Pokémon GO

Pokémon GO (Japanese: ) is a multiplayer, location-based, Pokémon game for  and. The game results from a collaboration between The Pokémon Company, Nintendo, and Niantic, Inc., and is with in-app purchases. It was released in most markets with access to the iOS App Store or Google Play Store on a staggered schedule starting on July 6, 2016.

The game was announced at a press conference in Japan on September 10, 2015. Field tests for Pokémon GO were held from March 29, 2016 through June 30, 2016.

The game is compatible with the Pokémon GO Plus, a device that allows players to enjoy elements of the game without looking at their phone. Compatibility with the was added in an update on December 22, 2016.

Blurb
Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, Pikachu, and many other Pokémon have been discovered on planet Earth!

Now’s your chance to discover and capture the Pokémon all around you—so get your shoes on, step outside, and explore the world. You’ll join one of three teams and battle for the prestige and ownership of Gyms with your Pokémon at your side.

Pokémon are out there, and you need to find them. As you walk around a neighborhood, your smartphone will vibrate when there’s a Pokémon nearby. Take aim and throw a Poké Ball… You’ll have to stay alert, or it might get away!

Search far and wide for Pokémon and items

Certain Pokémon appear near their native environment—look for Water-type Pokémon by lakes and oceans. Visit PokéStops, found at interesting places like museums, art installations, historical markers, and monuments, to stock up on Poké Balls and helpful items.

Catching, hatching, evolving, and more

As you level up, you’ll be able to catch more-powerful Pokémon to complete your Pokédex. You can add to your collection by hatching Pokémon Eggs based on the distances you walk. Help your Pokémon evolve by catching many of the same kind.

Take on Gym battles and defend your Gym

As your Charmander evolves to Charmeleon and then Charizard, you can battle together to defeat a Gym and assign your Pokémon to defend it against all comers.

It’s time to get moving—your real-life adventures await!

Note: This app is free-to-play and is optimized for smartphones, not tablets.

Gameplay
In the game, wild Pokémon appear on a map of the real world (based on the crowdsourced OpenStreetMap project), with the player moving in the game by traveling in the real world. When a Pokémon is nearby, the player's phone vibrates. The player can encounter a nearby Pokémon by tapping it in the Map View. Different kinds of Pokémon will appear in different environments; for example, Pokémon are more common near water. Weather also affects which Pokémon are common. The player is assisted by Professor Willow throughout the game. Players can login using a Pokémon Trainer Club, Google, or Facebook account, which can be linked together for logging in.

In a wild encounter, the player attempts to capture a wild Pokémon in a Poké Ball before it runs away. Unlike in the core series games, these encounters do not involve battle. At higher levels, the player can use various Berries to make wild Pokémon easier to catch or use more powerful Poké Balls like s and. While holding a press on a Poké Ball, a ring will appear around the Pokémon. This ring shrinks over time; once it reaches its smallest size it immediately returns to full size and the cycle repeats. If the Poké Ball is thrown while the ring is very small, the capture is more likely to be successful. Capturing while the ring is as far out as it can be, or halfway in the outer circle also provides small bonuses.

The game can be played as an (AR) game, so that in wild encounters and Gym battles the Pokémon appear to be in the real world when looking at the smart device's screen. However, it is also possible to disable this functionality, which saves battery power and is necessary on some devices which do not support AR.

Catching and hatching Pokémon earns the player Candy, which can be spent to evolve or Power Up Pokémon. Each evolutionary family has its own type of Candy, so in order to evolve a Pokémon, the player needs to catch a number of Pokémon from that same evolutionary family. If a player wants to get rid of a Pokémon, they can transfer it to Professor Willow, who will permanently keep the Pokémon but give 1 Candy in return. Catching and hatching Pokémon also earns the player, which also needs to be expended to Power Up Pokémon; unlike Candy, there is only one type of Stardust for all Pokémon.

There are two main types of locations in Pokémon GO: PokéStops and s. PokéStops and Gyms exist at pre-defined real-world locations, and the player must be within range of them in order to interact with them (although they can be inspected as long as they show up in the Map View). Players can obtain items and s by visiting PokéStops or Gyms and spinning the photo-disc. Furthermore plasyers can fight against each other to gain control of Gyms.

