Pokémon Go, a game that I dare not poke fun at lest I summon the almighty wrath of Tracy, is about to get a whole lot bigger. In a year where people have been encouraged to stay at home, you’d have thought Niantic’s blockbuster mobile game would be in dangerous waters, but some clever tinkering behind the scenes has helped Pokémon Go stay more relevant than ever before.
With plenty of the game’s content accessible from home, Niantic is readying the title for its biggest update yet in the Go Beyond expansion. The biggest change will be an increase in the level cap, now allowing players to grind their way up to level 50. Each level-up will also require players to complete a number of missions before they ascend a digit further, such as earning six million experience points and waxing four missions to hit level 41 according to Game Informer.
Two of those missions will require you to power up a legendary Pokémon 20 times, and win 30 raids. From there, level 43 to 44 requires 11 million experience points, 30 platinum level unlocks, and defeating numerous trainers across the Great, Ultra, and Master leagues. I don’t play Pokémon Go myself, but judging by how much Gavin and Tracy are booing these notes right now, I’m going to assume that this level-up grind is going to take a heck of a long time to accomplish.
As Tracy pointed out to me, even though players are still waiting for Pokémon from previous generations to make their way into the game, they’ll be sidelined when the Kalos region is opened up on December 2. That region’s starter Pokémon, Chespin, Fennekin, and Froakie, will be out in the wild, as with Pyroar and Fletchling also being added.
Seasons are also being added to the game, which influences which Pokémon you encounter. Lasting around three months each, Pokémon rotation will themed to each season, and each hemisphere on the planet will have its own seasonal schedule. There’ll also be timed events during a season where Mega Pokémon receive a power boost so that players will be encouraged to use them more often.
New region, new Pokémon, and a lot of grinding. Pokémon Go players are going to be busy for quite a while in this latest update.
Last Updated: November 19, 2020
