Choosing Your Eevee! (Vaporeon, Jolteon or Flareon)

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Most Trainers know that Eevee can evolve into either Vaporeon, Jolteon or Flareon. Many say that
Pokémon you get from evolving an Eevee is random. Others say that the final evolution of each Eevee is determined by its moveset.

However, it has recently been discovered that you can choose which Pokémon your Eevee will evolve into just by changing its name before evolving it. 

Want a Vaporeon? Change the nickname of your Eevee to Rainer.

Want a Flareon? Change the nickname of your Eevee to Pyro.

Want a Jolteon? Change the nickname of your Eevee to Sparky.

Many have confirmed that this trick does work. I will try it as soon as I get 25 Eevee Candies. Feel free to try this trick and leave a comment below with the results!

Get Pikachu as Your Starter!!!

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Like many people, I wish I had known that you can get Pikachu as your starter in Pokémon Go. When you first start the game you will see Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle near your Trainer. Most player's first instinct is to choose their favorite one immediately (Mine was).

However, if you want Pikachu as your starter follow these simple steps:

#1. Instead of tapping on one of these three, walk away from them.

#2. Keep walking away from them and you will see that they disappear and then reappear near your Trainer.  Do this four times.

#3. Once you have done this four times, continue walking and the fifth time Pikachu will pop up on your map along with the other three starter Pokémon.

#4. Tap on Pikachu to start the encounter and throw a Pokéball at the Pikachu to capture it.

#5. Congratulations you now have started Pokémon Go with a brand new Pikachu!

If you know anyone who may just be installing the game, share this with them before they choose their starter!

Quick Tips For Capturing, Evolving and Battling

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Gym Level Progression & Prestige Explanation

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Here is a great video from the Youtube Channel Team Atlas Go. He provides a detailed overview of the current Gym Level Progression system and the requirements needed to reach higher Gym levels. Check out the video below and be sure to subscribe to his channel!

Note: Unfortunately the Video has been taken down, but the synopsis can be read below:


Here is a breakdown of the video from beginning to end:

Level 1 Gyms start out with 0 XP. A Gym will be at Level 1 until it reaches 500 XP.

Deploying a Pokemon to defend a friendly Gym will increase that Gym's XP by 500, thus increasing that Gym from Level 1 to Level 2.

Level 2 Gyms require 500 - 999 XP and provide two total slots to for defending Pokemon.

Deploying a second Pokemon at a Gym will increase the Gym's XP to 1000 XP, thus increasing that Gym from Level 2 to Level 3.

Level 3 Gyms require 1,000 XP - 1,999 XP and provide three total slots for defending Pokemon. Adding a third Pokemon will increase that Gym's XP from 1,000 XP to 1,500 XP.

The remaining 500 XP needed to reach 2,000 XP and get to Level 4 requires players to train at that Gym. You must attack the defending Pokemon at that Gym with your own Pokemon (50 XP per battle).

Level 4 Gyms require 2,000 XP - 2,999 XP and provide four total slots for defending Pokemon.  Gym level progression continues to work the same way as higher levels are reached.

Note: If you attack a Gym with two other friendly players at the game time (3 vs. 1) that one defending Pokemon will take damage from all three Pokemon. However, to make things fair the defending Pokemon will deal three times as much damage to all three attacking Pokemon.

When a Gym is defeated it will lose 250 XP. Once a Gym is defeated enough times and its XP reaches 0, only then will the ownership of that Gym be transferred to the winning team.

Gym Leader ownership can transfer when a Gym is defeated.

For example, if a Level 2 Gym is defeated and it goes down to Level 1, the defeated Pokemon from the second slot will be transferred back to its owner. The remaining Pokemon in the first defending slot will remain and the owner of that defending Pokemon will become the new Gym leader. If there are multiple Pokemon remaining at a Gym after being defeated and losing a Level, ownership will change to the Trainer with the most powerful remaining defending Pokemon.

Note: If your Pokemon is defeated you will not lose it. It will simply be transferred back to you.

Being that the current Gym system makes it much easier to take down a high level Gym than to build one up, choosing to deploy your best defending Pokemon is critical! Pokemon Go is still in beta testing, so the XP requirements may change. However, the current mechanics and overall system will likely remain in the official release.

I do not own this video. If you liked this video please be sure to check out Team Atlas Go on YouTube. 

Pokemon Go Beta HD Gameplay (Australia)

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Pokemon Go is currently being Beta tested by players in Australia and New Zealand. One player has a recorded a nine minute long gameplay video and the game really looks great. Just in case the video gets taken down, here is the video breakdown:

0:23 - 0:34 - Loading Screen and then the player chooses between a Male or Female Trainer

0:35 - 1:15 - Player customizes his Trainer (Skin Color, Hat, Eyes, Shirt, Pants, Shoes, Backpack and Name)

1:16 - 1:25 - Trainer Profile and Achievements are viewed. The visible achievements are Distance Walked, Pokedex, Captures, Evolutions, Eggs Hatched, Encounters and Pokestop Visits.

