Okay, so battling and gyms are vital, but really you need that star power and precious precious candy. But how, you may ask, do I get it? Well, by legwork.
The important things to remember here is eggs. Obviously, you need to go out and catch Pokemon in the wild. But while you're doing that, you always need to be keeping an egg incubated. For 2-5k of walking, you get a random Pokemon, and from 8-12 candies for them! For some Pokemon, that's enough for a first evolution all by itself.
So yes, go out to zones where you'll likely find what you're looking for. But always - ALWAYS have an egg incubating.
John Barron
Author