15 tips for getting the most out of Pokemon X and Y

Pokemon X and Y are massive games.

There's just so much to see and do in them. Even after 30 hours or so, you won't have seen everything there is to see.

With that in mind, we decided to put together a list of 15 things you might have missed during your Pokemon X and Y journey.

These tips range from battle tactics and Pokemon-catching tactics, to special people and items that you'll find in Kalos. Gotta catch 'em all, and all that jazz.

Read on and see if there's anything you missed on your Pokemon quest.

1. One of the most noteworthy changes to the Pokemon formula in X and Y is this: even when you catch a Pokemon in a Pokeball, your team will receive experience for the battle.

This means that you can potentially kill two birds with one stone. How? By putting Pokemon on your team that you want to level-up quickly and attempting to fill up your Pokedex.

2. In the same vein, it's worth checking out the new EXP SHARE functionality. Rather than attaching it to a single Pokemon, you can place it in your bag and give extra experience to your whole team.

Note that Pokemon that have fainted won't gain this EXP, so you'll have to make sure that you have plenty of Revives to hand and always keep all six of your critters up and about. Else, it's just wasted experience.

3. When you finally meet up with Professor Sycamore, he'll do the unthinkable. He'll offer you a second starter Pokemon. You can choose between Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charmander.

Sycamore will also give you your first Megastone (so that you can match the Pokemon you take from him). This will, of course, enable you to Mega-Evolve that Pokemon later in the game.

4. O-Powers are massively handy. They 'live' in the 'Player Search System' menu. You can either apply them to your own Pokemon or send them to other people online. Note that applying them to yourself costs more energy. So, if you can give one to a person online and that person returns the favour, you're laughing.

O-Powers will also be levelled-up the more you use them, making their effects last for longer. It's a good idea to keep using them as much as possible, then.

5. Hordes are another interesting addition to the series. Here, you are essentially put up against five Pokemon of the same type all in one go. The five Pokemon will all be a much lower level than you, sure. However, they all get to have a pop at you once you've had your turn.

If you want to catch one of them, you have to kill four of the others first. Remember: you can't throw a Pokeball if more than one is alive and kicking. Note that you can use honey to attract the attention of hordes.

6. Hit the 'L' button, and the bottom screen will switch to the Super Training mode. In this mode, Pokemon will lay into punching bags while you play, and gain additional stat boosts as a result.

Remember that you will need to tap your Pokemon to wake them up first and get them ready for a bit of bashing. You'll also need to play the various mini-games to unlock punching bags for them to hit. And if you wish, you can hammer the punching bags with your stylus to help your Pokemon out.

7. You will find numerous sky battles around the X and Y world. Battles that, as you can probably guess, take place in the sky. You'll need at least one Pokemon that can fly to take part in these battles, of course.

Here are some sky battle locations to get you started:

• There's one near the Glittering Cave
• There's one on Route 11
• You'll also find a couple near the Frost Cavern

8. Remember receiving a free Lapras in Pokemon Red and Blue and thinking it was the best thing ever? Prepare to have that feeling all over again in X and Y.

Visit Route 12, and you'll find a guy who has been looking after a Lapras but doesn't have space for it any more. If you have a free spot in your posse, he'll offer you the Lapras.

The best thing about Lapras in X and Y is that if you teach it to surf, you'll actually see yourself riding on the back of it.

9. As in past Pokemon games, you can use incense to help Pokemon breed in different ways. In X and Y, it's no different.

If you're wondering about from where you can pick incense up, visit Coumarine City.

10. There's a new type of move in Pokemon X and Y called the "Battle-combo". When used with its super-effective equivalent, you will see a clearly discernible rise in damage.

For example, the "Fire Pledge" move that Delphox can learn will do more damage if used with its grass equivalent. If you're interested in using these moves, talk to the guy in Laverre City.

11. Sticking with Laverre City, there's a girl there who can tell you exactly how to beat each gym leader, and which Pokemon you used to get there.

It's pretty handy having a record of this kind of stuff available. In fact, there are loads of people in this game who will give you information like this.

12. One such person is the "Memory Girl" in Anistar City. She can 'retrieve' random memories from any Pokemon that you present to her.

Memories range from thoughts on battles to the way your Pokemon felt about certain decisions that you made throughout the game.

13. Sticking with Anistar City, there's another girl there who will give you a TM move if you talk to her. She doesn't stop there, mind.

If you visit her every day (at a different time of the day to the day before), she will give you even more TM moves. It's well worth visiting her multiple times.

14. Wondering from where you can get the Master Ball in Pokemon X and Y?

Easy. The boss of the Pokeball Factory will give it to you once you've solved a problem for him.

Note that he'll offer you either the Master Ball or a precious nugget. If you choose the Master Ball, though, he'll give you the nugget, too, anyway.

15. Once you've beaten the Elite Four and the Pokemon Champion, travel back to the Pokemon Lab in Lumiose City and talk to Sycamore's aide on the second floor.

He'll give you the Poke Radar, a super-useful device for finding out where specific Pokemon are in tall grass. You can even see where Pokemon of the same species are hiding.

The aide will also tell you which Pokemon he is researching that day, so take that Pokemon to him for special items.