hit Level 12 or 15 (at least) before you start using Stardust!

This is the highest level Pokémon I had at the time. He got left behind, eventually, in favor of better Pokémon found at higher Trainer levels.

You get Stardust for doing just about everything in "Pokémon GO," but that doesn't mean its an infinite resource. You'll want to save as much Stardust as possible to help raise the power level (both CP and HP) of your top-level Pokémon at some point. Pokémon that you find at low Trainer levels in Pokémon are often left behind as your Trainer level increases, so spending Stardust on them is a waste of time and resources.

Drag the Pokéball and swirl it around to throw a curve ball!

You see that curveball bonus sometimes, right? You must have seen that at least once or twice after scooping a Pokémon. That's no accident, although your initial introduction may have been.

When you're capturing a Pokémon, you can tap the Pokéball at the bottom of the screen, drag it forward, and swirl it around in a circle. It'll start spraying sparks and that's when you should toss it diagonally towards the Pokémon in question. With any luck (and some practice), you'll start nailing curveball bonuses every capture.

Throw it into the smallest possible yellow/orange/red circle to maximize throw bonus (more XP!)

Wondering what that yellow/orange/red circle is all about when you're trying to capture Pokémon? It's not just there to psyche you out, but to introduce an element of careful timing.

The closer you get to hitting in the center of that circle, and the smaller that circle is, the more of a throw bonus you will get when — nay, if — you capture the Pokémon. And as we already know, the more XP you get, the higher level your Trainer becomes, thus securing better Pokémon to capture. It's a glorious cycle.

Here's a bunch more info!

What to do with your eggs: incubate! Constantly! Target longer walks for better Pokemon

You may have noticed Eggs popping up as an item you'll get from Pokéstops. Those are full of (sometimes rare and wonderful) Pokémon!

You can find them under the main menu if you click on the Pokémon submenu, then swipe to the left. Tapping on any of them will allow you to select "Incubate," which then starts a counter that's connected to how far you walk while the game is open on your phone (and the screen is on, unfortunately — you have to be actively playing for it to be measured).

When you've walked the distance there, your Pokémon will hatch and much rejoicing will be had.

Go out to places where people are congregating to play, as there will be lures and you'll find amazing Pokémon!

The map above is of the lower east corner of Central Park in Manhattan, where a variety of Pokéstops are all grouped together around Grand Army Plaza. I've been there twice, and there's never been a time that any Pokéstop didn't have a lure on it for longer than a minute or two.

There is a constant barrage of Pokémon showing up, and huge crowds of people are coming together and sharing space while capturing Pokémon. You may not live in NYC — our condolonces to you and yours — but you're likely near some form of major congregation point. There are crowds of hundreds in downtown Bellevue, Washington, so this certainly isn't a NYC-exclusive activity.

Go to different regions to catch different types of Pokemon (and play at night)!

Zubats are more likely to show up if you're out catching Pokémon in the evening. Goldeens and Magikarps are more likely to appear near water sources. The typical rules apply here when it comes to Pokémon — certain types are more likely to appear near geographically appropriate areas.

That said, get out of your neighborhood! There are a million Doduos near our office. I've got a freakin' Doduo farm upstate from the non-stop flood of Doduos in Manhattan's Flatiron district. But back at home, near Prospect Park? Jigglypuff for miles. I've got a Wigglytuff now.Jealous?!

There are whole regions of the US that are pining for specific Pokémon. Here's a breakdown!

Select which Eevee you want to evolve into with this easter egg!

One Pokémon in "Pokémon GO" can evolve into three different Pokémon, seemingly at random: Eevee. But there's an easter egg buried in the game for the most devoted Pokémon fans. Redditor "smithnigel" figured it out — here's their explanation:

"The Eevee Brothers from the original anime were named Rainer, Pyro, Sparky and they owned a Vaporeon, Flareon and Jolteon respectively. If you nickname your Eevee either Rainer, Pyro or Sparky, your Eevee will evolve into that desired Eeveelution!"

Heads up that this will only work on your first Eevee, reportedly, so choose carefully.

Here's a bunch more info!

Use this trick to win Gym battles nearly every time!

A simple method of dodge and attack will help you tackle enemies of nearly any level. It's all about looking for the yellow "flash" of your opponent, and immediately dodging their impending attack. As Reddit user "zmedi" points out, at the start of each battle, your opponent will immediately attack. So, ya know, dodge immediately! After dodging (by swiping left or right), quickly hit your opponent (by tapping on your Pokémon, not theirs).

