Update 14.04.2017: As part of Niantic's limited Easter-themed event, players can get double XP and more candy when they catch and hatch eggs on Pokémon Go. The variety of Pokémon available in 2km eggs has been given a boost and Lucky Eggs will give you a bonus of four times the XP. Additionally, these Lucky Eggs are 50 per cent off in the Pokémon Go in-app store. The event lasts from April 13 to April 20.
Part of the thrill of Pokémon Go is never knowing what might be lurking around the corner. Hanging around canals hoping a Lapras will rear its mythical head, doing a few more laps of the local Pokéstops in the hope of stumbling across a Scyther – the fun is endless.
But wandering around aimlessly will lead only to disappointment. And Rattatas. So many Rattatas. Of course, you catch them anyway because you really can't say no to that extra stardust, but you'll never master your local gym with a Raticate. To get your hands on the really rare Pokémon, you need to hatch eggs.
Thankfully some kind soul over at Serebeii.net has created a chart that tells players exactly how far they'll need to walk to hatch the rarest Pokémon.
Eggs are available from Pokéstops, depicted on the app's map as blue cubes. When you get close enough to a Pokéstop the cube becomes a circle and will become animated. When this happens, select it and the location of the Pokéstop will appear as a picture in the centre. Spin the picture until the frame turns from blue to pink. This typically releases Pokéballs, potions and revive tokens but it will occasionally release eggs.
Eggs may also be awarded to you when you level up. Unfortunately, there is no guaranteeing which eggs will appear and your level plays little role in whether you get a 2km or a 10km egg.
Go to your Pokédex and select the egg tab on the top right-hand side to see how far you need to walk in order to hatch each one. These need to then be placed in an incubator.
Incubators can be bought or similarly collected from Pokéstops. They can also be awarded to you when you level up. Every player is given an incubator by default and this can be used an infinite number of times. You can collect additional incubators and use these to hatch more than one egg at a time. The extra incubators can only be used three times before they break.
Select an egg, click 'Start incubation' and choose which incubator you want to place it into. Any incubators that are greyed out are already in use. It's also worth getting into a habit of placing an egg in an incubator as soon as one has hatched so you don't waste any precious steps or metres.
Once an egg is in an incubator, every kilometre you walk will add towards the total needed to hatch eggs. After walking a required distance, either two, five or ten kilometres (1.2 miles, three miles and six miles) with the app open, the egg will hatch and reveal a Pokémon along with a generous smattering of stardust and candies.
Note that the app has to be open on the screen, and the screen has to be unlocked for this walking to count. The distance needed for each egg appears beneath them. As you walk, the left-hand number shows you how far you've walked from the total distance on the right-hand side.
To avoid staring at your phone constantly, click the Pokéball in the bottom centre of the app's screen. Go to Settings and enable Vibration. As you walk, this means you can hold your phone by your side and receive vibrations each time a Pokémon appears or an egg is ready to hatch without having to keep checking it.
As the Pokémon Go app will only register distance walked while the app is open, this can be a big drain on battery. To combat this problem, Niantic has included a battery saving mode in the settings menu – select it and the screen will black out when the phone is being held by a player's side or in their pockets.
Once an egg is ready to hatch it will appear on the screen with the word 'Oh?' written above it. Tap the egg to watch it hatch. The Pokémon will then be added to your Pokédex if you don't already have it.
It is also worth noting that 2km eggs will reveal the 2km Pokémon shown on the chart at the top of this article. However, 5km eggs can contain those shown in the 5km list as well as those in the 2km list, while 10km eggs can contain any Pokémon from the 2km, 5km and 10km list. This means you could walk 10km and still hatch a Magikarp. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, though. You need a staggering 400 Candies to evolve a Magikarp but that is because it turns into the beast that is Gyarados. This is the Pokémon illustrated when you first open the app.
The chart above was made for the first-generation Pokémon. RankedBoost has updated its chart to now include generation two Pokémon below.
The baby Pokémon, including Cleffa, Magby, Pichu, recently added to the app, can't be caught and instead can only be hatched. They predominantly will hatch from 2km and 5km eggs but Togepi is expected to only be available in the 10km eggs. Togepi will evolve into Togetic but you'll need Candy to do so. The best way to do this - and to avoid having to hatch multiple Togepis from eggs - is to make Togepi you're Buddy. Learn more about getting a Buddy here.