Players can also challenge each other in Trainer Battles, or challenge Candela,, and in Battle Training.

Players can customize their appearance, such as clothing and accessories, which can be shown to other players. Pokémon Trainers collect XP from performing various actions, such as catching Pokémon, which allows them to increase their Trainer level. Leveling up rewards the player with items, and some levels unlock features of the game. Wild Pokémon encountered by Trainers at higher levels are more likely to have higher CP. The maximum number of times an individual Pokémon can be Powered Up increases with the Trainer's level.

PokéCoins can be obtained in-game or via in-app purchases with real money. They can be traded for extra items and other enhancements. Players can also earn PokéCoins by defending gyms, at a rate of one coin for every ten minutes their Pokémon is in a Gym, for a maximum of 50 a day.

Available Pokémon
Only Pokémon introduced in Generations, , and , as well as certain Generation IV Pokémon, are available in the game. From the first three generations, only the families of, , , and have not yet been made obtainable.

Most obtainable Pokémon can be found in the wild, including evolved Pokémon. The exceptions are baby Pokémon, Pokémon that require an item to evolve into,, , , , Legendary Pokémon, and Mythical Pokémon. Baby Pokémon can only be hatched. Shedinja is exclusive to Research Breakthroughs. Mawile is exclusive to Raid Battles. Spinda is exclusive to Field Research. Absol is exclusive through both Raid Battles and Field Research. Certain Alolan forms are exclusive to special eggs and Raid Battles. Legendary Pokémon are only available through Raid Battles or Research Breakthroughs. Mythical Pokémon are only available through Special Research or EX Raid Battles. is exclusive to the Mystery Box and Special Research.

When the game was initially released, most Generation I Pokémon were available. The game has gradually updated to include previously unavailable Pokémon, primarily those from later generations. Shiny Pokémon were also not initially available, but on March 27, 2017, Magikarp and Gyarados were made available, with more being gradually released after August.
 * November 23, 2016: became available, appearing disguised as, , , or.
 * December 12, 2016: Generation II baby Pokémon became available, exclusively from (specifically:, , , , , , and ).  also became available by consequence by evolving Togepi.
 * February 16, 2017: Most remaining Generation II Pokémon became available, excepting only and . This included allowing Generation I Pokémon that have Generation II cross-generational evolutions to evolve into those Pokémon and  now appearing in the wild.  also became able to appear disguised as, , or.
 * July 22, 2017: Legendary Pokémon began to become available through Raid Battles. was introduced immediately.  was available from July 22 to July 31,  from July 31 to August 7, and  from August 7 to August 14. From August 14 to August 31, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres were made simultaneously available.
 * August 12, 2017: Ditto became able to appear disguised as.
 * August 14, 2017: The first Raid Battle occured at the Pokémon GO Stadium event. Mewtwo was subsequently available in field tests of "Exclusive" or EX Raid Battles, and on November 21, 2017, the field test concluded and the mature EX Raid Battle system was announced. Mewtwo was made available through normal raids on September 20, 2018.
 * August 31, 2017:, , and became available through Raid Battles in (respectively) the Americas, Europe and Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region from August 31 to September 30. On September 30, they then migrated to the preceding region. On October 31, they migrated a final time, until their availability ended on November 30.
 * October 20, 2017: The Generation III Ghost-type Pokémon, , , , and became available.
 * November 28, 2017: became available through Raid Battles after the successful Global Catch Challenge, lasting until December 14.
 * December 8, 2017: 50 Generation III Pokémon became available. These included the baby Pokémon and  as well as the following families:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and . Mawile and Absol were only available through Raid Battles.
 * December 15, 2017: became available through Raid Battles, lasting until January 15, 2018.  and  followed, available from January 12 to February 14 and February 9 to March 16, respectively.
 * December 22, 2017: 20 additional Generation III Pokémon and became available. The following families were introduced:, , , , , , , , , and.
 * January 23, 2018: 23 additional Generation III Pokémon became available. The following families were introduced:, , , , , , , , , , , and.
 * February 9, 2018: 19 additional Generation III Pokémon are released. The following families were introduced:, , , , , , , , , , and.
 * March 30, 2018: became available through the Special Research mode that was activated alongside Field Research on the same day.
 * April 2, 2018: and  became available through Raid Battles. Latias was available in available in Europe, Asia, and Australia while Latios could be found in North America, South America, and Africa. They switched locations on May 8, and were available until June 5.
 * May 30, 2018: Alolan became available.
 * June 21, 2018: Alolan versions of the, , , , and lines became available through special 7km Eggs obtained via Gifts. Alolan  and  became catchable in the wild on June 23.
 * July 14, 2018: Alolan and  were made temporarily available to catch in the wild. Starting on July 19, they became exclusive to 7km Eggs.
 * July 19, 2018: Alolan and  became available through Raid Battles.
 * August 1, 2018: became available through Field Research.
 * August 20, 2018: became available through Special Research.
 * September 21, 2018: became available through EX Raid Battles, replacing Mewtwo.
 * October 16, 2018: 26 Generation IV Pokémon became available. The following families were introduced:, , , , , , , , , , , and.
 * October 23, 2018: 6 additional Generation IV Pokémon became available. The following families were introduced:, , , and . Spiritomb can be obtained in a Special Research, while Giratina is available in raids from October 23 until November 20.
 * November 1, 2018:, , and became available. Nincada is exclusive through Field Research, and Shedinja through Research Breakthrough.
 * November 6, 2018:, , and became available.
 * November 14, 2018: 11 additional Generation IV Pokémon became available:, , , , , , , , , , and . All are the evolved forms of earlier generation Pokémon, and require a Sinnoh Stone to be obtained. is also made available via the Mystery Box, and can evolve into  with 400 Candy.
 * November 20, 2018: became available in raids until December 18.
 * December 18, 2018: 14 additional Generation IV Pokémon became available. The, , , and  lines were released to the wild, , , and  became available in 7km eggs, and  became available in raids until January 15, 2019.

