Pokemon Go’s First Named Update Go Beyond Arrives Later This Month

Niantic is adding a heaping helping of new content to Pokemon Go with the mobile phenomenon’s first named update.

The Go Beyond update is here to shake up the tail end of 2020 and give users ways to interact with the game now that it’s getting colder outside and we’re still not rid of the coronavirus pandemic — but at least we can spend time outside walking around.

This is a content drop meant to reward regular players with a reason to keep pushing as well as invite newbies or more casual players to jump into the game. Overall, it certainly seems like an enticing way to keep players occupied. It’s set to debut in just a few weeks at the end of November and will continue rolling out in a series of stages going forward.

Go Beyond will include some staggering changes. For one, the game will now be split into three-month long sessions that are referred to as “seasons.” The season in play at the moment will be based on whatever real-world season is happening at present based on your geographic location. These seasons will ultimately indicate what Pokemon are available for you, and some monsters will be up for grabs in certain forms during each season.

The first season will be the Season of Celebration, and it will start on December 1. It means Kalos region-specific Pokemon will be available in the wild, and there will be special holiday-themed celebrations going on throughout the countdown to Pokemon’s 25th anniversary in February 2021.

But seasons aren’t the only thing that are changing in Pokemon Go. The Go Battle League will also introduce several alterations going forward as well, namely the number of ranks in going from 10 to 24. The top 4 ranks will be assigned names and badges: Ace, Veteran, Expert, and Legend. These seasons will take place alongside the aforementioned seasons in the real world as well, mirroring a similar pace as the regular game-centric seasons.

Finally, the Level Cap will increase from 40 to 50. Level 40 players can jump to level 50, but they’ll need to complete both research and XP tasks on the way there. Here are the level up tasks, straight from Niantic:

• Level 41: Catching Quests
• Level 42: Evolution Quests
• Level 43: Gym, Raid & Medal Quests
• Level 44: Trainer Battle Quests
• Level 45: Team GO Rocket Battle quests
• Level 46: Field Research, Egg Hatching & Go Snapshot quests
• Level 47: Harder Battle quests
• Level 48: Buddy Pokemon Quests
• Level 49: Trainer Friendship Quests
• Level 50: General Mastery Quests (Legendary Pokemon, Excellent Throws, Battle challenges, etc)

For trainers who are level 40 already or hit it before the end of 2020, a special title, Legacy 40 Trainer, will be awarded. There’s also a series of special avatar rewards and ab a badge to wear proudly.

There’s a lot of changes currently coming to Pokemon Go. It’s time to start gearing up for some serious grinding.