Are you ready?
You’ve bought the ticket and chosen your version. That’s all there is to it right? Nothing left to do but wait for February 20th and them catch ’em all. Sorry to say, but you may want to check a few things first before you head out on February 20th. After all, you spent quite a bit, you may want to make sure you can make the most of it so you are able to catch that Shiny Mew that stands at the finish line. Thankfully you have a pro player here on your side to help you out.
Storage
Cleaning out your Pokemon Storage is going to be vital if you don’t want to stop part way through the event to clear up space. Obviously, the more space you can clear up the better. I do this in a multi part process.
First, go through your Shiny Pokemon and transfer what you can into Pokemon HOME. Let’s be honest here, you don’t need 17 Shiny Pikachu. Maybe see if any friends would like one. Share the Shinies because you will probably get more during this event.
Next, search 0* and toss any Pokemon that aren’t significant to you. This is great and can open up a ton of space, especially if you haven’t done this before. You can follow up by also searching 1* and 2*, as most of these will not be used in Battles or Gyms. But don’t toss anything that has meaning to you. We are only freeing up space, not getting rid of everything.
Next, sort by Pokedex number and get rid of any duplicates you don’t need. Do you need five Weedle? No, just keep the best one, maybe two. What “the best one” looks like will vary between each person, could be the best stats, could be highest CP, maybe a Shiny, that’s up to you.
Now on to Item Storage, this one is simple, look at what you have an excess of and use them or toss them. Rare Candies build up quickly if you do frequent Raids. I like to use them on those Rare spawns such as Noibat. Its super easy to dump 100 or more of them into your various Pokemon. TMs can be used or tossed based on your needs. I personally have over 50 of each and will be doing research on preferred move sets for top tier Pokemon, just to get rid of some of them. Finally, evolution items. I’ll bet you haven’t looked at them in a while and you have way more that you thought. More than you need for sure. You really don’t need more than five of each, but of course, take your own needs into consideration and only toss out what you won’t use in the near future.
What You Will Need
Now that your inventory is cleared, it’s time to add a few items to make sure you can make the most of this event. It’s always a good idea to stock up on Lucky Eggs as you will be Catching ,Evolving and Raiding most of the day. Figure out how many hours you are going to play and buy the appropriate amount of Lucky Eggs to maximize your XP.
You are going to be trading a handful of Pokemon too if you want to fill out your Catch’em Charts, and that’s going to cost you Stardust. So if you are running low or want to maintain your Stardust supply, you are going to want to stock up on some Star Pieces. Again, look at how long you plan on playing and buy them accordingly.
Incense is the next item you are going to want to consider. After all, most of the Pokemon you catch will be from Incense. This is the one item you for sure want to be well stocked in. Thankfully most of the recent events have rewarded Incense so you should be stocked in those, but have a look and see if you need to buy any.
Lastly, make sure you have a friend with in the trading radius of 40 Km, who is playing with the opposite version then you. This event is about trading and catching them all, much like the main series games. And this has always required two versions to complete. There is no difference here. Ask your friends, look on Discord for locals who are willing to help or need help. It would be devastating to ALMOST complete the Catch’em Chart, and miss out on the Shiny Ditto and Mew.
That’s about it for in game prep. A couple of real life things you will need to consider is where you are going to be playing. if its cold out, you may want to go to a mall. If the weather is warmer a park or a neighborhood walking path is a great idea. Anywhere with lots of PokeStops to replenish your PokeBalls. A portable phone charger or two depending on how long you plan on being out is another must. Also, lots of water, stay hydrated, and you be able to play all day. Have fun, and good luck Trainers.
See you around, Genesect!
