Win every gym battle in Pokemon GO

Let me know if this scenario sounds familiar. You've got a Pokemon GO gym battle within easy walking distance, and you've visited it many times. Maybe you've even dropped one of your Pokemon there to help defend the place and reap the benefits.

Inevitably though, one of the other teams always comes and beats up your squad, flying its colors proudly. And since the Pokemon they leave there are impossibly tough, there's not a darn thing you can do about it.

Unless there is. One of the interesting truths that has emerged in the first few weeks of Pokemon GO mania is that gym battles are somewhat unfair ... for the defenders. In fact, if you know what you're doing, you can easily take a gym while using Pokemon that are only a fraction as powerful as the opponents who have set up shop there.

While that might sound too good to be true, there's really only one trick to ensuring you can win a gym battle almost any time you want. All it requires is good eyes, quick reflexes, and an excellent connection to game's servers -- and yes, we fully realize the last of those factors is out of your control.

What you've probably noticed in gym battles is that you tap on your own Pokemon to attack, while you can swipe left or right to dodge incoming attacks. What isn't as obvious is that the enemy monster will telegraph every attack before it executes one.

The sign comes in the form of a flash or burst on the screen. Once it appears, you'll have a split second when you can swipe in either direction to dodge. You'll know if you've pulled off a successful dodge, because not only will you not take any damage, but the word 'Dodged' will appear.

After a valid dodge, you'll be able to land one, and possibly two attacks of your own before the opposing Pokemon regroups for another attack. The nice thing is that gym defenders don't dodge, so you're guaranteed to damage them with every one of your own attacks. You may have to experiment a bit to get the timing correct.

One final note: If you have a Pokemon with a type advantage over the defender -- for example, a fire type attacking a grass type -- sometimes you'll be better off spamming attacks rather than using the dodge/attack method. That's because your attacks will cause a lot of damage (the words 'Very Effective' will pop up to tip you off), while incoming damage will be lessened dramatically at the same time.

This Pokemon GO gym battle technique isn't foolproof, because if you lose connection to the servers or lag at any time during a fight, things can easily go awry. But if you follow these instructions, you'll find that you can take down much tougher defenders than you ever dreamed possible. Good luck!