New Pokemon Go Update Adds Ability to Check Out Pokemon's Attack/Defence Stats

Niantic Labs has released a new Pokemon GO update which adds the Pokemon Appraisal feature. Players will be able to use it to learn about a Pokemon's attack and defence capabilities, as measured by their Team Leader.
This implies that the feature is only available to players who have reached at least level five and chosen a faction to side with--Team Mystic, Team Valour, or Team Instinct. But we all already know that Team Valour is the best.

A Pokemon's attack and defence statistics have influence over how well it will perform in battle. As you can see in the screenshots above (shared by Trainer Tips, werwin11), the Appraisal feature provides an overview of the statistics, as opposed to sharing the actual numbers.

In addition, the update adds "minor bot fixes." Developer Niantic has said it is still working on "several new and exciting features" to be implemented in the game.

Recently, Niantic announced its intention to take action against players who were cheating in Pokemon Go. The developer has begun issuing permanent bans to players who used bot programs such as GPS-spoofers. Players who have been determined as cheaters will receive an email informing of the termination of their account. Players who think they've shouldn't have been banned can file a support ticket with the Pokemon Go help center here to get the reinstatement process started.

How to Become a Gym Leader

After joining one of the Teams at Level 5 and catching some good Pokemon, you can challenge enemy Gyms or train at one of your team's Gyms.

Pokemon Gyms are claimed by a team and, based on the Gym’s Prestige level, a number of trainers can assign their Pokemon to protect the Gym. One of those trainers is the Gym Leader. The Gym Leader's level is marked by a crown and has the highest level Combat Power (CP) Pokemon at the Gym.

How to Control a Gym
To become a Gym leader you’ll have to take over an enemy Gym by depleting its Prestige. The next step is finding the appropriate Gym to challenge. Take a look at your Pokemon, then find a Gym that your team could feasibly defeat. You’re not going to want to take a 117 CP Paras to fight a 1000+ CP Pokemon.

Each Gym will have a different number of trainers, and the first trainers you encounter will have the Pokemon with the lowest CP. The number of trainers at each Gym is dependent on the Gym’s Prestige level. As you defeat them, you’ll lower the Gym’s Prestige and kick out the trainers in the Gym as you hit Prestige benchmarks.

After you defeat every trainer in the Gym, the Gym kicks you out. Keep challenging the Gym and you’ll be able to drain the Prestige to zero. Once that team is kicked out, the Gym turns grey and you'll be able to claim the Gym as your own. Congratulations! If you claim it first, you get to be the Gym Leader. You will maintain your new Gym Leader status as long as your Pokemon has the highest CP in the gym.

Gym Battle Basics
Unlike the turn-based battles of other Pokemon games, Pokemon Go features short, fast battles that require a lot of tapping. 
These real time battles are simple. Tap the enemy Pokemon to have your Pokemon perform its basic attack, and swipe left and right to dodge enemy attacks. As you tap to perform basic attacks, your Pokemon's Special Attack bar(s) will charge. After the blue meter is filled, press down on the enemy Pokemon for a few seconds and your Pokemon will perform the special attack.

Battle Tips
You’ll want to have a good team of Pokemon with high CP before taking on an enemy gym. Once you have a solid team of six, here are a few things to keep in mind while you challenge a gym. 

BUILD A TEAM BASED ON YOUR OPPONENT'S POKEMON

When you challenge a gym, you'll be given the chance to build a team of six Pokemon. You can change out the Pokemon by tapping the Pokemon's portrait. 

Pokemon Go will automatically pick a team that it thinks you will have the luck with. You'll want to make sure that your team not only has high CP, but also are effective against the Pokemon you'll be battling in the gym.

Pokemon Types do factor in combat, so make sure your Pokemon aren't weak against the types you're about to challenge. And if they are weak, make sure that they at least have significantly higher CP than the enemy Pokemon.

PUT YOUR TEAM IN THE BEST BATTLE ORDER

The Pokemon in the top left corner of your team will be first up to bat, so be sure that's the one you want to challenge your opponents first.Swapping your Pokemon during battle can be costly as the enemy Pokemon will not stop attacking as you go to swap, so try to do that as little as possible. 

USE SPECIAL ATTACKS SPARINGLY

Your Pokemon's special attack can do a ton of damage, but it also leaves your Pokemon vulnerable to a barage of basic enemy attacks. If you're going to use your Poekmon's special attack, be sure to do it when your Pokemon has the upper hand. 

The charge time for special attacks can also work in your favor. When the opposing Pokemon is charging its attack, be sure to attack it as much as you can. 

Multiplayer

You don't have to take on an enemy gym alone! Team up with other trainers to attack a gym to take down the enemy Pokemon faster. The other trainers' Pokemon will show up in the battle across from your Pokemon. You can also see how many trainers are in the battle by checking to see if there's a number below your Pokemon's health.

Gym Training

In addition to conquering enemy gyms, you can also train at friendly gyms. This doesn't mean training your Pokemon, but training your gym's Prestige. Doing so will allow you to raise the gym's level and allow other trainers from your team join the gym.

Below is a guide to the Prestige level. The Minimum Prestige points indicates how many points the Gym needs to have to reach that level.

Gym Level	Pokemon	Minimum Prestige Points
Level 1	1	0
Level 2	2	2,000
Level 3	3	4,000
Level 4	4	8,000
Level 5	5	12,000
Level 6	6	16,000
Level 7	7	20,000
Level 8	8	30,00
Level 9	9	40,000
Level 10	10	50,000

Your trainer will also gain experience from Training at a gym. To train at a gym, get in range of and tap on a friendly gym. Then click the icon in the bottom right of the gym menu and you'll be able to choose one of your Pokemon to train with.

If your Pokemon loses while fighting a friendly Pokemon, it will not faint, but it will drop to 1 HP.

Benefits of Joining Gyms

The only way to make PokeCoins in Pokemon Go is by controlling gyms. Every 24 hours you can collect a bonus for being a gym member. This isn't only for the gym leader, so you'll want to make sure you have as many Pokemon as possible in gyms.

For every one Pokemon you have stationed at a gym, you'll earn 500 Stardust and 10 PokeCoins. This amount does not change for Gym Leaders. You can collect this bonus in the Shop page by tapping the shield in the top right corner of the screen.

Healing Your Pokemon 

The only way to heal and revive your Pokemon after battle is with your collected Potions and Revives. If you plan on challenging a gym multiple times to drain its Prestige, be sure to take a minute and heal your best Pokemon. 

To heal and revive Pokemon, go to your Items and tap the item you want to use. It'll take you to a menu with your injured Pokemon. There you can choose which ones to heal.

If you're close to claiming a gym, try to keep the Pokemon you want to place in the gym out of battle if you're low on healing items or revives. If it gets knocked out in battle and you're out of revives, you won't be able to station it in the gym. 

If you're training at a friendly gym, your Pokemon will take damage, but they won't faint if they lose.