Pokemon Go has a large swathe of items to obtain alongside the many catchable Pokemon. With any different Pokeballs and Berries and healing items and more, it can be hard to know exactly how to obtain items in the game. The clearest way to obtain many items is in the conventional shop menu. This shop requires coins, called Pokecoins, and a lot of them so it's important to know how to earn them, and how to maximize your Pokecoin count.
How to Earn Pokecoins in Pokemon Go
Pokecoins have a few ways to obtain them. They used to only have one method which made them extremely rare, however as Pokemon Go has been updated, more methods of obtaining Pokecoins have been added. There are currently three ways to obtain Pokecoins, Defender Bonuses, Daily Research, and Microtransactions.
Earning Pokecoins from a Defender Bonus
The Defender Bonus is the most obtuse way to obtain Pokecoins but is by far the most lucrative method outside of buying large amounts of them. When placing a Pokemon in a Gym captured by your team, that Pokemon will earn you Pokecoins. However, you won’t receive them immediately, which is what makes this method easy to miss sometimes.
When your Pokemon is finished defending a Gym, they will return to you and along with them, you will receive all of the Pokecoins they earn while defending the Gym. For every 10 minutes the Pokemon stays in the Gym, they will earn one Pokecoin, which is capped at a total of 50 per day. If your Pokemon defends the Gym for more than a day, they will earn more than 50 Pokecoins but only up to 50 multiplied the number of days it's been in the gym.
Earning Pokecoins from Daily Research
Daily Research is the newest method of earning Pokecoins. Every day, a few goals will appear in the Research menu and by completing all daily tasks, you can earn 20 Pokecoins.
Currently, this feature is in testing and is only available in certain countries and once it is implemented the cap for Defender Bonus coins will be lowered to 30 coins per day.
Buying Pokecoins through Microtransactions
If you don’t want to wait and have the money to spare, there is a section in the shop menu just for you. An entire area where you can spend real-world money on Pokecoins as well as other items and bundles. Purchasable bundles that include Pokecoins include:
| Bundle | USD | CAD | EUR | GBP |
  100 Pokecoins | $0.99 | $1.39 | €0.99 | £0.79 |
 550 Pokecoins | $4.99 | $6.99 | €4.99 | £4.99 |
 1,200 Pokecoins | $9.99 | $13.99 | €9.99 | £9.99 |
 2,500 Pokecoins | $19.99 | $27.99 | €19.99 | £19.99 |
 5,200 Pokecoins | $39.99 | $54.99 | €39.99 | £38.99 |
 14,500 Pokecoins | $99.99 | $139.99 | €99.99 | £99.99 |
What you can buy with Pokecoins
Once you’ve obtained your precious Pokecoins, you can use them to purchase a large variety of useful items from consumables to permanent upgrades.
| Purchasable Item | Description | Cost in Pokecoins |
1× Incubator Limited  | An item that can incubate three eggs before breaking. |   150 |
1×   Super Incubator | An item that can incubate three eggs 33% faster than a normal incubator before breaking. |  200 |
1×  Premium Battle Pass | A battle pass used to join a Raid Battle or earn premium rewards in the GO Battle League. |  100 |
1×   Remote Raid Pass | A battle pass used to join a Raid Battle remotely. |  100 |
3×  Remote Raid Pass | A set of three battle passes used to join a Raid Battle remotely. |  250 |
1×  Rocket Radar | An item used to track down hideouts of Team GO Rocket Leaders. |  200 |
1×  Poffin | A food item that can be used on your buddy Pokemon to help increase their buddy level. |  100 |
20×  Poké Ball | A set of 20 items used to capture wild Pokemon. |  100 |
100×  Poké Ball | A set of 100 items used to capture wild Pokemon. |  460 |
200×  Poké Ball | A set of 200 items used to capture wild Pokemon. |  800 |
1×  Incense | An item used to attract wild Pokemon to the player. |  40 |
8×  Incense | A set of 8 items used to attract wild Pokemon to the player. |  250 |
1×  Star Piece | An item that boosts Stardust gain for 30 minutes. |  100 |
8×  Star Piece | A set of 8 items that boost Stardust gain for 30 minutes. |  640 |
10×  Max Potion | A set of 10 healing items which fully restore a Pokemon’s HP. |  200 |
6×  Max Revive | A set of 10 healing items which revive a fainted Pokemon and fully restore their HP. |  180 |
1×  Lucky Egg | An item that boosts EXP gain for 30 minutes. |  80 |
8×  Lucky Egg | A set of 8 items which boost EXP gain for 30 minutes. |  500 |
1×  Glacial Lure Module | A lure that attracts Ice and Water-type Pokemon to a Pokestop for 30 minutes. |  200 |
1×  Mossy Lure Module | A lure that attracts Bug, Grass, and Poison-type Pokemon to a Pokestop for 30 minutes. |  200 |
1×  Magnetic Lure Module | A lure that attracts Electric, Rock, and Steel-type Pokemon to a Pokestop for 30 minutes. |  200 |
1×  Rainy Lure Module | A lure that attracts Water, Bug, and Electric-type Pokemon to a Pokestop for 30 minutes. |  200 |
1×  Lure Module | A lure that attracts Pokemon to a Pokestop for 30 minutes. |  100 |
8×  Lure Module | A set of 8 lures that attract Pokemon to a Pokestop for 30 minutes. |  680 |
1×  Bag Upgrade | An upgrade that Increases the max number of items you can carry by 50. | 200 |
1×  Pokémon Storage Upgrade | An upgrade that Increases the max number of Pokémon you can carry by 50. | 200 |
1×  Team Medallion | A unique item that allows the player to change teams once every 365 days. | 1,000 |
Conclusion
Pokecoins are useful for obtaining a large amount of very useful items and knowing how to get them is important. The sooner you start trying to maximize your Pokecoin earning the sooner you’ll be able to afford those big shop items you have your eyes on.