Limited availability
Certain sets of Pokémon appear to be exclusive to certain regions in the world. During special events, some of these Pokémon have been made available in other regions. The territories described below are generally limited to broad descriptions, sacrificing precise accuracy. Many community-sourced maps can be found that will show these boundaries in much greater detail, such as this one on Reddit.
 * ,, , , , , , and primarily appear in areas distinct from each other.
 * Farfetch'd: east Asia
 * Kangaskhan: Australia
 * Mr. Mime: Europe
 * Tauros: the United States and southern Canada
 * Heracross: Central and South America
 * Torkoal: southwestern Asia
 * Tropius: Africa and the Middle East east of the
 * Relicanth: certain islands east of Australia, such as New Zealand, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and others farther east
 * appears in coastal areas near the equator. This encompasses areas within approximately 50 kilometers of a coast between s 31° N and 26° S, except in the Atlantic Ocean where the southern reach is 5° S.
 * ,, and are found in separate halves of the world from , , and . Originally, Zangoose and Seviper were in the opposite territories, but they were switched on January 5, 2018 (after four weeks). Solrock and Lunatone swapped territories on June 21, 2018.
 * Volbeat, Zangoose, and Solrock: Europe, Asia, Australia, and the western Pacific Ocean
 * Illumise, Seviper, and Lunatone: Americas, Africa, and the Middle East east of the

Legendary Pokémon have only been released for strictly limited periods. These include, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and. Once their periods are up, there is no guarantee if or when they will be made available again, but some have made return appearances through Field Research.

(and prior to September 2018) only appears in special EX Raids. EX Passes grant players the ability to participate in an EX Raid and are distributed on a semi-random basis to players who have recently completed a Raid at the Gym where the EX Raid will take place.

Special availability
The player may choose from the three Kanto starter Pokémon at the beginning of the game:, , or. If the player walks away from the starter Pokémon four times, will also appear as a possible starter Pokémon. These Pokémon may also be found in the wild later on.