Remember that rhythm! Flash: dodge! Attack! Repeat.

NOTE: If you encounter a lot of network server issues in "Pokémon GO," this may not work out so well for you. But then again, battling in general is a mess when there are network issues.

Here's a bunch more info!

‘Pokemon GO’ Cheat for PokeVision Alternative: The Players’ Go-To Hack to Tap, Zoom, Find Pokemons

"Pokemon GO" players do not back down as Niantic is shooting down the bots and third party apps that cheat the mobile game. With PokeVision currently not working - there is another alternative among many others that can still be used.


"Pokemon GO" cheat: PokeVision alternative that uses map and reveals Pokemons nearby

The simple app lets players find the location and reveal Pokemons nearby. It also displays Pokedex. MobiPicker has also featured Pokegear Go as one of the best app that can replace PokeVision.

Pokegear Go equips users with a map that can determine the proximity of each Pokemon nearby. It pinpoints the specific monster you need to find simply by tapping it - it will go directly to the place. The live radar helps to ease the efforts in searching and catching them all. In addition to the hack, players will be able to learn more about each Pokemon around the world,Applezona reported.


Pokegear GO is as easy as zoom in and zoom out

Pokegear Instagram explains how the app works, by easily zooming in or zooming out to see the Pokemon around your city.

Niantic has taken down a few hacking apps including Pokegear but Pokegear Go managed to put its system back again. Now, many users switch to Pokegear Go as an alternative hack for PokeVision that is not working currently.

With the many "Pokemon GO" cheats that are still working and players are still using - it simply shows that shortcuts are indeed necessary for the ambitious to catch them all - or at least, to play all day on the couch without walking around.

The standalone scanner has even improved the app with push notifications feature. According to iDigitalTimes, the app looks a bit confusing with a few useless buttons. However, Pokegear GO is good to go without any complicated method or asking you to go inside the command line.

Stay tuned for more "Pokemon GO" updates. Have you used any "Pokemon GO" hacks recently and which one is that?

Pokémon Go Hacks: 7 clever ways to hatch eggs fast and catch 'em all

We round up the best Pokémon Go hacks we've seen on the internet thus far to help you hatch more eggs fast. Whether you're trying to avoid walking around or really fancy getting under the game's skin, there's something for you in our handy guide to hacking Pokémon Go.

By now, if you've succumbed to Pokémon Go, you should be well on your way to becoming a Pokémaster, considering the abundance of guides and how-to articles available.

But you might still be struggling with the game's focus on actually walking around.

Pokémon Go doesn't lend itself to being played while you lay on your couch, becoming a massive Pokéslob – you actually have to get up and wander around in order to catch Pokémon, hatch eggs, and gather supplies.

Of course, the internet has found several ways around this issue, using a number of ingenious methods. With that in mind, we've rounded up some of the best ways for the lazy among you to overcome the requirement to actually move.

And, now that the game has been out in the wild for a while, there are a handful of genuine Pokémon Go hacks and some handy apps out there to check out. Whatever your ability level, they're worth checking out.

Here are all of the best Pokémon Go hacks we've seen.

1) FIND POKÉMON THE EASY WAY – WITH APPS, MAPS AND TRACKERS

Pokémon Go naturally lends itself to map-based tracking tools and, given the game's massive fan base, a number of popular apps quickly developed alongside the craze.

Unfortunately, Niantic isn't especially keen on third-party Poké-hunting helpers, saying that such trackers amount to cheating.

The developer has gone out of its way to shutdown these kind of apps, with Pokévision one of the first victims, followed by the likes of Smart Poke and Skiplagged.

However, some tools are still functioning, with our (working) favourite at present being easy-to-use PokeRadar.

There are plenty of other Pokévision alternatives, though, but note that all are liable to be pulled offline at short notice.

2) GET ON THE CASE WITH THIS GENIUS IPHONE ACCESSORY

Catching more advanced Pokémon can require throwing dead-accurate Pokéballs, and this isn't always easy. Fortunately, some genius devised an iPhone case to help you aim.

Is it cheating? Well, probably – but it's also a 3D printed project and helps us catch more monsters, so we love it.

Basically, the case serve a guide to keep your finger straight when you launch your Pokéballs. It was originally designed for the iPhone 6, so only fit phones of an identical (e.g. iPhone 6S) or very similar size and shape, but there are now also designs that'll work with the Galaxy S7 and iPhone 6/6S Plus.