1:39 - Each player starts off with 20 Pokeballs. Pokeball - A device for capturing wild Pokemon. It's thrown like a ball at a Pokemon comfortably encapsulating its target. 

1:47 - Player travels to a Gym. Gym - To control a Gym, you must pit your skills and your Pokemon in battle against others. Three teams compete for control of Gyms. You must choose to join one of the teams before you can battle.

2:04 - Player chooses Team Blue and a Geodude (CP 87) appears as one of his Pokemon.

2:24 - Player travels to a Pokestop (Giant Rock Stack) and collects three free Pokeballs and an Egg. Player also gains 50 XP.

2:50 - Wild Porygon (CP 85) is caught. Notice it has an orange circle around it, signifying that it is a relatively difficult capture. Pokemon with green circles around them are easy to capture. Player receives 100 XP for Pokemon Caught and 500 XP for New Pokemon.

3:14 - Porygon is shown as a Normal Type Pokemon, with Quick Attack and Thunderbolt as its two moves.

3:25 - Player reaches Level 2 and is awarded with five Great Balls. Great Ball - A good, high-performance Poke Ball that provides a higher Pokemon catch rate than a standard Poke Ball can.

3:55 - Vulpix (CP 55) is caught and shown as a Fire Type.

4:25 -  Magnemite (CP 75) is caught and shown as an Electric/Steel Type.

4:55 - Another Pokestop (Library) is visited and a Pokeball, a Great Ball and a Max Revive are obtained. Max Revive - A medicine that can revive fainted Pokemon. It also fully restores a fainted Pokemon's maximum HP.

5:15 - Player Trains his Magnemite by battling against his own Geodude at a friendly Blue Gym.

6:10 - Wild Meowth is encountered and captured.  Player earned a Medal for capturing his fifth Pokemon. Note: Capture mode can be toggled to either use the camera or use a virtual background instead.

6:28 - A third Pokestop is visited and two Pokeballs and a Great Ball are obtained. 50XP is gained and the player levels up to Trainer Level 3. He is rewarded with five Ultra Balls. Ultra Ball - An ultra-high performance Poke Ball that provides a higher catch success rate than a Great Ball.

6:50 - A fourth Pokestop is visited and 1x Pokeball, 1x Great Ball, 1x Ultra Ball and an Egg are obtained. 50XP is gained.

7:00 - After traveling one total KM in seven minutes of game time, an Egg hatches into a Poliwag (CP 49) 700 XP is gained. Poliwag is a Water Type.

7:55 - Wild Eevee (CP 56) is caught. Player receives 100 XP for Pokemon Caught and 500 XP for New Pokemon.

8:08 - Another Egg hatches from the player's inventory and its a Pikachu (CP 65)! The Pikachu is an Electric Type.

8:28 - Inventory shows 38 out of 1000 slots being used.

9:00 - A Wild Ekans (CP 60) is captured.

While this is still Closed Beta and many things may still change, it is very interesting to see that this player was able to capture so many different species of Pokemon is such a short amount of time. In addition, the gameplay was fast paced.  At least every thirty seconds there was either a Pokemon encounter, a Pokestop to visit or a Gym to battle at.

This is the best HD gameplay video I have seen so far and it really looks amazing. The Gym battle system looks fun, actually preferable to the original turn based battle system of other Pokemon games. With "Super Effective" and "Not Very Effective" popping up after each attack, Types will very much a part of the battling system and strategy in Pokemon Go.

Like many others, I originally thought being unable to battle wild Pokemon was a huge letdown. However, after seeing how this fast paced capture system works, I can definitely see why Niantic did not include Pokemon battles prior to capture. It would slow down the game tremendously, which would really inhibit players from "Catching Em' All". I honestly love all of the systems currently in place at the moment and can't wait until the Beta reaches the U.S.

What are your thoughts on the gameplay so far? Feel free to comment below.

Beta Gameplay Videos

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Pokemon Go Gameplay CP, Evolution Shards & Egg Hatching 

(April 7, 2016)

- Individual Pokemon have different CP (Even if species is the same)

- Pokemon will require a certain number of Evolution Shards before you can evolve them.

- Each Pokemon can have two moves.

- Players can find and collect Eggs. These eggs will hatch into a Pokemon once a certain distance has been walked.


Pokemon Go Trainer Customization
(March 29, 2016)

- Trainers can gain EXP and Level Up.

- Trainers can be customized (Face, Headwear, Hair, Eyes, Shirts, Pants, Shoes and Backpacks).

- Simple main menu consisting of Pokedex, Items and Pokemon.

Pokemon Go Gameplay First Look SXSW Gaming (March 19, 2016)

- Gameplay of a Level 9 Trainer capturing an Ivysaur.

- Trainer EXP gained for capturing Pokemon.

- Pokemon Size, Weight and Type shown in Pokedex.


Thank you for watching. Feel free to leave a comment below.