No, has already been answered itt iirc - just keep your highest CP and power it up, but horde all your lower ones and evolve+transfer when you get a lucky egg

so realistically all of the pokemon are complete trash until they reach their highest evolution and are fully powered up, and the low level ones are valuable only in that you can cheaply evolve them for XP and then trash them to the Professor so he can MURDER them for CANDY?

yes

Time to write a Halloween-themed horror movie script.

the inestimable CHUCK TINGLE already wrote a Pokemon Go themed erotic novel entitled Pokebutt Go: Pounded By 'Em All

If you're on the yellow team I imagine any gym is locked down from you.

Ok, so here's what I have going on. I'm only Level 5, so obviously I'm not finding amazing creatures yet.

My highest CP Pokemon is an 83 Pidgeotto. I have 24 Pidgey candy I can use to power him up, plus six Pidgeys that I'm assuming I can turn into Pidgey candy. I also have an 82 CP Poliwag, but I don't think I have anything else that I can use to make candy for it (I could be wrong).

I have a couple 67's: Rattata and Staryu and a 66 Spearow. I have 16 (SIXTEEN!) other Rattatas to help with powering up and three more Spearows.

So now the questions:

a) Should I start with powering up the Pidgeotto or maybe the Rattata?

b) Should I wait to transfer the lower level guys for candy until I have a lucky egg? I'm not going to buy any, just hoping to get lucky with Pokestops. Wait on evolving, too?

c) Should I not even bother with any of this until my trainer level is higher and I can start with better Pokemon?

d) Should I care what team I join or just maybe pick the one that is currently holding the nearest gym?

Didn't read it all but I'd suggest evolving before powering up. You won't do much damage at gyms at your current state and to my knowledge the only reason to power up is to pound gyms

This would be a huge mistake. In this game, your player level is king, and those pidgey candies are the key to quickly getting a high level.

I don't believe you get an xp for transferring so that doesn't matter. Wait to evolve until you get a lucky egg. It's by far the best way to power level.

Doesn't matter, do it when you have a large number of evolvable pokemon and a lucky egg.

Doesn't matter as gyms are frequently changing teams at this point in the game. Just know that yellow has the least amount of players.

I've read that it doesn't really matter if you evolve or power up first. And yeah, I know I won't do damage at gyms right now. Just wondering about teams for when I do join up.

You should not evolve or power up anything yet imo. I did it when I reached 5 and now I regret it: I couldnt really compete in the gym game even by putting everything I could on one Pidgeotto. Just keep all the little guys you can evolve until you reach 9 when you'll get a free lucky egg. The most important thing is to level your trainer, that's how you get access to better pokemon.

Could you clarify this? Are you saying it would be a mistake to power up/evolve one of my current Pokemon and instead wait until I level more and get better Pokemon to use as a starting point?

Basically just be patient right now, collect Pokemon, and start the powering up/evolving when I have better creatures at a higher trainer level?

Ok, looks you answered the question I had as I was typing it.

Yes, save everything for now until you get a lucky egg (you get a free one at both level 9 and level 10)

It would be a mistake to waste those pidgey candies on what will be a useless pidgeotto. It costs 12 candy to evolve a pidgey and that's what you want to be using the candy for because evolving pokemon is the action that gives you the most xp in the game. You will be able to just catch a stronger pidegotto when you're a higher level anyway. I wouldn't be focusing at all on fighting gyms at this point. This game is basically a race to hit level 20.

Can't you use even low level trash to wear down an opposing gym? Basically cannon fodder.

Even if you do that, you'll just lose the gym back immediately and you don't get any benefits for holding a gym unless you've held it for 21 hours.

yes, save your dust.

however if you happen to catch something pretty powerful in its evolved form then go ahead and boost him up to use as an attacker. i caught a golduck my first day and keep him topped off at max cp whenever I level up since he's the guy I use to fight with.

did you name him GOATDUCK yet?

I got a Magikarp.

wtfisthis****.jpg

holy crap you can change the names of your dudes?

just need 100 more and you can evolve to the goat

There's this one stop light by my kids' school that stays red for a long time - I frequently have to sit at this light when I drive my kids home from various activities. This game has put that wait to good use, as there is a Pokestop next to it. I came a minute away from using it twice today because I had to sit through two cycles.

I have yet to accomplish a successful Pokestop drive-by.

This game is unbelievable. Its like a Christmas/NYE atmosphere out in the streets. I can walk up to any random group of young looking people and ask, "You guys catchin' Pokemon?"

"Yep"

and then we'll all have a few laughs.

Literally every freaking kid I see walking around looking at their phone is playing this game. Its absolutely hilarious

"Hey you guys catchin Pokemon?"

-- Ya

"Theres some pikachu's over by the Chocolate Factory"

-- No way! (crowd of people turn around and start walking that way)

That whole post sounded creepy