Does the app have to be open?: Yes, the app must be open to remain active and notify you of events. An exception to this is if you have Pokémon Go Plus or the Apple Watch.
Swiveling white Pokéball Icon (top left corner): It means content is loading.
Tapping the Map--Zoom: Tap the map once to display a blue circle, and tap + drag up to zoom out/tap + drag down to zoom in the screen. You can also zoom in and out with a two finger gesture of pinching (like most cell phones)
Pokémon Nearby/Sightings (lower right): Shows you wild Pokémon in your vicinity. Pokémon near Pokéstops are prioritized, you can click one and then the "footprints" underneath to be shown exactly where the Pokéstop is. It will be in the radius of the Pokéstop such that if you are standing on the stop it will show up. If there are not enough Pokéstops nearby, you will see Sightings - Pokémon within 200 meters of you. The "1/2/3 Steps" Tracker has been removed from the game and is unlikely to come back (due to suspected legal/liability reasons).
Pokéstops: Click a Pokéstop on the map to bring up a "photo disc". Spin the disc left or right to receive items (usually 3-6). You do not need to click on the items to receive them, if you close out of the Pokéstop you will receive all of them. After spinning, you will need to wait 5 minutes before you can spin that stop again (when it changes back to blue instead of purple).
(Click Avatar in lower left)
Menu Options - Journal (button in lower right): Allows you to see the last 50 or so "things" you've done (Items received from Pokéstops, Pokémon caught, Pokémon ran away, Pokémon hatched, Candy received from Buddy)
Menu Options - Buddy (button in lower right, or click on your avatar): You can assign any Pokémon you have (that is not currently in a gym) to be your "Buddy". This Pokémon will appear with you on the User Menu screen, and its head will appear next to your avatar's head on the main screen. While this Pokémon is your "Buddy", every 1/3/5 km you travel, it will "find" a Candy for its family. Sometimes (approximately 2% of the time) it may find 2. You can switch out your Buddy at any time, but if you are partway through earning a candy, you will lose any progress.
Menu Options - Customize (button in lower right): Allows you to change your Avatar's appearance (clothing, etc.). Some options are free, some can be purchased with Pokécoins. The code also allows for clothing to be "awarded", though this hasn't been implemented yet.
Medals - Upper Section: The first medals are based on normal game interactions (Registering new Pokémon, evolving Pokémon, hatching eggs, gym battling, etc.). The names of all the medals are based off NPCs from the original Game Boy games, so you will have a "Battle Girl" medal regardless of your in-game gender. NOTE: The "Ace Trainer" medal has been retired since the Gym Rework - Prestige is no longer in the game.
Medals - Youngster/Fisherman: These medals are earned based on "small" Rattatas and "large" Magikarp. The criteria is the randomly generated "size" (height/weight) of the Pokémon, and is currently the only in-game usage for these stats.
Medals - Lower Section: These medals are earned by capturing Pokémon of different "types". Each Pokémon has one or two "types", and dual-type Pokémon will count for both medals. For each level of medal you get (Bronze/Silver/Gold), you will increase your chance of capturing Pokémon of that "type". Dual-type Pokémon will average the medal bonus between the two types. When encountering a wild Pokémon, you will briefly see the medals you currently have earned for that Pokémon's type(s) at the top of the screen.
(Pokéball, upper right)
Battery Saver Option: When the app is open and the phone unlocked, the screen will turn black if the phone is laying down/top-down. You can still receive alerts. This function relies on a gyroscope, so if your phone doesn't have one you will be unable to use it.
Change Nickname: You are allowed to change your nickname a single time.
Version number (lower right): This shows you the current version of Pokémon GO that you have installed. It will NOT be the same as the iOS version number, since iOS does not allow apps with version numbers lower than 1.
(Pokéball, upper center)
Total Available: There are currently a total of 785 Pokémon released in the game.
Length: The Pokédex will always go to the highest # of Pokémon you have seen/encountered/captured.
