How to level up in Pokémon GO

Now that it seems to be working a little more often for more players, Pokémon GO is turning out to be a lot of fun. Who wouldn't want to be able to catch Pokémon out in real world environments, after all?

The one big obstacle that stands in your way is how little you're told before you set off into the world to try catching those irresistible pocket monsters. A mysterious professor simply tells you he wants help with his research, gives you some Pokéballs and an incubator and is like, "Okay, good luck!" We've already laid out a guide for beginners, but there are other questions that inevitably arise as well. For starters, you'll notice that to take part in gym battles, you need to get your trainer level to level 5.

But how exactly does one level up in Pokémon GO ? That's our topic of discussion for today. Let's do this ...

The primary method for earning XP to raise your trainer level is to do something that comes naturally. Namely, catching Pokémon. Every time you successfully catch one, you'll earn at least 100 XP, and sometimes a lot more.

Adding a specific Pokémon to your collection is worth more XP and will level you up faster than catching one you've already caught before. You can also earn small amounts of bonus XP with particularly good Pokéball throws when you encounter monsters.

Traveling around and checking out any PokéStops in your vicinity is always a good idea. Not only does it ensure you a steady supply of Pokéballs, but you also get 50 XP every time you visit one and spin the disc there.

Since it takes hundreds or even thousands of XP to level up, you're not going to be able to rely on PokéStops as your primary tool to level up, but they certainly help. And they reset surprisingly quickly, often in a matter of minutes and not hours, so if you have some close to where you live, be sure to take advantage of them often.

Speaking of good reasons to visit PokéStops, you'll occasionally come away with an egg when you visit one too. Eggs can be placed in the incubator -- simply visit your Pokémon collection, slide right to eggs and tap one to bring up the option -- and will hatch once you've walked a certain distance.

A hatched egg provides you with XP the same way as if you had caught the Pokémon inside out in the wild. Obviously, that gives you another nice method for getting closer to the next level, especially when you're not having much luck on a particular day at catching anything.

Note that you can always check on how many XP you need to level up simply by tapping on your trainer icon in the bottom-left corner of the main screen. Follow these tips and you'll be engaging in everything Pokémon GO has to offer in no time.