Despite nearly a decade of gameplay, Pokemon Go‘s mechanics have remained fairly bare-bones compared to the video game franchise the mobile app was based on. Pokemon fans have begged and hoped for developers to consider adding other mechanics to the game, with the requests largely falling on unhearing ears – until Go Fest 2025. After nine years, the game has finally introduced a Bottle Cap Hyper Training system, but the excitement of the addition has been snuffed due to the hurdles required to access it.
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For those new to the deeper mechanics of the main video game franchise, Bottle Caps are used for a special mechanic call Hyper Training. This system, added during Sun and Moon, allowed trainers to raise the IVs, or stats, of their Pokemon team members without the need for breeding. The debut of a stat-boosting feature in Pokemon Go is game-changing, and could finally address the accessibility problems in competitive battling, where Hundos are primarily obtained by those in heavily populated areas who can grind Raids and releases effectively in large groups.
In Pokemon Go, the Golden Bottle Caps were introduced as part of a new type of reward structure. These Go Passes are devlish, locking the majority of content behind painful paywalls. While a typical Deluxe Go Pass will put players back by $8 or the local currency equivilant, special Deluxe Go Passes like the one paired with Ancients Recovered are a painful $20, and that isn’t even the worst part.
Despite the need for this mechanic, Pokemon Go‘s Golden Bottle Caps will never be worth it for the following reasons.
The Most Expensive Stat Reroll in Pokemon Go
If you thought the bundles, boxes, tickets, and extras in Pokemon Go were expensive, the Go Pass costs are on a new level. The Go Pass locks rewards behind “Ranks” that can range between one and 100. All players can access the “basic” Go Pass, but the rewards are laughable, containing mostly Stardust and other uninteresting items. To get the really good stuff, the Deluxe Go Pass is required. This premium version offers some better items, but the grind to get to the higher levels isn’t ideal for most casual players.
This is where things get costly when trying to get the Golden Bottle Cap, which allows players to Hyper Train one Pokemon’s undesirable stats to that of a Hundo. The Golden Bottle Cap, at this time, can only be obtained via the Deluxe Go Pass: Ancient Recovered route. It isn’t automatic either. Players will choke up $20 for the pass, and then have to grind to Rank 100 to obtain it. These ranks are not easy to work through, with the deluxe pass plus even allowing players to skip the first 10 levels to give them a head start if they are willing to pay $25.
In addition to this, the Deluxe Go Pass has a time limit, and will only be active from June 23 through June 29. This only gives players a week to grind all the tasks required to gain ranks in Pokemon Go. For many, they may pay for the pass and never even reach Rank 100, making the purchase for the Golden Bottle Cap a waste.
There are so many things wrong with this mechanic being locked behind paywalls and unrealistic milestone requirements. It is the definition of pay-to-win content, and specifically leaves out younger players, those without the financial means to waste money on a gamble, and anyone unwilling to throw money in a blender to Hundo their favorite buddy. But that’s not even the worst part of how Bottle Caps function.
Golden Bottle Caps Are Designed To Waste Time
At first glance, Golden Bottle Caps seem like a fun and interesting way to make perfect-stat Pokemon more accessible. However, the devil is in the fineprint with this expensive item. Those who manage to actually earn the Golden Bottle Cap in Pokemon Go are in for a nasty surprise, as all it does is unlock “Hyper Training” for the Pokemon it is used on.
Now, in the main series games, Hyper Training doesn’t actually require anything. Once you have the Bottle Cap or Golden Bottle Cap, you trade it in to the required NPC and then select the companion you’d like to spruce up. The exchange is made, stats are improved, and the player goes on their way.
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In Pokemon Go, things are never that simple. The Golden Bottle Cap can be applied to a single Pokemon, and then a series of tasks become available to raise each of the stats: Attack, Defense, and HP. In order to complete these tasks, players must keep the Hyper Training Pokemon as a Buddy and drug it everywhere. They will have to battle with it, walk with it, explore with it, completing inane requirements with no real value for hours of playtime.
Those who fail to complete the required “training” after 365 days will lost the Golden Bottle Cap effects, as the Hyper Training will expire. However, it isn’t clear how long it will actually take to complete the training required for each Pokemon.
Pokemon Go loves to lock things like rewards or bonuses behind task walls. Nearly every paid Shiny Mythical is buried under requirements like “Catch 100 Ghost Types” or “walk until you can’t anymore”. However, with the Golden Bottle Cap, this feels cruel. Players have already paid for the item, spent hours trying to earn it off a Rank reward tier, and now they have to grind even more, just to nudge a few stats over a line. At this point, it would be easier to just go catch the same thing until you get a perfect stat catch.
A Painful Investment With a Time Limit
The worst thing by far about the Golden Bottle Cap in Pokemon Go, and the thing that truly makes it not worth spending a dime on, is the fact that it will expire almost immediately after getting it.
After spending all that money, dumping all that time into grinding for it, the Golden Bottle Cap will expire instantly on June 29 at 11:59 PM if it has not been used. Players won’t be able to hold onto it and use it on a Pokemon they really like or have hunted specifically for use with the cap. They won’t be able to think about how to best apply it to their team. Instead, they must fling it at whatever seems like the best option in the moment, potentially wasting it if they don’t use it correctly.
With items like these, which require so much money and effort, putting an expiration date on them is beyond cruel. It’s mercenary. It shows little to no interest in the effort of the player, and no respect for the money being spent to support the app. There is no reason why the Golden Bottle Cap should expire, and it makes no sense at all. They don’t expire in the main games. Rare items like Master Balls don’t expire in Pokemon Go. This one key fact should be enough to convince players not to waste their money or time and focus on other elements of Go Fest instead.
Pokemon Go has shown time and again how little it cares for its players, but the Deluxe Go Pass and the introduction of the worthless Golden Bottle Cap mechanic are icing on a miserable cake. This feature could have been an amazing way to create inclusion, it could have been a primary drop for all players during Go Fest, it could have been a much-needed peace offering from developers to help create a more equal and fair experience while playing.
Instead, it has become the latest cash grab by an app very willing to lock almost all decent content behind paywalls and microtransactions that just aren’t reasonable for most players. As a longtime fan of Pokemon Go, this is extremely disappointing and may be the final straw that leads me to quit the game for good. There is nothing that could make the Golden Bottle Cap worth it, and if this is how new mechanics will be introduced in the future, there is no reason to hope the game will add content that is free to play for everyone.
For those who attempt to embark on the journey required to obtain a Golden Bottle Cap in Pokemon Go, be aware that the price won’t stop at the Go Pass ticket. Items, time, and energy will also be spent on grinding the ranks required to complete the Deluxe Go Pass before it expires. It should also be noted that most of the drops included in the rank rewards are Candy and Candy XL, so players are paying to spin a wheel on the possibility of obtaining a Golden Bottle Cap and little else. It’s a risky gamble, and not one I would suggest to anyone thinking about participating in upcoming Pokemon Go events.
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Image courtesy of Netflix