While 's evolution is normally random, it can be nicknamed to force it to evolve into a specific Pokémon: "Sparky" for, "Rainer" for , "Pyro" for , "Sakura" for , and "Tamao" for. These are the names of the Eevee brothers and the Kimono Girls in the Pokémon anime. Each nickname can only influence evolution once per player.

During certain conventions or other events, specific letters of may be made available at a greatly increased rate in the vicinity of the event. The letters made available relate to the event, such as C, H, I, C, A, G, and O for Pokémon GO Fest in Chicago.

Since September 2018, certain Pokémon have been made available in 7 km eggs as part of an event, including regional and raid exclusive Pokémon such as and, respectively.

Locations
There are two main types of locations in Pokémon GO: PokéStops and s. PokéStops and Gyms exist at pre-defined real world locations, and the player must be within range of them in order to interact with them (although they can be inspected as long as they have shown up in the Map View).

The locations of PokéStops and Gyms are based on a selection of portals from the Niantic game. Until 2015, Ingress players (agents) could submit proposals for portals which subsequently had to be approved by Niantic. From 2017 onward, Ingress agents can submit new portals through Operation Portal Recon (OPR) that would be reviewed and approved by their OPR peers. Starting September 2017, a PokéStop submission system started beta test for level 40 trainers located in Brazil and South Korea. As of September 2017 the portal or PokéStop submissions are still reviewed by agents participating in OPR for final approval though Niantic has announced that the system will be expanded to Pokémon GO trainers in the future.

PokéStops allow players to obtain items and Eggs by spinning the Photo Disc. At Gyms, players can battle to weaken those belonging to opposing teams or strengthen those belonging to their own team; a player can earn and PokéCoins by holding onto their own Gyms, while also obtaining items from its Photo Disc. The player will be given a Gym Badge for each Gym on the first time they interact with it. Badges can be leveled up to bronze, silver, and gold, with each level causing the Gym to give out a higher number of items when spun.

A Gym can only be controlled by one team at a time. If a Gym is controlled by the player's team, they can add one of their own Pokémon to defend it and feed Berries to any Pokémon in the Gym. Doing so will earn the player Stardust, possible Candy, and an increase in the Pokémon's motivation. If a Gym is controlled by a rival team, the player can battle it to decrease each Pokémon's motivation; when a Pokemon's motivation reaches zero, it will be knocked out of the Gym. When all defending Pokémon have been defeated, the team loses control of the Gym, allowing the player to reclaim it as their own.

PokéStops are much more common than Gyms, but depending on where a player lives, they may be very common or very sparse. Locations tend to be more common in urban areas due to a higher population density, resulting in more players in those areas. If there are no nearby PokéStops, the player can only obtain Poké Balls by leveling up or purchasing them with PokéCoins; if there are no nearby Gyms, the player can only obtain PokéCoins by purchasing them with real currency.

Teams
After the player reaches level 5, they can choose a team by tapping a Gym. There are three teams: the yellow Team Instinct led by Spark, the blue Team Mystic led by Blanche, and the red Team Valor led by Candela.

Pokémon Appraisal, added in version 0.35.0 (labelled version 1.5.0 on the iOS App Store), has the chosen Team's leader detail a Pokémon's stats much like a stats judge in the core series. They describe how good the Pokémon would be in a battle, which of its three stats is its highest, and how good its stats are overall. They will also note if the Pokémon's height or weight is particularly far from the average listed in the Pokédex.

PokéCoins


PokéCoins are the in-app currency used in Pokémon GO. There are two ways of obtaining PokéCoins: the Defender bonus or by purchasing them with real money.

To obtain the Defender bonus, the player must assign a Pokémon to defend a Gym that currently has less than six defenders. Upon their Pokémon being knocked out, the player will receive a number of coins based on how long their Pokémon defended a Gym, one coin for every ten minutes, up to a maximum of 50. Once a Pokémon returns with 50 coins. Sometimes Pokémon will be unable to give coins when returning to the player, even if they stayed for eight hours and twenty minutes.

Permanent items
The following items are in the player's Bag by default. They have no quantity and cannot be tossed.