Got a 3D printer handy? Head over to My Mini Factory now and check out the plans for the Pokéball aimer.

Of course, the best accessory you can buy to aid your Pokèmon hunts is a battery pack, as the game is a major drain on power. Hit the link below for some of our favourites.

3) CLEAN UP ON POKÉMON GO WITH ROOMBA

What's better than smashing a game without lifting a finger? How about ending up with a clean house at the end of it all?

This fellow's "joke", as he describes it, worked out well for him after he put his phone on top of an iRobot Roomba and racked up half a kilometre in distance travelled.

That means he was able to help his eggs, which require you to walk around in order to hatch them, by bringing them closer to hatching, and not lose a single ounce of weight in the process.

If you have a Roomba laying around, why not try this out to gain some extra mileage while you sleep or argue with your significant other about why you're wasting your life. Just think of all the mileage you'll rack up while moving all your stuff out after you've broken up.

4) LET A DRONE DO THE WORK

Sick of feeling as though you're actually improving your health as you walk around? Why not take a page out of Redditor hyperion 995's book and strap your phone to a drone.

As you can see from the images, the enterprising techie uses software that transmits what's on his phone's screen to his laptop, so he can send his phone off into the world while he sits in the comfort of his own home.

Hyperion explained his method thusly: "AirDroid using AirMirror will let you see and interact with your phone screen over the internet from a computer. The connection is very choppy on data, and I'm unsure if anyone would be able to catch a pokemon via AirMirror.

"...If you do attempt this, make sure to be in an open area where a falling phone can't hurt or break anything as well as maintain line of sight with your drone because of the compass issues."

So, there you go. Don't try it if you have a data cap, try not to drop your phone on anyone's head, and don't expect to catch any Pokémon. On second thoughts, maybe give this one a miss.

5) FANS ARE YOUR FRIEND (SOMETIMES)

Got a ceiling fan? Why not try doing what dozens of Twitter users are recommending and put your phone on one of the blades to start adding to your mileage.

It seems the rotation of most fan's blades is enough to trick the phone into thinking you're actually walking around, allowing you to hatch eggs quicker and feel fantastic about your life choices.

Be warned, though. This tactic could end in disaster:

6) GOT A PET? MAKE THEM EARN THEIR KEEP

This one's pretty straightforward. If you happen to have a dog or cat, they finally have a way to say thank you for the free room and board. You already know what to do.

7) YOU SPIN ME RIGHT ROUND, POKÉ, RIGHT ROUND

One final way to hatch your eggs without getting off your arse is to make use of that turntable you've got gathering dust – you know, the one you bought at uni because everyone said you had mad spinning skills?

That dream almost certainly died faster than your childhood aspiration of playing for England, but you new life's ambition to become a Pokémaster can keep spinning, quite literally.

As the video below shows, all you need to do is launch Pokémon Go on your phone, fire up a turntable at the highest speed, and rest your (unlocked) device on it.

The 'turntable' featured looks slightly odd to our eye, like it belongs in a microwave rather than a club, and we can't stress enough that you don't want to microwave your phone in pursuit of Pikachu.

Still, it gives you the basic idea and a record-less vinyl player would also do the trick.

And that's it for now. We're sure the internet will provide numerous new ways in which to cheat your way to success, so check back for some of the best in the coming weeks.


Got any other hacks? Let us know in the comment!

Pokemon's Eevee Coming to Build-A-Bear Workshops

Pikachu came to Build-A-Bear Workshops earlier this year, and now the stuffed animal store is inviting more Pokemon through its doors with the introduction of an Eevee plush.

If you want the Normal-type Pokemon for yourself, you need to shell out at least $28, which gets you the basic 14-inch doll that includes a Build-A-Bear-exclusive trading card. You can pay more money to dress the Pokemon up in a hooded Eevee-evolution cape or Poke Ball pajamas.

The pajamas cost $12.50, while the hooded cape comes in a $62 online-exclusive package that comes with Eevee, a five-in-one sound chip, both costumes, and the trading card.

Eevee comes to Build-A-Bear Workshops in the United States, Canada, and UK on September 1.

Pokemon Go Unbans Some Players, But Warns of Additional Future Bans

Pokemon Go developer Niantic has made their position on tracking apps very clear, shutting them down and even banning players who have used them. Now, Niantic has released an update on the bans, saying it's granted some users access to their accounts again, though they could still be banned if they continue to use add-on map applications.