In a recent update to version 0.43.3 for Android and 1.13.3 for iOS devices, the appearance of eggs has changed.
The 2km eggs are now covered in green spots, the 5km eggs have yellow spots and the 10km eggs are shown with purple spots.
Pokémon type icons were also added to the information screen for each Pokémon, and for people using Pokémon Go Plus there is now a low battery indicator.
2km eggs: Abra, Bellsprout, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Caterpie, Weedle, Spearow, Ekans, Nidoran (male and female), Zubat, Oddish, Venonat, Diglett, Machop, Squirtle, Togepi, *Slugma, *Remoraid, *Pichu, *Totodile, *Chikorita, *Aipom, *Cleffa, *Igglybuff, *Misdreavus, Magikarp, Goldeen, Exeggcute, Gastly, Slowpoke, Geodude, Krabby, *Cyndaquil
5km eggs: *Yanma, Onix, Shellder, Koffing, Rhyhorn, Cubone, Drowzee, Voltorb, Lickitung, Tangela, Grimer, Eevee, Porygon, Pinsir, Staryu, Horsea, *Elekid, *Magby, *Phanpy, *Qwilfish, *Shuckle, Mankey, Psyduck, Paras, Vulpix, Poliwag, Magnemite, Doduo, Seel, Meowth, *Smoochum, *Stantler, Sandshrew, *Tyrogue, Tentacool, *Wobbuffet, *Wooper, *Sneasel, Ponyta, *Girafarig, Scyther, *Natu
10km eggs: Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, Aerodactyl, Omanyte, Chansey, *Gligar, Dratini, Snorlax, Lapras , Aerodactyl, Kabuto, *Sudowoodo, *Skarmory, *Pineco, *Miltank, *Mantine, *Larvitar, *Mareep
****: *denotes a second-generation Pokémon
A Reddit user recently noticed that the location of the eggs in an inventory is dependent on how far away the user is from the Pokéstop where it collected the egg in the first place. DamnNatureY0uScary found the closer he got a stop, the higher up in the list the egg he collected would appear.
Niantic recently rolled out a Buddy update to the iOS and Android app. Similar to what happens when hatching eggs, walking certain distances with a Pokémon Buddy by your side rewards you with candy.
If you hatch a particularly rare Pokémon from an egg, for example, you can select it as a Buddy. The more you walk, the more Pokémon-specific candy you are given which helps you evolve rare Pokémon faster than trying to find the rare creatures in the wild.
What's more, as you're walking to obtain candy, you steps are being counted for hatching eggs so at the end of 5km, for example, you can be rewarded with a new Pokémon as well as candy, and XP.
If you're a passenger stuck in stop-start traffic then you may well be moving slow enough to trick the Pokémon Go app into thinking you're walking. Keep an eye out for Pokéstops though, otherwise you'll whizz past them and miss the opportunity to bag extra Pokéballs, potions and XP. The same applies for overground trains coming in and out of stations – keep the app open and all those fractions of kilometres will add up.
If you don't fancy leaving the house, there are a couple of egg-hatching hacks that will let you rack up the steps without ever venturing outside. If you happen to have a turntable around, open the app and place your phone on it with the end overhanging the edge. Put the turntable on the fastest rotation speed available to produce enough movement to trick the app into thinking you're walking. Other players users have tried attaching their phones to ceiling fans and Roombas to collect extra kilometres.
You're much more likely to get rarer Pokémon from 10km eggs, so it's worth hatching the more common 2 and 5km eggs as soon as you can to leave yourself with more space for the best eggs.
You'll have to walk 10km to hatch any of these rare Pokémon, among them some of the most powerful characters in the game. While we've spotted some of them in the wild, to be in with the best chance of getting your hands on a Snorlax or Lapras you're best off popping a 10km egg in an incubator. A recent update saw 80 new Pokémon being added to the game, which will increase the number of Pokémon available to catch, and hatch in the wild. This will also see more rare Pokémon being added, with a number of the Pokémon in this list becoming more common.
As part of this second-generation update, a number of existing Pokémon can now be evolved into new creatures such as Onix, Porygon and Poliwrath as long as you have special items. More recently, Niantic released the first of what is expected to be a wave of so-called 'shiny' Pokémon. The first was 'shiny' Magikarp which appears as a lighter orange, almost yellow, in your Pokédex. This shiny Magikarp becomes a red Gyarados (the original is blue.)
