Pokemon Go officially announced their plans to overhaul their flagging gym system. The gyms, which will be shut down later today in preparation, will be given a major overhaul in the hopes of making the gym gameplay more engaging and interactive for all players. You can catch a quick glimpse of things to come in the video above.
While we knew that some features like raids were coming to Pokemon Go, the app still managed to surprise us with a ton of new features. Both old and new fans of the Pokemon franchise should be pretty excited to see what they have in store.
Videos by ComicBook.com
A ton of new changes are getting rolled out in the coming weeks and we’ve got you covered. Keep on scrolling to see what Pokemon Go has in store:
No More Prestige
Pokemon Go‘s gyms have long used prestige to determine how many Pokemon can occupy the gym at one time. The more prestige a gym has, the more defenders can be used as a gauntlet against other players.
That all changes with this new update. Pokemon Go is doing away with prestiging permanently. Instead – each gym will have 6 slots that can be filled by a single team. The order those Pokemon face trainers are determined by when players put their Pokemon into the gym. So, instead of facing a string of Pokemon with increasing power levels, you can face both weak and strong Pokemon in any order.
Items from Gyms
Gyms will now act similar to PokeStops, in that players can spin a photo disc and collect items from them. No word on whether gyms can now be lured, or if Pokemon close to the gym will appear in the tracking system.
This is a big change in that it’s another opportunity for players to interact with gyms AND it gives players more opportunities to get items to keep playing. Some players have complained that their immediate surroundings only have gyms…which doesn’t exactly help when you need Poke Balls.
New Motivation System
This was one of the features teased in datamines. Pokemon in gyms will now have a “motivation” stat that will gradually decrease over time. The lower a Pokemon’s motivation, the easier it will be for attackers to beat in gym battles.
Players can boost a Pokemon’s motivation by feeding them berries. Any player can feed any Pokemon berries (provided they’re on the same team) so this feature won’t force players to visit gyms that their Pokemon are stationed at on a daily basis.
If a Pokemon’s motivation goes down to 0, the defending Pokemon will automatically vacate the gym the next time it loses in battle.
Gym Badges
Gym badges are coming to Pokemon Go! Players can earn badges for battling, defending, visiting or maintaining a gym by feeding its Pokemon berries. Each gym will have its own separate gym badge that’s shaped like a crystal and can be viewed in the player screen.
Similar to medals, these gym badges can be leveled up for completing certain tasks over and over. Players will also get special items and bonuses for leveling up gym badges, although Pokemon Go declined to give
Raid System
The raid system is probably the biggest addition to Pokemon Go. In raids, gyms will temporarily be taken over by super-powerful Pokemon called Raid Bosses. Up to 20 players from any team can battle a Raid Boss at a time, working together to wear it down and re-take the gym in a five minute time limit. If the Raid Boss is defeated, players will have a chance to catch the Raid Boss for their own collection.
Players can only participate in raids if they have a Raid Pass, which players can obtain by visiting gyms. Players only get one Raid Pass per day for free and can only hold them one at a time.
When a raid starts, all Pokemon will be kicked out of a gym and replaced by a large egg. When the egg hatches, the Raid Boss will appear and the battle will start.
Notably – Raid Bosses do not (at least for the time being) appear to be Legendary Pokemon.
New Items
Players will get a ton of new items for beating Raid Bosses. These Items include:
Technical Machines: Items that can change a Pokemon’s Fast or Charged Move.
Golden Razz Berries: Upgraded Razz Berries that make it a lot easier to catch a wild Pokemon. Golden Razz Berries will also restore a Pokemon’s motivation to 100%.
Rare Candies: Candies that can be given to any Pokemon to power them up or evolve them.
Pokemon Go is also introducing a new paid Premium Raid Pass item that can be bought in-store. Presumably, this Raid Pass will be good for multiple uses.
