How to be the very best at Pokemon Go and why it might make you quit the game

The Pokemon theme starts with the line “I want to be the very best, like no one ever was.” But 20 levels later, I’ve come to realize that being the best at Pokemon Go just might make people quit the game.

How to be the best at Pokemon Go

1. Go straight to an area with 3 lures.
   Exploring is overrated.
2. Catch all the Pidgeys.
   Weedles help too.
3. Trade in hundreds of Pidgeys.
   Think of it as opening a candy store full of Pidgeys.
4. Evolve the rest using a lucky egg.
   Evolve all your Pidgeys to get 100,000 XP in 30 minutes.
5. BONUS: Capture an Eevee, rename to “Rainer” and evolve.
   Evolve a 500 CP Eevee into Vaporeon using this trick (it only works once). You now have one of the most powerful Pokemon in the game.

Why being the best can make you quit the game

Pokemon Go appeals to our core human desire to collect everything and show off our collection to others. The core loop is simple:

Find new Pokemon → Train your Pokemon → Win battles

The problem is, leveling up using the steps above ruins the game’s core loop. Here’s how the game feels at higher levels:

1. Finding new Pokemon doesn’t happen often and encourages people to sit at a spot with multiple lures instead of exploring.
2. Training your Pokemon is all about gaining levels yourself. This quickly becomes an exercise in patience —beyond level 20 it takes multiple throws to catch even Pidgeys and the XP required is enormous.
3. Winning battles involves repeatedly tapping the screen for 5 minutes only to lose the gym 15 minutes later to someone else.

The point is — the core loop becomes weaker the more time you put into the game.

Fixing Pokemon Go’s core loop

Being the best should also be fun, so here’s some ideas for how Niantic can improve the game’s core loop:

Finding new Pokemon

1. Send push notifications for new Pokemon and fix the tracker.
   The game’s mission is to encourage healthy outdoor exploration. If I start receiving push notifications when Pokemon I don’t have is nearby and have the tools to track them down, I will definitely explore more.
2. Let people trade Pokemon.
   Another of Go’s mission statements is to encourage social gameplay. If I can trade Pokemon with others, I’ll be encouraged to actually talk to the rest of the people gathered at a 3 lure spot at night.

Training your Pokemon

1. Making powering up early Pokemon worth it.
   My starter Pokemon was Squirtle, but I quickly traded him in for candy when I realized I could find better Pokemon in the wild. This feels wrong — Ash always has his Pikachu and people should feel attached to their favorites too.
2. Power up Pokemon from battles.
   Instead of above, I should be able to bring my starter Squirtle to battles and power him up to levels that far exceed Pokemon I find in the wild.

Winning battles

1. Have level bands for gym battles.
   I shouldn’t have to battle someone at a gym who’s level 25 if I’m only level 10. Having level bands for gyms (e.g. levels 11–15, 16–20…) will make gym contests more fun and fair.
2. Make battles more strategic.
   Instead of mindless tapping, Go should add battle mechanics from Pokemon games over the past 20 years. I should be able to use the strengths, weaknesses, and move sets of each Pokemon (which is surprisingly sophisticated) to beat those with higher power. A Jigglypuff should be able to put a Dragonite to sleep after which another Pokemon can inflict damage.

Don’t get me wrong. Pokemon Go is still fun at higher levels. It’s encouraged me to take long walks after dinner to meet people who also stare at their phones. But data suggests that the game has already peaked in markets like the US.

This shouldn’t be happening, because there’s just so much more that Niantic can do to build an awesome mobile game out of this 20 year old cultural phenomenon.