Learn more about the new Pokémon, special items and berries here
Lapras
This dual water/ice-type Pokémon is often seen defending some of the most formidable gyms in the game. In this unofficial list of the best attacking and defending Pokémon, Reddit user ParticleBender ranks Lapras as the best attacker in the game and the second best defender.
Snorlax
This rotund Pokémon might look a bit porky, but it's really no slouch. Its fast attack move, Zen Headbutt, delivers 15 damage points – the joint-highest fast attack of any Pokémon in the game.
Jynx
Jynx is a decent ice/psychic-type Pokémon that's fairly common in the wild. It's worth holding off on powering up this Pokémon until you've increased your trainer level. The higher a player's trainer level, the more CP a Pokémon will gain when its levelled up.
Eevee
This devastatingly cute Pokémon is one of the few rare Pokémon that can evolve into a different form. With the help of Eevee candies, they'll evolve into a Flareon, Jolteon, or Vaporeon, though it appears there's no way of knowing in advance which path your Eevee will take.
Aerodactyl
This rock/flying-type Pokémon packs a punch with its Steel Wing attack which delivers 15 damage. It's also basically a Poké-pterodactyl which automatically makes it very cool.
Onix
WIRED isn't convinced Onix deserves its place in this ranking of top-tier Pokémon. Sure, its got a couple of decent attacks and great defence, but it's really just a stack of boulders with a horn on top. Not impressed.
Chansey
Don't be tricked by its docile exterior, this normal-type packs a punch in gym battles.
Omanyte
Frankly WIRED would be disappointed if it walked 10km only to hatch this glorified clam. The rock/water-type Pokémon isn't a priority for powering up, especially if you've already got decent water Pokémon on standby.
Magmar
This fiery Pokémon has a good selection of fire-type attacks and can often be seen defending gyms near the WIRED offices.
Electabuzz
WIRED's second-favourite electric-type Pokémon (after Pikachu of course), Electabuzz's Thunder Shock quick attack is disappointing, but it makes up for that with a powerful special attack.
Dratini
What could be cooler than a water dragon Pokémon? Nothing. It'll evolve into a Dragonite if you've got enough candies too.
Hitmonlee
Hitmonlee has smattering of fighting-type moves which will deliver decent damage in gym battle.
Hitmonchan
In the original Pokémon games, Hitmonchan was an alternative evolved form of Tyrogue, alongside Hitmonlee. It has got slightly better attacks than its fighting-type cousin so WIRED would opt for this Pokémon if it had to chose between the two.
Scyther
This badass praying mantis has Steel Wing and Bug Buzz among its attacks and looks pretty cool atop any gym.
Kabuto
Don't be deceived by its mushroom-like appearance, this rock/water-type Pokémon has a couple of nasty attacks which belie its innocuous exterior.
Pinsir
This bug-type Pokémon hits opponents with Rock Smash and Submission attacks. It wouldn't be WIRED's first pick for a gym battle, but it's a reliable backup.
The following four Pokémon are each only available to be caught in the wild in their specific region. Fortunately they can all be hatched from 10k eggs anywhere in the world, so unless you fancy hopping on a plane to complete your collection, it's time to get those walking shoes on.
Mr. Mime
Exclusive to Europe, Mr. Mime is one of the most human-looking Pokémon in the game. A mass spawn of Mr. Mimes in mid-August sent the UK into a frenzy, but he's not a particularly good Pokémon for gym battles. Just look at those gangly arms – he's not hurting anyone with those.
Kangaskhan
Kangaskhan, exclusive to Australia and New Zealand, isn't much better. Its normal attacks only deliver five or six damage points, though it does have one powerful special attack - Earthquake - that can deliver a walloping 60 damage.
Farfetch'd
This leek-wielding Pokémon is exclusive to Asia. While Pidgies and Spearows are ten a penny, this flying-type Pokémon can only be found in eggs outside of Asia.
Tauros
Exclusive to North America, Tauros is the toughest region-specific Pokémon out there. Its normal and special attacks are among the best in the game so if you manage to hatch this critter, head straight to the nearest gym to give a rival team a good seeing to.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
