You’ll be occasionally interrupted by full-screen prompts telling you about a Medal you’ve just unlocked as you play the game - not unlike the full-screen prompts you get when you increase a Trainer level - with the Medal tier you’ve just unlocked. These Medals are not only stat-trackers, which record everything you do in the game - from the distance walked to the number of Pokémon Types you have caught - but are also give you a variety of bonuses and rewards. In October 2016, earning type-based medals offered a Catch Bonus, while in November 2020, Platinum Medals - a fourth tier - for certain categories would help unlock certain Trainer Levels 40 and above was introduced as part of the Go Beyond update and Season of Celebration. On this page: The Medals screen is sorted into two sets; the upper set displaying ’traditional’ Medal goals - such as distance walked and how many big Magikarp you’ve caught - which don’t give you any bonuses, and the lower set grouping together all the Medals by Type, which reward Catch Bonuses. The higher the Medal, the stronger the Catch Bonus for that Type; Bronze is worth +1, Silver is +2 and Gold is +3. If the Pokemon you’re facing has multiple types - such as the Flying / Normal Type Pidgey and its evolutions - then it’ll take the average of those two Catch Bonuses. The question is, plus three what exactly? Well, that’s a bit of a mystery, and it currently has the Pokémon Go community scratching their heads. The leading theory is it’s a percentage increase, which might not sound a lot, but if it’s for the base capture rate before bonuses from using more powerful Pokéballs and Razz Berrys are applied, it could be quite powerful for likes of Dragonite which are inherently tough to capture. But in general, the Catch Bonus means the more Pokémon you catch, the higher your chances of catching Pokémon will be in the future, which is particularly handy when even low-level Pokémon become hard to grab at higher levels. Thanks to the Silph Road subreddit (virodoran and ginji in particular) for helping us flesh this list. Type-specific Medals with Catch Bonuses: Most of these have no impact on the game itself, though some are requirements for unlocking specific Avatar equipment and certain Trainer Levels 40 and above. Thanks to the Silph Road subreddit (virodoran and ginji in particular) for helping us flesh this list, which is written in the order these Medals appear in your Trainer profile. ** This originally debuted as “Train at Gyms”, but in the summer of 2017, the feature was revamped to remove that feature. This medal was later reintroduced in December 2018 with the introduction of Trainer Battles. The Season of Mythical Wishes continues with the Winter Holiday event, which has brought Mega Glalie to Pokémon Go. Don’t forget to partake in the new Go Battle League season. Elsewhere, be sure to use Daily Adventure Incense for the chance of encountering Galarian Articuno, Galarian Zapdos and Galarian Moltres.
