Pokémon Go
Pokémon Go is a 2016 augmented reality mobile game initially developed and released by Niantic, in collaboration with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company for iOS and Android devices. It uses the GPS on mobile devices to find, catch, train, and fight Pokémon, and it imitates the player's actual location. The game is free-to-play; it uses a freemium business model merged with local advertising and supports in-app purchases for extra in-game items and additionally hosts remote and live events. The game debuted with around 150 species, with more species being added gradually.
Pokémon Go received conflicting feedback when it was released; critics praised the concept but criticized its technical issues. It was one of the most frequently used and profitable mobile apps in 2016, being downloaded over 500 million times globally by the year's end. It is recognized for popularizing location-based and AR technology to the extent of promoting physical and social activity. However, it has also faced criticism for contributing to accidents and creating public nuisances. Various governments have voiced security concerns, and some countries regulate its use. By May 2018, the game had over 147 million monthly active users and more than one billion downloads worldwide by early 2019 and had earned more than $6 billion in revenue by 2020. It is considered among the best mobile games of all time.
In 2025, ownership of the product was assumed by Scopely as part of a $3.5 billion acquisition of Niantic's gaming division.
Gameplay
Augmented reality gaming
After creating an account via one of the provided methods, players can customize their personal avatars, this can be remain as the default avatar and is completely optional to modify. An avatar appears on the game map based on the player's GPS location. "PokéStops" and "Pokémon Gyms" are features on the map. There are also "Lure Modules" that these PokéStops can be equipped with to attract more wild, and occasionally, rare Pokémon. Gyms function as battlefields for team-based king of the hill matches. PokéStops and Gyms are typically located at places of interest. These locations were initially re-purposed portals from Ingress, Niantic's previous augmented reality game. This has caused the placement of certain Pokémon Gyms and PokéStops in dangerous or inconvenient locations, such as a now removed Gym at the Korean Demilitarized Zone and Bagram Airforce Base, which the U.S. forces abandoned in July 2021. Since 2019, these locations also include submissions from Go players, which a significant number of other players review.Players' avatars move on the game's map to correspond with their real location while they travel their real-world environment. Different Pokémon species reside in different areas of the world; for example, Water-type Pokémon are generally located close to water. When a player encounters a Pokémon, it can be viewed with a live-rendered, generic background or in augmented reality mode. AR mode uses the camera and gyroscope on the player's mobile device to display a live image of a Pokémon as if it were in the real world. Whether or not the AR function is enabled, players can capture screenshots, or "Snapshots", of the Pokémon that they encounter.
Although the game is free-to-play, it supports in-app purchases, where players can purchase in-game items such as event items and special clothing with PokéCoins or real money. These items include Incense, which attracts Pokémon to the player as they travel for sixty minutes; Lure Modules, which players apply to a PokéStop to attract Pokémon to that PokéStop for thirty minutes; and Lucky Eggs, which, for 30 minutes after use, doubles experience points earned. All Pokémon are displayed with a Combat Power, which is a factor in the measurement of how powerful that Pokémon is in battle. Generally, as players level up, they catch Pokémon with higher CP, and these Pokémon are somewhat more challenging to capture. The "Appraisal" feature allows the user to check how strong their Pokémon are.
Avatar customization
Players can customize their avatar's appearance with clothing options that change in availability according to season, player level, and in-game sponsors or events. Clothing includes: hats, accessories, tops, bottoms, socks, footwear and bags. Most clothing references either a specific Pokémon, a specific team and/or the Pokémon region. Many pieces of clothing are free; however, some items can also be purchased with Coins, which can be earned during select events, awarded when the player levels up, or received as a prize for Special Research completion.Another method for a player to customize their avatar is with a pose. Similar to clothes, poses can be free, purchased, or awarded. Some poses are event-based and can only be obtained during the duration of the event they are linked to. After the event concludes, there is no guarantee that the pose will reappear in-game again.
In April 2024, Pokémon GO released an update to allow more flexible customization of player avatars. Customization now includes a limited number of different hairstyles, the ability to adjust the avatar's body size, and increased skin tone variations. This update created widespread criticism from the player base, as the new avatars were thought to have lower-quality graphics in comparison to the previous models, and because the updated models interfered with some post-update cosmetic items, of which players had purchased a large amount.