Standard items
Most of these items can be obtained by spinning the Photo Disc at PokéStops or s. Other ways to obtain some of these items include by leveling up or by purchasing them from the shop. The player also starts with several standard items in their Bag.

Raid rewards
These items can be obtained as rewards for defeating a Raid Boss.

Upgrades
These are upgrades that increase the storage capacity of certain aspects of the game. They can be purchased with PokéCoins.

Unavailable items
These items are present in game data but cannot be acquired in-game. The identifiers for items in this internal data do not always reflect the item names visible to the player in-game, so if these items are released they may not use the same name.

Experience
In Pokémon GO, the player earns experience (abbreviated XP), rather than the Pokémon. As the player gains experience they gain levels. Leveling up awards the player with items, and certain levels unlock particular items. After reaching level 5, the player can choose a team, which allows them to use s. As the player's level increases, their Pokémon are able to achieve a higher Combat Power as the player powers them up.

Eggs


The player can obtain Eggs at PokéStops. An Egg will hatch after traveling a certain distance while the Egg is in an incubator. Four Egg distances are possible: 2 km, 5 km, 7 km, and 10 km. Each species has a set Egg distance and can only hatch from Eggs with this distance.

Buddy


By assigning a Buddy Pokémon, the player can receive additional Candies for that species of Pokémon as they walk. Depending on the species, the Buddy Pokémon will find 1 Candy every 1 km, 3 km or 5 km walked. The player can only have a single Buddy Pokémon at once.

Notably, must be a Buddy Pokémon for 20 km's before it can be evolved into.

Medals
The game has challenges that award medals upon completion. Medals can be viewed from a player's profile.

Daily bonuses
Daily bonuses give the player extra rewards the first time they perform certain actions each day (local time). They were added to Pokémon GO in version 0.45.0 (labelled 1.15.0 on the ), which was released on November 7, 2016.

The first Pokémon the player catches each day earns the player a bonus 500 XP and 600. If the player catches a Pokémon every day for 7 days in a row, they will earn a bonus of 2500 XP and 3000 Stardust.

The first PokéStop or the player searches each day earns the player a bonus 500 XP and extra items. If the player searches PokéStops or Gyms every day for 7 days in a row, they will earn a bonus of 2500 XP and even more items. The 7-day streak bonus is guaranteed to give the player an Evolution item (such as King's Rock).

Global events
Global events are in-game thematic events that run for a limited time. Those events are activated directly by Niantic and do not require any kind of registration.

Local events
Local events are events based on real life locations that require physical presence to attend. They also award special medals.

Shop
In the Shop, the player can make two kinds of purchases. They can purchase PokéCoins for real money or they can purchase in-game items for PokéCoins.

A number of the in-game items in the Shop can also be obtained by playing the game, but a few items are exclusive to the Shop: the Bag Upgrade, the Pokémon Storage Upgrade, and the Premium Raid Pass. The Shop also occasionally features limited-time "Box" deals (e.g., a Special Box) that include more than one kind of item.

Music
Some of the music in Pokémon GO was composed by Junichi Masuda. The music, as well as the sound effects, can be turned off in the settings of the app.

Compatibility
Pokémon GO requires an internet connection (, or ) and GPS/location services. According to the official support site, the game can be played on:
 * Android devices: + ( devices are not supported), preferred resolution of 720×1280 pixels (not optimized for tablet)
 * iOS devices: and newer,  and newer ( devices are not supported)
 * support was added on December 22, 2016.
 * Discontinued support for certain Apple devices from 2013 and older as of February 28, 2018.

However, the game is also playable on some iOS and Android devices that are not officially supported.

Connectivity
Pokémon GO currently has no connectivity with other Pokémon games. However, Junichi Masuda has stated that the developers plan to add connectivity with the next entry in the core series Pokémon games.

Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! will allow the player to transfer Pokémon from Pokémon GO to the Let's Go games. Only the first 151 Pokémon (including Alolan forms),, and its evolved form, will be able to be transferred due to the fact that only these Pokémon appear in the Let's Go! games. Let's Go will also be able to send a special, brand new Pokémon as a gift to Pokémon GO.

