Niantic Announces Pokémon Go Capture Bonus and Gym Training Improvements

[Maura]

While Pokémon Go might not be making the sort of headlines that it was over the summer, it is still the number 1 top grossing app in the App Store, and YouTubers such as Ali A, Lachlan, and Vikkstar123 are still getting hundreds of thousands of views for their Pokémon Go videos (and they’re all loads of fun to watch!).

Fans are definitely still playing the game in their millions around the world, and with that in mind, Niantic has just announced a couple of new “coming soon” features designed to improve certain aspects of the gameplay.

First up we have a new feature that lets the player earn a catch bonus for the medals that they’ve earned for catching various types of Pokémon (such as Psychic, Gardner, Dragon Tamer and Ruin Maniac), making it easier to catch that type of Pokémon.

The bonuses will be tied in with the tier of medal that you’ve earned for a particular type of Pokémon. For example, if you have a higher tier Kindler Medal, your bonus to catch Fire-type Pokémon such as Charmander, Vulpix, and Ponyta, will increase.

For Pokémon such as Pidgey that have multiple types, the bonus earned will be the average for the bonus of each type. This is a nice move by Niantic as it rewards those Trainers who have been really putting the hours in and grinding away to catch lots of Pokémon of different types, which is the only way to move up through the medal tiers.

The second announcement made by Niantic involves a change to the Gym experience, whereby when you are training at a friendly Gym you will be able to take six Pokémon with you instead of just one. Also, the CP of the Pokémon that you are training against might be adjusted lower for the duration of your training session in order to match your Pokémon’s battle capabilities. Essentially, what this means is that even if you and your Pokémon have not yet reached a high level, and for that reason have been avoiding even attempting to take part in Gym battles, once the update is released you will be able to participate in Gym battles and help your team’s Gym.

Source: Niantic Labs - Pokémon GO