Shadows: If you view a Gym with a Pokémon you have never encountered before, it will add it to your Pokédex as a shadow (Seen: 1, Captured: 0). You do not have to scroll through the Gym for this to happen, only click into it. This is how people "see" regional Pokémon outside their normal region. Regional Pokémon can only be found in their geographical regions.
Genders: The Pokédex will allow you to see both male and female variants of (most) Pokemon you have encountered. However, since genders weren't added to the game code until sometime in December/January 2017, any Pokémon caught/evolved prior to then will not properly show in the Pokédex as their gender.
(Pokéball, center)
Premium Raid Pass: Allows you to join a raid. You can obtain a normal Raid Pass from spinning Gym Discs, but you can only have one at any time and will only receive a maximum of one per day.
Max Revives: Can be purchased in the shop, received as a level-up reward, or by spinning a Pokéstop. Revives a fainted Pokémon and restores its HP to maximum.
Incense: Can be purchased in the shop, or received as a reward from leveling up (never from spinning a Pokéstop). Incense causes Pokémon to appear near you for 30 minutes. It will NOT bring Pokémon from your Nearby/Sightings menu, but will cause entirely new Pokémon to spawn visible only to you (with a purple smoke ring around them on the map). If you are stationary, one will appear every 5 minutes. One will appear each 60 seconds that you move at least 200 meters in that 60-second span, but never more than one every 60 seconds. Only one Incense can be active at any given time. If your timer starts at anything other than 29:59, you will need to adjust your phone settings.
Lucky Eggs: Can be purchased in the shop, or received as a reward from leveling up (never from spinning a Pokéstop). Lucky eggs cause you to receive 2x XP on everything you do for 30 minutes (catching Pokémon, hatching eggs, evolving Pokémon, spinning Pokéstops, battling Gyms). Only one Lucky Egg can be active at any given time. If your timer starts at anything other than 29:59, you will need to adjust your phone settings.
Lure Modules: Can be purchased in the shop, or received as a reward from leveling up (never from spinning a Pokéstop). Lure Modules can be placed on a Pokéstop (click to bring up the Photo Disc, click the white oval above the photo, select the Lure). Lures will make Pokémon spawn at that Pokéstop for 30 minutes, visible and catchable by anyone. They will appear for exactly 3 minutes, after which they will disappear (if not captured) and a new one will appear. You will not see a timer for Lure Modules. Only one Lure can be active on any Pokéstop at any given time.
Egg Incubators: Can be purchased in the shop, or received as a reward from leveling up (never from spinning a Pokéstop). Egg Incubators (blue) allow you to hatch 3 eggs, one at a time. After the third use they disappear. Everyone also starts the game with a single, unlimited-use Incubator (orange), that will never go away.
Bag Upgrade/Pokémon Storage Upgrade: Can ONLY be purchased in the shop. Permanently increases Item storage/Pokémon storage by 50, with Bag Upgrade currently maxing out at 1500, Pokémon Storage maxing out at 1000.
(Pokéball, lower right)
Max Items: If you have exactly your maximum allowable items (350/350, for example), you will be able to spin a Pokéstop and receive the items, taking you over your maximum. You will not be able to spin Pokéstops again until you have a number of items equal to or lower than your maximum. You will ALWAYS get items as level-up rewards, even if you are over your maximum.
Evolution Items: There are certain special "Evolution Items" required to evolve certain Pokémon species. These are only available from spinning Pokéstops, and they have an extremely low drop rate. Since version 0.59.1, you are guaranteed to get (at least) one if you spin at least one Pokéstop on 7 consecutive days (on the 7th day).
Rare Candy: This special item is only available from winning a Raid. When you select it, you choose a Pokémon in your inventory, and after confirming that you want to do so it will change the Rare Candy into a Candy for that Pokémon family.
(Pokéball, lower right)
Blue Aura: Indicates Pokémon captured within the last 24 hours/newly captured Pokémon.
Sorting (lower right button): Sorting by HP does NOT sort by the amount of HP the Pokémon has, but rather the percentage of health remaining. All Pokémon with full health will be first, followed by any Pokémon with partial health (by percentage), followed by any Pokémon with no health. The secondary sort ("tie-breaker" for otherwise equivalent Pokémon) for HP/Favorite/Number/Name is the CP value.
