Pokemon Go player reaches level 30 without catching Pokemon

A Pokemon Go player has seemingly done what no other player has done before, reach level 30 without catching more than one Pokemon.

Pokemon Go is a drastically different experience than any other Pokemon game. Wild Pokemon spawns are dependent on your real-world location, Pokemon have Combat Power instead of levels, and players can earn experience to increase their own trainer level.

A player’s trainer level is pretty important as it grants access to certain items and allows players to power up their Pokemon more. A trainer at level 20 can’t power up their Pokemon as much as they can at level 30.

But increasing your trainer level can be an absolute grind as millions of experience points are needed for each level when you reach the upper levels. It can take months or even years for a new trainer to reach level 30 playing normally, but one player has astounded the community by reaching that benchmark with an absurd self-imposed ruleset.

Trainer reaches level 30 without catching Pokemon

Reddit user notAKawaiiCatGirl posted their accomplishment to the r/pokemongo subreddit. The post was captioned “Today I hit level 30, having only caught my starter and only adding friends I actually know IRL.”

The post contained screenshots of them reaching level 30 and proof that they had only actually caught their starter. Their stats page also showed a start date of October 30, 2021.

This means notAKawaiiCatGirl was able to reach level 30 without catching more than one wild Pokemon in a little less than 6 months. So, how did they accomplish this feat?

Today I hit level 30, having only caught my starter and only adding friends I actually know IRL. from pokemongo

According to OP, they gained every point of experience through Pokestops, gyms, eggs, gifts, and evolution. They were able to get new Pokemon with eggs, which is also how they were able to get candy to evolve them.

In the replies to the post, they stated that trading was not allowed as it would cheapen the challenge. They also revealed they will continue the challenge until they reached level 40 which is a cap for a challenge like this.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pbHXnqmtp16YvK57xpqkoqaXZL2wt8Smpqdll6R6sbjAspyrZaKarqS0xKxkpZ2mmrluf49mrqKsmKTCtXnCmqucoJmjtG68zqScpqeeYn55fY9taGln