Pokémon GO details revealed from field tests

Important note: All of this information comes from extracted game data, and therefore may not be 100% accurate. Some information may be highly speculative and subject to change. Take everything with a grain of salt.

Thanks to Silph Road on Reddit for this new wealth of info!

Pokémon Gyms

• Once a Trainer reaches a high enough Trainer Level, they will be asked to join one of the three teams (Red, Blue, or Yellow). This will earn players a “Gym Membership.” Profiles will be public and you may be able to see others in your team/gym.

• Once you have a Gym Membership, all “friendly” Gyms become open for training. Gyms belonging to a different team become “enemy” Gyms that you may battle in.

• Approaching a “friendly” gym gives you the option to deploy or train Pokémon. Length of training is unclear but there is a “Training Meter.”

• Experience and Gym Points (GP) are earned from training. It’s unclear if GP is still currently being used, or if it’s leftover data from past versions of the game.

• Gyms have levels as well, and gain “prestige” as they level up. As they gain prestige, they move up “tiers”; this allows them to have more spots for Pokémon in their “team-to-beat.”

• Prestige can be affected by the number of Pokémon a challenger beats.

• Gym Leaders are present, and set the order of Pokémon that challengers will battle. Leaders are suspected to be actual players, as indications of crowns on profiles suggest leadership.

• There appears to be a “Rank” in correlation to Gym Badges, unrelated to the medals mentioned in an earlier update.

Battles

• When you approach a Gym, you select a team to battle with and face the Leader. Once you’ve selected a team, you may outfit them with items to optimize them for battle.

• Battles can take place in AR, but this is optional.

• Battles are performed in rounds, and are time based. It is possible to run out of time, however time bonuses can be earned if you have allies with you.

• Pokémon have two stats at play: Health (HP) and Energy (stamina).

• You fight with one of your selected Pokémon at a time, and only attack one enemy Pokémon at a time. Once defeated, you advance to the next Pokémon.

• There appears to be three options in battle: Dodge, Items, or Attack. Dodging an attack uses up Energy. After attacking, a Pokémon needs to re-target.

• Using your finger and a crosshair, you can control what actions to perform as well as charge your attacks.

• Every Pokémon has a signature move that you can charge, or a quick attack. It appears that some of the moves in the game are upgraded or replaced as your trainer level rises.

• As a defending Gym Leader, you can set the number of charged or quick attacks for Pokémon to perform, as well as what Pokémon to target from the opposing team.

• There are attributes attached to Pokémon moves, such as power or accuracy, but it’s unclear if these are currently at play.

• Type advantages and other attack multipliers are hinted at in the game’s code.

Catching Pokémon

• A higher catch-rate Poké Ball may make the crosshairs in the game physically larger as well as increasing the probability of catching a Pokémon.

• While there is no evidence supporting battling wild Pokémon, the wild Pokémon is able to attack; it’s suspected that this is used to drain a Trainer’s energy until they are forced to flee. Evidence of the ability to use berries has also been found.

• There’s appears to be what’s known as a “spin throw,” which has an effect on the probability of a capture.

• Bonuses are offered for the “First Catch of the Day” daily.

• Fleeing an encounter is possible.

• You are able to release a caught Pokémon.

Poké Stops

• Similar to Poké Mart, Poké Stops dispense a number of things from Items and Gems, to even EXP and Eggs.

• Poké Stops are aware of the day-night cycle, implying changes in offered items, etc.

• There is a cooldown period after using a Poké Stop.

Items

• The previously mentioned Food category of items causes “growth,” though the details surrounding this are still unknown.

• Items can be bought with Gems or acquired at Poké Stops.

• Item availability seems to be affected by Trainer Level and the item’s own frequency.

• It appears that certain items have different attributes as well: some items may be better used at night, while others are marked as “heavy” or allow “multi-throw.”

Pokédex

• There’s a bounty of information on each Pokémon offered in the Pokédex. Standard stats such as Number Seen, Number Captured, Has Encountered, Has Captured, Has Evolution Shards, and Has Evolution Stones are offered in the Pokédex.

• Standard individual stats for Pokémon are offered as well, such as height, weight, and descriptions.

• A ton of Pokémon GO specific information will also be in the Pokédex under each individual Pokémon. This information includes: CP, Move 1, Move 2, DeployedFortID, OwnerName, IsEgg, EggKmWalkedTarget, EggKmWalkedStart, Origin, HeightM, WeightKg, IndividualAttack, IndividualDefense, IndividualStamina.

• The details surrounding some of the more obscure stats are still unknown.

Pokémon Eggs

• The Egg Bag shows a capacity for 500 Pokémon Eggs.

• There is a progress bar for each individual egg that shows how many kilometers have been walked for each one.

Trading

• Trading appears to be limited to a radius within your location, or a Gym location.

• There is also a Search which allows you to look for eligible traders.

• You may make or receive requests, and the game will poll for responses until you receive an offer of declination.