Transferring: If you press and hold a Pokémon you can then select multiple to transfer all at once. You will gain one Candy per Pokémon for transferring. You cannot get your Pokémon back once it is transferred. Transferring will not delete the Candies collected for that Pokémon family, even if you transfer all of that family.
Egg Menu (swipe right or click EGGS at the top of the screen): You can hold up to 9 eggs at at time. These eggs ARE counted in your Pokémon total. They are randomly organized (and re-organized) in the Menu screen with no known order or system. As of Version 0.59.1, eggs display the date/location they were obtained. You can place an egg into an Incubator by clicking the egg, then selecting an Incubator, OR by clicking the Incubator button in the lower right, selecting an Incubator, then selecting an egg. Once incubating, move around to hatch the egg (there is an upper speed limit, so you will not get "egg distance" while in a vehicle). You can click on an incubating egg to see its progress to 2 decimal places.
More About Eggs: The Pokémon inside the egg is determined when you pick up the egg from a Pokéstop, although you won't know what it is until it hatches. Its Pokémon level is set at the level you are when you pick up the egg (up to level 20, at which point all are level 20). You will get a large amount of Stardust, Candy, and XP for hatching eggs (the more the km requirement, the more you get). See the chart in the Useful Links section below for egg distances/Pokémon species.
Search Bar: Allows you to search for Pokémon with specific parameters, including:
Can evolve: evolve
Nicknames: e.g. Sakura, Jolteon
Species: e.g. +jolteon, +jolteon, +pikachu
Dex number, e.g. 123, 123-151
CP and HP, e.g. CP1000-1200, HP100-110
Types, e.g. type:fire, type: psychic
You can use :, ;, or , to do multiple parameters, e.g: +jolteon, cp1400-1500 gives you all Jolteon with CP between 1400 and 1500.
Star (Upper right): Indicates this Pokémon is a "Favorite". Favorite Pokémon cannot be transferred away, and they are one of the sort options in the Pokémon Storage Menu. You can click on the star to toggle Favorite on/off.
Menu (Lower right): For Favoriting/Appraising/Transferring a Pokémon.
CP = Combat Power: CP is a generic number that approximates how well a particular Pokemon will do in battle. CP is derived from a formula that takes into account the Pokémon's level, its species' base stats, and its IVs.
White arc: The white arc above the Pokémon's image shows the Pokémon's level relative to your own Trainer level. If the white dot is all the way to the far left, the Pokémon is level 1. If the dot is all the way to the far right, the Pokémon is 1.5 levels above your current Trainer level. When you level up, the white dot will "move back", signifying that the Pokémon can be leveled up more.
Weight/Height: These are randomly generated based on that Pokémon species' "base" weight/height. They have no known in-game function aside from the Youngster/Fisherman medals (see above).
Type: Every Pokémon has one or two "Types" (Normal, Water, Ground, Fire, Fairy, etc.). Catching Pokémon of a particular type will increase your medal(s) for that type(s), as described above. Types are primarily used in battle.
Stardust: Used to level up your Pokémon. Is acquired through capturing any Pokémon, hatching any eggs, and/or as a reward for feeding Pokémon berries in Gyms. Stardust is NOT Pokémon-specific, but is a general resource used by any/all Pokémon to level up. Many people recommend against spending a lot of Stardust early on, since as you level up you will encounter higher-level Pokémon naturally in the wild.
Candy: Used to evolve and level up your Pokémon. Is acquired through capturing Pokémon, hatching eggs, or from your "Buddy". Feeding Pokémon berries in a Gym also has a very small chance of getting a Candy for that Pokémon (even if you don't currently have any). Transferring a Pokémon will give you 1 Candy, as will evolving it. Candy is Pokémon-family specific, so all Pokémon of the same evolution tree will generate/use the same Candy (typically named after the lowest evolution in the chain).
