Mastering Your Pokémon GO Inventory: A Guide to Essential Items

So, you’re knee-deep in the world of Pokémon GO, Poké Balls flying, and your bag is bursting at the seams. Knowing which items to hoard and which to toss is crucial for maximizing your gameplay and becoming a true Pokémon Master. The short answer? Focus on keeping a healthy supply of high-level Potions & Revives, Golden Razz Berries & Silver Pinap Berries, Incenses & Lucky Eggs, and special event-specific items if they are powerful and useful. It all boils down to inventory management; keeping what you need to thrive in raids, gym battles, and catching rare Pokémon. Let’s delve deeper into the specifics!

Prioritizing Essential Items: Your Core Inventory

Effective inventory management isn’t just about stuffing your bag. It’s about making strategic decisions that directly impact your success in the game. Here’s a breakdown of the item categories you should prioritize:

Healing Items: Potions and Revives

Maintaining a stockpile of healing items is critical, especially if you’re a frequent participant in Gym battles and Raids.

• Hyper Potions and Max Potions: These are your bread and butter for restoring significant HP to your Pokémon after a battle. Prioritize keeping these over standard Potions and Super Potions.

• Revives and Max Revives: Essential for bringing fainted Pokémon back into fighting shape. Max Revives are, of course, the most efficient.

The key is to discard lower-tier potions (Potions and Super Potions) as you accumulate more powerful versions. Don’t be afraid to toss them to make room for Hyper Potions and Max Potions, which offer superior healing.

Berries: Catching and Buffing

Berries are your best friends when it comes to catching Pokémon, especially the rarer ones.

• Golden Razz Berries: These significantly increase your chances of catching a Pokémon. Save these for Legendary Pokémon, Shinies, or particularly elusive finds.

• Silver Pinap Berries: Combine the catch rate bonus of a Razz Berry with the increased Candy yield of a Pinap Berry. Ideal for Pokémon you want to evolve and need more Candy for.

• Razz Berries and Nanab Berries: While useful in a pinch, these are generally safe to discard when inventory space is tight. Razz Berries offer a smaller catch rate bonus, and Nanab Berries, which make Pokémon less erratic, have limited usefulness. Prioritize the Golden Razz and Silver Pinap instead.

Balls: Poké, Great, and Ultra

Poké Balls are the foundation of catching, but smart usage is crucial.

• Ultra Balls: Keep a healthy stock of these for higher-level Pokémon and tougher catches. The increased catch rate can make a huge difference.

• Great Balls: A solid middle ground, useful for Pokémon that are proving a bit stubborn with regular Poké Balls.

• Poké Balls: These are the most common, and perfectly fine for lower-level or very common Pokémon. However, they can be discarded more freely when your inventory is full.

Special Items: Raid Passes, Incubators, and More

Certain items are invaluable for specific aspects of the game.

• Raid Passes (Premium Battle Passes): Essential for participating in Raids, especially for those powerful Legendaries.

• Incubators: Use these to hatch Eggs and acquire new Pokémon. Super Incubators hatch Eggs faster, making them more efficient.

• Lucky Eggs: Double your XP gain for 30 minutes. Use these strategically during Community Days, Spotlight Hours, or when completing a large number of evolutions.

• Star Pieces: Similar to Lucky Eggs, but they increase Stardust gain instead of XP. Stardust is critical for powering up your Pokémon, so Star Pieces are incredibly valuable.

• Incense: Attracts Pokémon to your location. Useful for increasing encounter rates, especially during events.

• Lure Modules: Similar to Incense, but benefit all players near the PokéStop.

Knowing When to Discard: Clearing Inventory Clutter

Recognizing when to discard items is just as important as knowing what to keep. Regularly assess your inventory and clear out items you don’t need. Here are a few guidelines:

• Low-Tier Potions and Revives: As mentioned, prioritize Hyper Potions and Max Potions. Toss the standard Potions and Super Potions.
• Excessive Common Berries: If you’re overflowing with Razz Berries and Nanab Berries, don’t hesitate to discard them.
• Unnecessary Poké Balls: If you have an abundance of Great Balls and Ultra Balls, you can safely discard some standard Poké Balls, especially if your storage is tight.

Utilizing Item Bag Upgrades: Expanding Your Capacity

Investing in Item Bag upgrades is one of the smartest decisions you can make in Pokémon GO. More space means less time managing your inventory and more time catching Pokémon. Use your hard-earned or purchased PokéCoins to expand your bag as soon as possible.

