‘Pokémon Go’ Tips: How to Use Lucky Eggs

When activated, Lucky Eggs give players double XP and make leveling up much easier. (Niantic/IGN)

When activated, Lucky Eggs give players double XP and make leveling up much easier. (Niantic/IGN)

So you’ve reached Level 9 in Pokémon Go. In addition to being just a bit closer to being the very best, the game will now give you access to Lucky Eggs. But like almost everything in Pokémon Go, the game doesn’t give players quite as much information about this new item as they might want. So what exactly are these things?

Essentially, Lucky Eggs are special items that give players an XP boost over a period of 30 minutes. Like with Incense, once activated, a countdown clock will begin, and anything the player does during these ensuing minutes will yield them double the XP as usual.

That’s quite a powerful tool, and the game only gives you a few eggs for free, so you’ll want to use them as strategically as possible. Also make sure to only activate one when you’re confident you have 30 real minutes to set aside for the game, as that timer will keep going whether you’re playing or not.

So what’s the best way to get the biggest bang for your buck with a Lucky Egg? Here’s one strategy you can utilize:

  1. Go to an area on the map with several PokeStops in close proximity
  2. Activate a Lure Module or an Incense Item
  3. At the same time, activate your Lucky Egg
  4. Capture Pokémon like crazy

By doing this, you’re making use of two of the game’s most powerful items at once. A Lure Module and Incense Item will both have the same effect of drawing all Pokémon in the area to you. With a Lucky Egg activated, you’ll gain 200 XP for capturing a new Pokémon.

Another strategy is to stock up on Pokémon and wait to evolve them all after activating a Lucky Egg. Spend those 30 minutes blowing through all your Pokémon like a mad man, and you’ll be shocked at how quickly you level up even just by evolving a bunch of Pidgeys. It’s for this reason that catching Pokémon you have already encountered can pay off big time. You can theoretically get through about 60 evolutions during the 30-minute window, making it possible to gain 60,000 XP just from a single Lucky Egg session. Not bad, huh?

Once you run out of the Lucky Eggs the game gives you, you can acquire more assuming you’re willing to spend actual money. You can get one egg for 80 coins, 8 eggs for 500 coins, and 25 eggs for 1,250 coins. That will run you about $0.99, $4.99 and $9.99 respectively.