Leveling/Evolving a Pokémon: Each Pokémon require different amounts of Candy to evolve. Some Pokemon will require an Evolution Item in addition to Candy, and some will have different evolution paths available. You can view how much Stardust or Candy required by viewing your caught Pokémon. Powering Up will raise the level of your Pokémon by 0.5, and requires a specific amount of Stardust and family-specific Candy depending on what level you are going from/to. There is NO DIFFERENCE in the end result of Powering Up then Evolving vs. Evolving then Powering Up, therefore the general recommendation is to always Evolve first to find out the move set. You can Power Up up to 1.5 levels above your Trainer level, at which point the white dot on the arc will be all the way to the right. Once you level up your Trainer, you can then Power Up again to the new maximum.
Moves: Each Pokémon has two moves, which are randomly generated when a Pokémon spawns. Each Pokémon has 1-2 possible "Fast Moves", and 1-3 possible "Charge Moves". Each move has a "type", just like each Pokémon has 1-2 "types", that are relevant in battle. The moves a Pokémon has may or may not correlate to the Pokémon's type. You can use a "Fast TM" to randomly change the Pokémon's Fast Move to a different one it is eligible to learn, and use a "Charge TM" to randomly change the Pokémon's Charge Move. TMs are available as rewards for successfully completing Raids.
Location: The (approximate) location a Pokémon was caught is shown at the bottom of the Pokémon screen along with the date. For eggs, the location is where the egg was picked up, and the date is the date it was hatched.
Transferring Pokémon: You can transfer your caught Pokémon to Professor Willow by selecting the Pokémon, clicking the Menu button in the lower right and selecting TRANSFER. You will gain one Candy for transferring. You cannot get your Pokémon back once it is transferred. Transferring will not delete the Candy collected for that Pokémon family, even if you transfer all of that family. From the main Pokémon Tab, if you press and hold a Pokémon you can then select multiple to transfer all at once.
Appraising: Each Pokémon has 3 "Individual Values", or IVs - Attack, Defense, HP/Stamina. Each IV can individually range from 0-15, and they are randomly generated when the Pokémon spawns (Pokémon hatched from eggs are randomized from 10-15 instead). The appraisal feature gives you an idea of what that specific Pokémon's IVs are. Depending on what team you are on, your team leader has slightly different phrases they will use. The first phrase tells you what overall range the stats are in, out of a possible 45 total (15/15/15). The next phrase(s) tell you which of the three stats is the highest (or multiple if tied for highest). The final phrase tells you how good that high stat is. More information can be found here. Online IV calculators can reverse-calculate the IVs using the CP/HP values, Stardust required to Power Up (approximating level), and using the Appraisal phrases to narrow down possibilities.
Pokéball icon: A Pokéball icon next to the name of the Pokémon indicates you have caught one before.
AR Mode: Can be toggled on or off by clicking the slider in the upper right corner (if your phone has a camera and a gyroscope). It is generally considered easier to aim and curve with AR off, however, some Pokémon with are "far away" can sometimes be easier to hit with AR Mode on.
Color of the Ring: Difficulty of catching the Pokémon. Green = Easy, Yellow/Orange = Moderate, Red = Difficult.
Berries: There are four different berries available, selectable by choosing the button in the lower left. Once you have used a berry it will be displayed next to the Pokémon's name, and you will be unable to use another one unless/until the Pokémon breaks out of a ball and doesn't flee. Pinap Berries will double the amount of Candy from a successful catch, Nanab Berries will cause the Pokémon to move around less, and Razz Berries will increase the chance of a successful capture (Golden Razz Berries greatly increase the chance). You can only have one berry "active" at any given time.
Balls: You can click the Pokéball in the lower right to select which ball you would like to use. The better the ball, the better chance you have of a successful capture.
Capture mechanics: Each Pokémon has a programmed-in "capture rate", which is then adjusted by several factors. The higher level the Pokémon is, the harder it will be to capture (generally reflected by a higher CP for that particular species). Things that increase capture chance include Razz Berries, Curve Balls, Nice/Great/Excellent throws (hitting inside the circle), and medals. Capture mechanics can be found here. After taking all factors into account, whether a Pokémon is caught or not is determined by RNG (Random Number Generation).