Partnerships
Due to the popularity of Pokémon GO, the game has partnered with several other companies to offer special promotions. These partnerships often involve sponsored locations, wherein stores affiliated with the partner company become PokéStops and s; sponsored locations do not appear in the game for players under the age of 13.

Pokémon GO partnered with in the Philippines. Starting October 28, 2016, Globe retail locations and charging stations are becoming PokéStops and Gyms. Globe will also be working with, , , and. The partnership ends on midnight of March 15, 2018 (local time).

Pokémon GO partnered with in the United States. Starting December 7, 2016, 10,500 Sprint,, and Sprint at stores in the United States are becoming PokéStops and Gyms. Sprint locations also feature in-store charging stations to allow Pokémon GO players to charge their devices. Players could also find small Level 10, 20, 30, or 40 iron-on patches at Sprint store Gyms.

Pokémon GO partnered with in the United States. Starting December 8, 2016, 7,800 company-operated Starbucks stores in the United States have been made into PokéStops and Gyms. Additionally, Starbucks is selling a special-edition Pokémon GO Frappuccino as part of this partnership; the Pokémon GO Frappuccino starts with a Vanilla Bean blended beverage and raspberry syrup blended with freeze-dried whole blackberries and topped with whipped cream.

Pokémon GO partnered with (which operates under the name Jio) in India. Starting December 13, 2016, nearly 3,000 Jio stores (thousands of stores according to Jio's press release) and select partner premises in India will become PokéStops or Gyms in the Pokémon GO, as well as offering charging stations for players. On Jio's social messaging app, JioChat, Pokémon players have access to an exclusive Pokémon GO channel to allow them to collaborate and be part of a community of players with daily tips, contests, clues, and special events. During Jio's "Happy New Year" offer, Jio customers will be able to download and play Pokémon GO without incurring data charges, like any other apps and content, until March 31, 2017.

Pokémon GO partnered with shopping malls across Europe. Starting on February 18, 2017, new PokéStops and Gyms across 58 shopping and destination centers in ten European countries were added. An average of a dozen new PokéStops and Gyms were added to public spaces, social hubs, and public art at each of the destination centers.

Development
The game was conceived by John Hanke after the development of Niantic's Ingress. It was decided that a game based on Pokémon would be a good choice, due to its focus on collecting the titular creatures. Hanke brought the idea to the Pokémon Company and talked with Mr. Isihara. Development began. Junichi Masuda worked with Niantic on the game's development.

An Ingress Report released on September 10, 2015, the day of the game's announcement, stated that a closed beta would occur during Northern Hemisphere winter 2015 and that the game would be released in early 2016. However, no beta testing occurred during 2015.

Field tests were held in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States prior to the game's public release. Selected applicants were given the opportunity to test the game.
 * Japan: held from March 29 to June 30, 2016, announced on March 3, 2016
 * Australia and New Zealand: held from April 25 to June 30, 2016, announced on April 7, 2016
 * United States: held from May 25 to June 30, 2016, announced on May 16, 2016

A session at the featuring the game was intended to be held by Niantic CEO John Hanke on March 14, 2016, but was later cancelled due to Niantic preparing the game for beta testing and launch.

Release
Unlike previous Pokémon games for mobile devices, Pokémon GO was released on a staggered schedule, releasing initially to only to a few select countries. After its initial release on July 6, 2016, additional releases were put on hold due to server issues, but resumed on July 13, 2016, with the app's release in Germany. France was supposed to receive the app alongside other European countries, but the official release in the country was postponed due to the. The release in was only a couple of days prior to the beginning of the  in Rio de Janeiro.

So far, Pokémon GO has been released in all countries with access to the iOS App Store or Google Play Store, except for Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia,, , , , , , Mali, Senegal, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Congo, Angola, and Zimbabwe.

Trivia

 * This is the only Pokémon game to have the word "Pokémon" spelled in Latin letters in its Japanese name.
 * Pokémon GO has been banned in Iran and Mainland China due to security concerns. However, some Iranians are still playing the game publicly regardless.
 * On April 1st 2014, over two years before the release of Pokémon GO, Google released a minigame inside of Google Maps to catch Pokémon in celebration of April Fools Day.