When Pokemon Go was made available in Singapore yesterday, the Little Red Dot immediately became mayhem, with people heading all over the island in search of Pokemon, to conquer gyms as well as to find PokeStops to grab supplies.

For those Pokemon Go players who are looking to advance in the game and ultimately become the best Pokemon master there ever was, here are some tips for you.

POKEMON GO is the hottest property on the Apple and Android app stores right now.

Pikachu can be your starter Pokemon.

This is a trick that many of my friends already knew when they started playing. But for those players who have been out searching for the adorable yellow little electric mouse and hoping that he pops up, it’s actually simple to get Pikachu as your starter Pokemon. It just takes time.

All you need to do is to physically walk away from Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur when they are presented to you for your starter Pokemon. They will spawn in front of you about three more times, but then on the fourth time when they spawn, Pikachu will appear at the same time.

However when I tried this trick, it was not that simple; I had to walk quite far, at least half a kilometre, before I finally managed to snag my Pikachu. Also it helps to try this trick outdoors rather than at home. For example, trying this in my house didn’t yield any results.

Pikachu was my starter Pokemon and he can be yours too.

Keep an eye out for rustling leaves.

While incense and lures are great ways to make the Pokemon come to you, a subtle way to check if there are Pokemon in your presence is to look out for rustling leaves in the app. If you see some, then you can head there and catch some Pokemon. However this is more commonplace in forests and parks rather than in the centre of the city though.

PokeBall Rings.

Look out for the coloured rings when you throw a PokeBall. These highlight how easy or hard it is to capture the Pokemon that you are about to hit.

Simply hold down the PokeBall before you toss it at the Pokemon; and you will see either green, yellow or red rings. The green ones mean that the Pokemon is easy to catch. Yellow means that it is slightly harder and red means that it will be difficult and that you can expect to waste a few PokeBalls and that the Pokemon may break out of the ball a few times before you actually catch it.

Also if you shake the PokeBall before throwing it, you can get extra points for a CurveBall throw.

Hatch the eggs.

Hatch your Pokemon eggs.

Many new Pokemon Go players may not realise they can hatch their eggs as well, to possibly complete their Pokemon collection and get their hands on the Pokemon that they have not been able to catch.

To hatch the eggs, go to the PokeBall icon > Pokemon menu and tap on the right to reveal where your eggs are kept. Then tap an egg of your choice and incubate it. When you incubate the egg, you will need to walk in order to hatch it; the walks can be either 2km, 5km or 10km but the farther you are required to walk, the rarer is the Pokemon that will hatch from that egg.

Play on the bus or train.

While you may not be able to hatch eggs when you are on the public transport, it is a great way to spend your daily commute to work and back – in terms of catching Pokemon and collecting items from PokeStops.

For example, on a bus ride from Dhoby Ghaut to Katong, there were at least 15 PokeStops and multiple Pokemon up for grabs. Focus on this and your commute will be less boring; just remember not to miss your stop!

Turn off AR Mode.

While the AR (augmented reality) mode of Pokemon Go is one of the coolest things about the game, it may not be the most functional.

Pokemon Go’s AR mode is not the most functional.

For starters, it kills your battery life and you will be perpetually having to charge your phone. After all in addition to playing Pokemon Go, you will probably also be using your phone to possibly answer phone calls and messages, surf Facebook and Instagram to find out what friends are saying about Pokemon Go and uploading your latest Pokemon captures to brag to your online friends.

And secondly, without AR mode it becomes easier to capture the Pokemon. This is because with AR mode you will need to keep the Pokemon in your screen in order to capture it and it can be a challenge to hold your phone steady, especially if you are on a bus or train and there is some degree or shaking. But without the AR mode, then the Pokemon simply stays in the screen and will not move when your phone vibrates.

CLICK HERE to find out WHERE TO CATCH Pokemon in Singapore.

CLICK HERE for why POKEMON GO is so popular in Singapore.

CLICK HERE for NEW POKEMON NESTS in Singapore.

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