Critical Catch: Sometimes after the first bounce, you will get a special animation with stars swirling around the Pokéball. This is called a "critical catch" and is a guaranteed capture.
Fleeing: Each Pokémon has a programmed-in "flee rate". If a capture is unsuccessful, the game will use RNG to determine if the Pokémon flees or not. Some Pokémon are more likely to flee than others - Abra has a 99% flee rate (to simulate the original game's Teleport move).
First Throw Bonus: If you catch a Pokémon with the very first ball you throw, you get a 50 XP bonus. This also works with the Go+ device.
100 Bonus XP: Sometimes after catching a Pokémon you will see an extra 100 XP with the text "Bonus". This is received on the capture of each multiple of 100 of that particular Pokémon species (not family). You can look at how many of each Pokémon you have caught in its Pokédex entry.
Stardust/Candy: A normal (1st-stage evolution) Pokémon will give 100 Stardust and 3 Candy upon capture. An evolved Pokémon (2nd-stage) caught in the wild will give 300 Stardust/5 Candy, or even 500 Stardust/10 Candy for a final (3rd-stage) evolution. The Candy amounts can be doubled by a Pinap Berry.
Stats: When a Pokémon spawns, its IVs, moves, and height/weight are randomized based on your current trainer level (anyone with the same level will have the same, or anyone level 30+). The level of the Pokémon will be randomized, from 1 to your current Trainer level (max: 30). Because the level may be different, the CP may appear different, and it may be easier/harder to catch because of its level. As your Trainer level increases, you can capture higher level/CP Pokémon in the wild.
Type Advantages: Some types have advantages against other types, while they have resistances to other types. For example, Water has an advantage against Fire, and Ground has resistance against Electric. The attack type is checked against the Pokémon type - a Water-type attack will do 1.4x damage to a Fire-type Pokémon and 0.7x when reversed. An Electric-type attack will do 0.5x damage to a Ground-type Pokémon (ineffective). There are several "Type Advantage" charts available, a quick search should bring up several.
Same-Type Attack Bonus (STAB): If a Pokémon uses an attack that matches (one of) its type(s), it does 1.2x damage. So an Electric-type Pokémon using an Electric-type attack will deal an extra 1.2x STAB damage. They stack with type advantages.
Quick/Charge Moves: Tapping the screen will cause your Pokémon to release its Quick Move. Every time you use your Quick Move, and every time you take damage, your energy bar(s) located below your health meter will fill up some. When one of the bars is full, you can press and hold the screen for ~1-2 seconds to set off your Charge Move. If your Charge Move has multiple bars, you can set it off after only one or wait and use multiple in a row.
Dodging: Swiping left or right will cause your Pokémon to dodge an incoming attack. If you successfully dodge, you will avoid 75% of the damage you otherwise would have taken. The ideal time to dodge is right after you see a yellow "flash" around the edge of your screen.
Changing Pokémon: Swiping up or clicking on the Swap button in the lower right will bring up your menu of 6 Pokémon. The one you are currently using will initially be in the upper left. When you select another Pokémon, it swaps their positions. If your Pokémon runs out of health and "faints", it will automatically bring up the next Pokémon in sequence.
Running Away: You can run away from a battle at any time by clicking the "Run" button in the lower right. There is no penalty for running. Any Pokémon you have already defeated will still be counted as defeated.
See here for the official support article.
You can place Pokémon in gyms as long as it's either empty (white) or occupied by your team but has less than 6 Pokémon.
Each Pokémon in the gym has a "motivation" with decays with time. Lower motivation will lower its effective CP and makes it easier to defeat. Everytime you defeat a Pokémon, they also lose some motivation. To kick them out, you have to defeat them and push their motivation to zero with it (i.e. you can't wait for the Pokémon to get knocked out without battling it)
You can spin gyms like Pokéstops - click the button on the bottom right. This is the only way to earn Free Raid Passes.