Pokémon collection
Unlike most other installments in the Pokémon series, players in Pokémon GO do not battle against wild Pokémon to capture them. During an encounter with a wild Pokémon, a Poké Ball can be thrown towards the Pokémon by flicking it up toward the Pokémon from the bottom of the screen and instantly releasing after doing so. If the Pokémon is caught, it will now belong to the player. Factors in the success rate of catching a Pokémon include the Pokémon's catch rate, the timing, the variant of Poké Ball that was used, etc. After capturing a wild Pokémon, the player is awarded two different types of in-game currency: Candy and Stardust. The Candies awarded by a successful capture are determined by the evolutionary chain to which the Pokémon belongs. Players can increase a Pokémon's level and hence, its "Combat Power" by using Stardust and Candy. However, only Candies are required to evolve a Pokémon, besides the Pokémon that require special items or conditions in order to evolve. Each Pokémon evolution tree has its own type of Candy, which is limited to leveling up or evolving that Pokémon. Originally set at level 40, the maximum level a player can reach was increased to level 50 on November 30, 2020, and then raised again to level 80 from a leveling update on October 15, 2025. The player can also transfer the Pokémon back to Professor Willow to obtain more Candy and make space for another Pokémon. Shiny Pokémon can be found in a variety of ways, usually through chance or a "Community Day". A common goal for many players is to finish the entire Pokédex, which is a detailed Pokémon logbook that you can complete by catching and evolving all of the Pokémon inside.In September 2016, Niantic introduced a feature named "Buddy Pokémon". This feature enables players to choose a Pokémon from their collection to display on their profile screen and accompany their avatar during gameplay and receive bonuses plus in-game items depending on the Pokémon they have selected. The feature was released later that month. Pokémon have different distances that they need to travel with the player in order to receive Candy. The player can earn more Candy the more they walk in real time. During the same update, Niantic added a feature to prevent players with rooted or jailbroken devices from logging into the game in an effort to reduce and prevent cheating.
On January 20, 2018, Pokémon Go hosted the first Community Day, a monthly event that increases a featured Pokémon's spawn rate and provides an exclusive attack for the Pokémon's last evolution if it was completely evolved during the event. Players also have an increased chance of catching the featured Pokémon's Shiny version. The first Community Day featured Pikachu, with the exclusive attack Surf if evolved to Raichu during the event.
Pokémon availabilities
New Pokémon are frequently added to the game, and there are 884 Pokémon in the game as of February 11, 2025 from a total 1,025 within the entire Pokémon franchise.Regional Pokémon are often released simultaneously, such as the Unova region Pokémon released in September 2019.
During special events or quests, Mythical and Legendary Pokémon are frequently released on their own. The first Legendary Pokémon released was Groudon, in December 2017. Meltan and its evolved form, Melmetal, are the only Mythical Pokémon to have made their debut on Pokémon Go. Their release coincided with the release of Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! on the Nintendo Switch. Pokémon Go introduced the new Mythical Pokémon Meltan originally as a teaser, later to be accessible to capture only from Pokémon Go via a "Mystery Box" item that could be acquired by completing new Research Tasks, moving Pokémon from Pokémon Go to Pokémon HOME, or moving Pokémon to Nintendo Switch Pokémon games.
In August 2020, Mega Evolution arrived in Pokémon Go with four different Pokémon able to Mega Evolve into five different forms. The feature has expanded to include 40 forms.
Battle system
Gyms and Raids
Players earn experience points for various in-game activities. Players rise in level as they earn experience points, with various features being progressively unlocked through the leveling system. Most notably, at level five, the player acquires the ability to battle at a Pokémon Gym, and they get to decide which of the three color-coded teams,,, or, to join, which act as factions battling for domination of Gyms within the Pokémon Go universe.In June 2017, Niantic announced that Gyms' game mechanics would be revamped for a more teamwork-oriented experience; Gyms were disabled on June 19, 2017, with the new Gyms being made available a few days later with the next application update. As of the update, Gyms included a spinnable component for players to receive in-game items such as Potions and Poké Balls. Additionally, Gyms are capped at holding six Pokémon, all of which must be a different Pokémon in that Gym. Coins are now earned according to the duration that the defending Pokémon survived in a Gym, as opposed to the 10-coin daily gym defender bonus for each Pokémon currently protecting. Legendary, Mythical and Buddy Pokémon cannot be placed in Gyms.
In July 2017, Raid Battles were introduced. Raid Battles consist of players gathering to battle an over-leveled Pokémon located in a Gym. If the Pokémon is defeated, the players gain the opportunity to catch a regular version of it. Raid difficulties range from 1 to 5, with 1 being the least challenging and 5 representing the most challenging. Level 5 raids are exclusive to Legendary Pokémon. The first Legendary Pokémon, Articuno and Lugia, were released on July 22, 2017, after the Go Fest, with Moltres and Zapdos following shortly after. From September to November, the 3 Legendary Beasts, Entei, Raikou, and Suicune, were made available, rotating regions every month. Following their departure, the Legendary Pokémon Ho-Oh appeared in Raid Battles from November 27, 2017, to December 12, 2017. In August 2020, level 3 Mega raids arrived with the introduction of Mega Evolution. At the same time, Level 2 and 4 raids were merged into Level 1 and 3 raids.
In May 2022, Raid Battles were updated to include the addition of Mega Legendary Pokémon, which were turned to 6 stars, the highest in the game currently. The only Pokémon included in these Raids were Mega Latias and Mega Latios.
In October 2022, a new form of raid battle called "Elite Raids" was introduced. Elite Raids contrast from normal raids in several ways, most notably that they can only be battled in person, take a full day to begin, and are extremely challenging, frequently requiring many players to defeat the Pokémon.
In May 2023, another new form of raid battle was introduced, named "Shadow Raids". Shadow Raids can be battled in person and remotely. They award the opportunity to capture a Shadow Pokémon after being defeated. During the battle, the Pokémon may become "enraged", increasing both its attack and defense, but can be reverted to normal using a "Purified Gem". Before May 2025, trainers could only battle Shadow Raids in person.