FAQs: Mastering Your Pokémon GO Inventory

1. Should I keep all 3-star Pokémon?

Not necessarily all of them, but 3-star Pokémon, especially those with high IVs (Individual Values), are generally worth keeping. A 3-star rating indicates the Pokémon has good to excellent stats, making them strong contenders for battles and Raids. Prioritize those that are also of species known to be powerful. If you have duplicates, compare their IVs and keep the better one, transferring the other to Professor Willow for Candy.

2. What Pokémon are worth keeping in Pokémon GO?

Pokémon that are strong in Gym battles, Raids, or the GO Battle League are worth keeping. Some top-tier Pokémon include:

• Mewtwo (especially Shadow Mewtwo)
• Slaking
• Machamp
• Blissey
• Metagross
• Lucario
• Dragonite
• Kyogre

Also, consider keeping Pokémon with high IVs, even if they aren’t top-tier, as they can be powered up and evolved to become strong contenders.

3. Should I purify Shadow Pokémon?

This is a strategic choice. Purifying a Shadow Pokémon increases its IVs and reduces the cost to power it up and evolve it. However, Shadow Pokémon deal significantly more damage than their regular counterparts, making them valuable attackers. Consider the Pokémon’s IVs and your battling needs before deciding whether to purify it.

4. Should I keep all my event Pokémon in Pokémon GO?

Not necessarily. Event Pokémon often have special moves or appearances, but if they have poor stats or you already have several of the same species, it’s fine to transfer them. Keep those with high CP, good IVs, or sentimental value.

5. Is it better to evolve higher CP or 3-star Pokémon?

Generally, a 3-star Pokémon is a better long-term investment, even if its initial CP is lower. IVs influence how strong the Pokémon will become when powered up. However, if a 0-star Pokémon has significantly higher CP (and you’re short on Stardust/Candy), it might be worth evolving for immediate use.

6. Should I get rid of all 0-star Pokémon?

Most of the time, yes. 0-star Pokémon have poor IVs and won’t reach their full potential. However, exceptions exist. A 0-star Shiny Pokémon or a very rare Pokémon (that you don’t have any other of) might be worth keeping for collection purposes.

7. Should I keep 0-star Shiny Pokémon?

Absolutely! Shiny Pokémon are rare and highly sought after. A Shiny Pokémon is not worth transferring even if it has a poor Appraisal. If players don’t have another Pokemon of the same species, it may be worth holding onto the 0-star until it can be replaced by one with a better Appraisal. A fully 0% IV Pokemon is extremely rare, even when compared to their 4-star/Perfect IV counterparts. Players may want to keep it just for the rarity.

8. How many potions should I keep in Pokémon GO?

This depends on your play style. If you battle frequently in Gyms and Raids, aim for 20-30 Hyper Potions and Max Potions. If you rarely battle, a smaller supply is sufficient. Adjust the number based on your activity.

9. Should I keep multiples of Pokémon in Pokémon GO?

Yes, especially for useful Pokémon in battles or Pokémon that you are building a Catch Combo with. Having multiple high-IV Pokémon of the same species allows you to have a diverse team for different challenges.

10. What is the best Pokémon to invest in in Pokémon GO?

Shadow Mewtwo is widely considered the best investment due to its incredible damage output. However, other powerful Pokémon like Machamp, Metagross, and Kyogre are also excellent investments. Consider your team needs and available resources when deciding which Pokémon to power up.

11. Should I power up before evolving?

If you plan to power up and evolve the Pokémon anyway, the order doesn’t matter in terms of cost. The end result will be the same. It’s often recommended to evolve first to see what moveset the evolved form gets before investing Stardust and Candy to power it up.

12. Is it OK to transfer Shiny Pokémon?

Generally, no. Shiny Pokémon are rare and valuable. Unless you have multiple duplicates and desperately need the Candy, it’s best to keep them for your collection.

13. What happens if you purify a 4-star Shadow Pokémon?

Purifying a 4-star Shadow Pokémon turns it into a perfect (100% IV) Pokémon. It will also learn the move Return. However, you lose the Shadow bonus to damage output.

14. Is it better to purify or evolve first?

Purifying before evolving saves Candy and Stardust. However, consider whether you want the Shadow bonus before purifying.

15. Which Pokémon aren’t worth keeping?

Pokémon with extremely low stats and limited usefulness in battles, such as Cosmog.

By mastering your inventory and understanding which items and Pokémon to prioritize, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a Pokémon GO champion! Remember to stay informed, adapt your strategies, and most importantly, have fun exploring the world around you. For more insights into the gaming world and its potential for learning and education, visit the Games Learning Society at GamesLearningSociety.org.