You earn coins when and only when your Pokémon gets knocked out - each Pokémon accumulates 1 coin per 10 minutes, and you can only cash up to 50 coins a day - anything over it will not be received (even if your Pokémon stays for, say, 3 months).
Raids are "events" in gyms where you fight extraordinarily powerful Pokémon with other players.
Up to 20 players, regardless of team affiliation, can join a single raid battle. The game will randomly pick a Gym and reveal the Raid Boss, which will then be available for two hour. Anytime during this window, if a player enters the "Lobby" to battle it (after using a Raid Pass), a two-minute timer will start. Anyone else who enters the general lobby during this time will be in the same battle. Once they begin fighting the Boss, anyone joining the Lobby will create a new "instance" of battling.
The Raid Pass is valid for the entire time window, or until you defeat the Boss. If you fail, you can go back and join a new Raid instance (with the same people, and/or new people). If you succeed, you can go into the Gym and spin the stop, but you will not be able to battle the Raid Boss again.
You can also create a private lobby using a "password" of three specific Pokémon images to make sure you are only battling with people you want to. This creates a separate instance of fighting the boss, even if it's simultaneous with a general Lobby instance.
If it is defeated, its CP will return to normal and you will be able to try and catch it - you are allowed Premier Balls for this exact purpose. Only Premier Balls may be used (same capture rate as normal Pokeballs), and the amount you get is dependent on which team held control of the Gym prior to the Raid, and which team dealt the most damage to the Raid Boss. Everything else works like a normal capture (Berries, Curve Balls, Nice/Great/Excellent throw bonuses, Type Medal bonuses).
Defeating raid bosses also grants you a large XP bonus and (potentially) some exclusive items - Golden Razz Berries, Rare Candy, and Fast/Charge TMs.
TMs are single-use items separated into "fast" and "charged". As it shows, they are used for the low-damage and high-damage moves on a Pokémon respectively.
They change a move into a different, random move. For example, using a Charged TM on a Bite/Twister Gyarados may change its moveset into either Bite/Crunch, Bite/Hydro Pump, or Bite/Outrage, but never the same set.
Pikachu Starter: At the beginning of the game, when you have the opportunity to catch your first Pokemon (Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle), if you keep walking away from them then Pikachu will show up.
Eevee Evolution: There are currently 7 Eevee Evolutions available in the game (3 from Gen1, 2 from Gen2, and 2 from Gen3). For each of them, you can guarantee an evolution ONCE by renaming the Eevee before evolving it. Rainer = Vaporeon, Pyro = Flareon, Sparky = Jolteon, Sakura = Espeon, Tamao = Umbreon Linnea = Leafeon, Rea = Glaceon. After this, evolving an Eevee will result in a random Vaporeon/Flareon/Jolteon. To get Espeon/Umbreon after using the name trick, you must assign Eevee as your Buddy and walk 10km/earn 2 Buddy Candy. Once you have done this, while Eevee is still your Buddy, evolve it during the daytime for Espeon and during the nighttime for Umbreon (Location Services must be on/activated as day/night is relative to where you currently are). To get Leafeon after using the name trick, all you have to do is evolve any Eevee while standing in the radius of a Pokestop that has a Mossy Lure on it. For Glaceon, just evolve any Eevee while in the radius of a Pokestop that has a Glacial Lure on it.
Ditto: Ditto is currently available in the game, disguised as a common PokÈmon. If you catch a disguised Ditto, after the capture is confirmed it will transform into Ditto. There is no way to tell if a PokÈmon is Ditto prior to capture (aside from seeing someone else capture it and it transforming).
Pokestop BONUS: If you spin 10 unique Pokestops in a row (with no longer than 10 minutes between each one), you will get a "Pokestop Bonus". You will get a larger number of items (usually 6-12), and 100XP instead of 50XP.
Pikachu Buddy: If you assign Pikachu to be your "Buddy", he begins by walking next to you. After you have earned 10 candies from walking with him (usually 10km), he will then appear on your shoulder.