Pokémon Go Gyms: How to defend, attack, earn coins, get stardust

How do you get coins for defending a Gym?

Pokemon Go Gyms collect coins

Every ten minutes you have a Pokémon in a Gym, that Pokémon will earn a Poké Coin up to 50 Poké Coins per day. So, if you five Pokémon in Gyms for 60 minutes, you'll earn 30 Poké Coins. In 100 minutes, 50 Poké Coins, and 120 minutes, still 50 Poké Coins. 8 days... still 50 Poké Coins!

Wow, one Poké Coin every ten minutes! That's amazing. Is... is there a catch?

A huge one, yes.

You only get the Poké Coins when your Pokémon has been kicked off the gym and returned to you.

$#!+, seriously?

Seriously. And what's more, the daily bonus limit of 50 Poké Coins doesn't stack. So, if your Pokémon is in a Gym for more than one day, the potential 50 Poké Coins from previous days is lost. That means, even if you're able to defend a Gym longer than 100 minutes, there isn't a whole lot of reason to waste your Berries doing so.

How do you tell how many Poké Coins you received when your Pokémon returns?

You can see it in the notification when your Pokémon is kicked out of the Gym, or see it in News at any time.

  1. Tap the menu button. (Looks like a Poké Ball).
  2. Tap news, top right. (Looks like a mega horn.)
  3. Tap on the Notifications tab, top left. (If you're not already on it.)

What about Stardust? How do you get Stardust from gyms?

Nope. Now you get Stardust and experience, and sometimes even Candy... from feeding friendly Pokémon on Gyms.

Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.