"Some players may not have realized that some add-on map apps do more than just show you nearby Pokemon," Niantic said in a statement released on thePokemon Go website. "Each end-user app can be used as a collection tool by the app creator, invisibly collecting and forwarding data to the app creator with or without the knowledge of the end user.

"These apps can have an effect similar to DDoS attacks on our servers. Because of this we have had to ban some accounts associated with using these add-on map tools, leading to confusion by some users about why they were banned. This is a small subset of the accounts banned."

Niantic added that "[a]s a result of some changes made to [its] infrastructure," it can unban these accounts. However, it noted that it would not unban a number of accounts that used apps to commit more devious acts such as playing the game remotely or scraping data.

"Accounts whose sole purpose was to scrape data are not being unbanned," Niantic stated. "Accounts which used apps or websites to remotely capture Pokemon, battle or deploy on Gyms, or harvest resources from PokeStops are also not being unbanned.

"Our main priority is to provide a fair, fun, and legitimate experience for all players, so, aggressive banning will continue to occur for players who engage in these kinds of activities."

In other Pokemon Go-related news, one person is creating a version of the augmented-reality game that runs on the Sega Dreamcast's handheld VMUdevice. It doesn't feature a camera or GPS, so you can imagine it will be a little different.

For more stories from the world of Pokemon Go, check out GameSpot's news roundup.

Pokémon GO: Gym Battle Guide - How to Claim Gyms and Win Battles

This guide offers several tips to help players prepare for gym battles in Pokémon Go. Defeating other trainers in opposing gyms allows you to overtake their gym for your team. Free Pokécoins are earned daily for holding and defending a gym.

The initial phase of Pokémon Go primarily consists of catching Pokémon and earning XP to increase one’s Trainer Level. You must be at least Level 5 to participate in gym battles. Until then, you should focus on catching as many Pokémon as you can in order to level up and have plenty of Pokémon at your disposal to prepare for battles. 

Upon reaching Level 5, players must pledge allegiance to a team of their choice. There are three teams to choose from: Team Instinct (yellow), Team Mystic (blue), and Team Valor (red). The team you choose will be the team you represent for the rest of the game, and will determine which gyms you can join or battle. Consider choosing a team based on the gyms held in your location, as this can make it easier to find a gym to join. 

Defending a Gym

After picking a team, you can enter a gym of the same color, provided there are enough spaces available for you to join. Gyms initially have slots for three members. When you find a gym, you’ll see the main trainer and the Pokémon they have stationed at the gym. Tap the gym and swipe to see its members, and if there are any available spaces for you to join. If you see an open circle beside the crown in the upper left, that means there is room for another Pokémon. Grey gyms are unclaimed, meaning you can move in right away. Unclaimed gyms are a rare find at this point, however. 

Once you have joined a gym, you must assign one of your Pokémon to defend the gym. This will increase the gym’s prestige and improve its defenses. As your gym fends off its opponents, more slots will become available for new trainers to join and enhance the gym’s defenses. Challengers must defeat all of the Pokémon trainers in your gym and reduce its prestige to zero for it to be taken over, so you’ll want to make sure you have one of your stronger Pokémon stationed in your gym to defend it from usurpers. 

If a friendly gym is full, you can still help to improve the gym’s prestige by sending one of your Pokémon there to train against its members. You’ll gain points as your Pokémon trains, and as the gym’s prestige increases through training, more slots can be opened for you to join and leave a Pokémon to defend the gym. 

Taking Over a Gym

If there aren’t any friendly gyms available for you to join, you may need to take over an occupied gym instead. This involves a bit more preparation, as it requires the trainer to have strong, battle-ready Pokémon who can survive the onslaught of multiple defenders from an opposing gym. There are a few things you should keep in mind before diving into gym battles if you want to come out on top. 

Strengthen Your Pokémon

Before even considering gym battles, you first need to power up and evolve several of your Pokémon to ensure they are strong enough to compete. If you have been capturing loads of Pokémon up to this point, you should have enough Candy and Stardust available to strengthen at least a few Pokémon. 

Your Pokémon’s strength is based on its CP, or Combat Points. You can Power Up a Pokémon to improve its stats even further. Power Ups require both Stardust and Candy, which can be accumulated by capturing and transferring Pokémon. In general, you will want to transfer low CP Pokémon of a particular species back to Professor Willow in exchange for Candy. Save power ups for Pokémon with naturally high CP in order to maximize the stat increase. 

