How To Run The New Pokemon GO 2x Power Up Exploit

A new way to power up Pokemon in Pokemon GO has been discovered by a set of players hyper-obsessed with finding oddities. I say "new" because we've not seen this method for upgrading one's own Pokemon before. It could well have been in the code for the game since the beginning. The game launched back June of 2016 and it was several weeks before the first double-touch ability was discovered – there could be more on the way.

For this interesting bit of gameplay to work, the user must have a smartphone display large enough to accommodate more than one finger on one Pokemon GO button. The button we're talking about is the Power Up button that sits below each individual Pokemon. The main part of this method for upgrade is not strictly an "exploit" as such. The secondary part, as explained below, is an exploit indeed.

Tapping the Power Up button with more than one finger will make the game behave as though the button has been pressed more than once. This, on its own, is not revolutionary by any means. A similar situation exists in giving Pokemon Potions or Revives – more than one can pre pressed at a time.

As adisz48 from Reddit suggests, there is a reason why you might want to use this method. Other than saving time, that is. When this method for powering up is used, the Pokemon can be leveled up beyond its normal level cap.

Normally a Pokemon owned by a level 22 player can only be powered up to a Pokemon Level of 23.5. I don't know WHY 1.5 over the player level was chosen by Niantic for this leveling up business, I just know that this rule has been in place since the game started in ernest. With this 2x finger tap method, this level 22 player could potentially power up a level 23 Pokemon up to 24 instead of just level 23.5.

Each time a Pokemon is powered up, it grows half a level. Getting a Pokemon another half a level more powerful wont change the game significantly – it's just another way to know, for yourself, that you've gone as far as you can go to Be The Best There Ever Was. Every Pokemon trainer should strive for such a goal, of course.