Storage management tips for Pokémon Go

As you play through Pokémon Go, spinning PokéStops and catching Pokémon, you're going to need a place to leave all of these items and Pokémon that you're acquiring. Running out of storage space is never a good thing, and you want to make sure that you've got ample room for Pokémon and items alike. This guide will walk you through the storage systems in Pokémon Go, both for Pokémon and for items.

Pokémon storage is where every Pokémon that you catch on your journey is kept while not in battle. It is easily accessible via Pokémon Go's main menu. Simply tap the Poké Ball at the bottom of the home screen, then tap Pokémon to access the storage menu.

In the beginning, there won't be a lot of space in your Pokémon box to keep creatures. You can upgrade your Pokémon storage with PokéCoins, with each upgrade costing 200 PokéCoins and adding 50 more slots, but PokéCoins are earned either through real-world currency or by placing Pokémon in Gyms. That will take a while, which means that you'll be at low capacity for a fair amount of playing time early on.

One way to mitigate the lack of space is to limit yourself on how many Pokémon of a specific species you want to have in the box. Catching 100 Slowpoke is really funny in theory, but in practice, all it's going to do is stop you from collecting as many Pokémon as you can. Start low, with one or two of each Pokémon at a time, and then add more as you build your storage up.

The best way to manage Pokémon storage is by sending unwanted Pokémon to the Professor by 'transferring' them. Once they've been transferred, you’ll receive a reward in the form of Candies – small orbs that, when consumed, power up the Pokémon who the Candies belonged to – and the higher up the evolutionary chain a Pokémon is on, the more Candy you'll receive for the transfer.

Like with Pokémon, item storage lets you keep a close eye on how many items you have at a given moment and how many items you are away from reaching the upper limit. However, you'll receive a lot more items than you do new Pokémon, which means that your storage will fill up in a hurry.

You can also upgrade item storage for 200 PokéCoins in the in-game shop, with each upgrade allowing you to carry 50 more items. This can help in a pinch, but 50 more item slots won't take long to fill up, so you may have to purchase multiple upgrades at a time for the item pouch.

If you're just starting out in Pokémon Go, you may already be feeling the pinch when it comes to items simply because you haven't upgraded yet. However, there are a few small things that you can do to manage your item inventory so that you don't blow your chance to get an important item.

One great way to manage item inventory is by limiting yourself to a certain number of a particular item, and then discarding every item over the original amount. This way you can drop excess items that you're not using and keep some slots in storage open. This open slot could make all the difference if you find a rare Candy or another great item down the line.