Evolving Pokémon adds another layer to the process. An evolved Pokémon will have better stats than its previous form, but it will likely take on a completely new move set. If you intend to evolve a particular Pokémon, you should do this first before powering them up, just so you can see the stats you have to work with. 

Size Up Your Competition

Once you have several strong Pokémon at the ready, it’s time to go out and find a gym to take over. When you find a gym held by an opposing team, click on the gym to view the CP of the Pokémon defending that gym. Compare the CP of the defenders to the CP of the Pokémon you intend to use in battle. If your Pokémon stack up against the opposition, then proceed to challenge the gym and begin battle. 

Element types are an important factor in gym battles as well. This is a Pokémon game, after all. Water extinguishes fire, fire melts ice, etc. These rock-paper-scissors type advantages should be taken into consideration when sizing up your competition in advance, as it will impact your effectiveness in battle. You can take up to six Pokémon into battle with you. It’s best to have fighters that span a variety of element types in order to increase your chances of having a type advantage over your opponent. 

Battle Maneuvers

Battles mostly come down to incessant tapping and landing your special attack. When it comes time to battle an opponent, there are only a couple of attacks to keep in mind. To perform a basic attack, simply tap on your opponent’s Pokémon. As you continue to tap and attack, a blue bar will begin to fill up beside your Pokémon’s CP. When the blue bar is fully charged, tap and hold to unleash your special attack. Keep an eye on the enemy Pokémon and prepare to swipe left or right to dodge incoming attacks as well. 

Continue tapping vigorously and landing your specials. When a Pokémon faints, it will be replaced with the next Pokémon in your roster if six. Healing Pokémon can only be done outside of battle, using items acquired from PokéStops. 

Successfully defeating each opponent in a gym battle session will reduce the gym’s prestige by 2000 points. When a gym’s prestige reaches zero, you can claim the gym and take control of it for your team. You’ll earn additional Pokécoins each day you hold a gym, which is a nice incentive for supporting your team. 

How to play Pokemon GO without moving in Android (No Root)

As Pokémon Go continues its huge surge of international popularity, there have already been a wide variety of creative methods from various players who have tried in various ways to beat the system. Tons and tons of Pokemon GO hacks have been released for each Smartphone platform. Even we have published Pokemon GO hacks for Rooted Android device. But today we’re here with Pokemon GO hack for Non-Rooted Android.

This method does not require any Root not even any kind of Custom recovery. This method does work on any Android device. If you follow each steps correctly, you’ll get Pokemon GO Android hack with Joystick (Arrow keys) to move along with location spoofing which means you can play Pokemon GO from any location in the world. Entire method is really simple to follow. Let’s just jump into the guide. Don’t forget, rooted hack has much more features & advantages over non-rooted Hack. This Guide is for devices running Android Marshmallow & above. If you are using Jellybean/Kitkat/Lollipop, you can refer new Pokemon GO hack for Jellybean & above.

Prerequisites:

1. Pokemon GO

2. Pokemon GO Fly GPS Hack (Fake GPS)

How to setup Pokemon GO GPS hack in Android (No Root)

Step 1. Download and install both the required Apps mentioned above.

Step 2. Go to Settings App > About Phone > Tap on build number 7 times to activate Developer options in your device.

Step 3. Go back to Settings > Developer options. Locate “Select mock location app” & select Fly GPS (com.fly.gps)

Step 4. Again go to Settings > Location & set GPS mode to High accuracy (Use GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth or mobile data)

Step 5. Now launch Fly GPS app & locate any location you want to go. Click on the desired location & hit “Please select the menu”.

Fly GPS for Pokemon GO Hack

Step 6. Tap on “GPS Service Run” which will open up another menu. Tap on “Joystick location mode [Pokemon]”.

JoyStick Location mode (Pokemon GO)

Step 7. That’s it! Now launch Pokemon GO Game & you’ll see a Joystick to move around.

Pokemon GO Joystick for Non rooted Android device

You can level up easily & faster using this. If you live in small town or somewhere where there’s not much of Pokemon, this hack could be very beneficial & easy to use. This hack is for those who don’t want to root their device. Don’t forget, rooted hack has much more features & advantages over non-rooted Hack. But don’t worry! The app developer may come up with lot more features in Non-rooted version too.