Pokémon GO medals guide — every medal explained with tips

Pokémon GO has dozens of medals covering everything from walking distance to catching specific types, battling, trading, and hatching eggs. Most players ignore medals until they hit the high levels — but the type catch bonuses from Gold and Platinum medals are useful every single day, and from level 71 to 80 you need a specific number of Platinum medals per level.

Medals have four tiers: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum (Platinum was added in 2020). Below is every major medal category with how to earn it efficiently.

Jogger — walking distance

The Jogger medal tracks your total walking distance in km. It builds passively just from playing normally — every Adventure Sync walk, egg hatching session, and buddy candy trip counts. The Platinum tier requires 10,000 km total, which sounds enormous but adds up over years of play. You cannot rush this one — just keep playing.

Jogger

Collector — total Pokémon caught

The Collector medal counts every Pokémon you catch, period. It builds automatically as you play. Events with boosted spawn rates (GO Fest, Community Days, Spotlight Hours) are where you make the biggest gains. The Platinum tier requires catching 50,000 Pokémon total — achievable after a few years of consistent play.

Collector

Pokédex medals — register Pokémon from each region

There is a separate medal for each generation of Pokémon: Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, Galar, Hisui, and Paldea. Each medal tracks how many Pokémon from that region you have registered in your Pokédex. To fully progress these medals you need to actively catch and evolve Pokémon from each generation — not just catch them, but complete full evolution lines.

Regional exclusives are often the hardest part of regional Pokédex medals — you may need to trade with someone from another country for the ones that don't spawn in your area.

Johto

Hoenn

Sinnoh

Unova

Kalos

Alola

Galar

Hisui

Paldea

Bulbasaur (Kanto)

Chikorita (Johto)

Treecko (Hoenn)

Turtwig (Sinnoh)

Snivy (Unova)

Chespin (Kalos)

Rowlet (Alola)

Grookey (Galar)

Pikachu Fan — catch Pikachu variants

The Pikachu Fan medal tracks how many different Pikachu you've caught, including all costume hat variants released at events. Since new Pikachu hats appear at nearly every major event (GO Fest, GO Tour, seasonal events), this medal is an ongoing one. Missing older hats means trading or waiting for a re-run.

Pikachu Fan

Pikachu

Raichu

Youngster & Fisherman — size-based medals

The Youngster medal requires catching Pokémon that are extra small (XS weight), and the Fisherman requires catching Pokémon that are extra large (XL weight). Size is random per encounter. The most targeted approach for Youngster is Rattata — small Rattata are famous for it. For Fisherman, large Magikarp (the original XL target) and large Goldeen are the classic options. You can see a Pokémon's size tag in its detail screen.

Youngster

Fisherman

Rattata (Youngster)

Magikarp (Fisherman)

Goldeen (Fisherman)

Type catch medals — these give daily catch bonuses

There is one medal per Pokémon type (17 in total). These are among the most practically useful medals in the game: reaching Gold gives a small catch rate bonus for all Pokémon of that type, and Platinum gives a larger bonus. If you regularly struggle to catch a certain type (Dragon, Ghost, Ice), prioritising that medal directly improves your daily catch success.

The type medals are divided below by how difficult they are to progress — easy types spawn abundantly everywhere, while hard types essentially require event play to reach Platinum.

Easy type medals — progress naturally with normal play

• •Schoolkid (Normal) — Pidgey, Rattata, Eevee, Snorlax — Normal-types are everywhere. One of the easiest Platinum medals
• •Bird Keeper (Flying) — Most bird Pokémon are Flying-type — Pidgey, Wingull, Taillow spawn constantly. Easy Platinum
• •Bug Catcher (Bug) — Caterpie, Weedle, Wurmple, Spinarak — abundant in parks and grassy areas. Fast Platinum
• •Swimmer (Water) — One of the most common types globally — Water Festival events are an enormous boost. Easy Platinum near water
• •Gardener (Grass) — Oddish, Bellsprout, Sunkern, Chikorita — Grass Pokémon are common in most environments. Steady progress
• •Rocker (Electric) — Pikachu, Magnemite, Voltorb spawn regularly. Electric-themed events make Platinum straightforward

Schoolkid (Normal)

Bird Keeper (Flying)

Bug Catcher (Bug)

Swimmer (Water)

Gardener (Grass)

Rocker (Electric)

Rattata (Normal)

Pidgey (Flying)

Caterpie (Bug)

Squirtle (Water)

Bulbasaur (Grass)

Pikachu (Electric)

Medium type medals — progress with targeted play

• •Black Belt (Fighting) — Machop, Mankey, Meditite — decent spawn rate. Machop Community Days and Fighting-type events push this significantly
• •Punk Girl (Poison) — Nidoran, Ekans, Gastly, Grimer all count. Many Poison-types overlap with other types so they appear in various event pools
• •Psychic (Psychic) — Abra, Slowpoke, Drowzee — Psychic Spectacular events are the biggest single boost. Otherwise steady but slow
• •Fairy Tale Girl (Fairy) — Clefairy, Snubbull, Ralts spawn reasonably often. Valentine's Day events are a reliable Fairy boost each year
• •Ruin Maniac (Ground) — Sandshrew, Diglett, Cubone — less common but appear in multiple event pools. Sandstorm events help
• •Kindler (Fire) — Fire-types are rarer in the wild. Community Days featuring fire starters and dedicated fire events are essential for Platinum
• •Delinquent (Dark) — Poochyena, Murkrow, Sneasel — Dark-types are uncommon in the wild. Halloween events and Dark-themed GO Fest habitats are the main source
• •Depot Agent (Steel) — Magnemite, Beldum, Aron — Steel spawns are uncommon. Beldum Community Day, GO Fest Habitat weeks, and Pokémon GO Tour events are the main opportunities

Black Belt (Fighting)

Punk Girl (Poison)

Psychic (Psychic)

Fairy Tale Girl (Fairy)

Ruin Maniac (Ground)

Kindler (Fire)

Delinquent (Dark)

Depot Agent (Steel)

Machop (Fighting)

Ekans (Poison)

Abra (Psychic)

Clefairy (Fairy)

Sandshrew (Ground)

Charmander (Fire)

Hard type medals — events are essential for Platinum

• •Dragon Tamer (Dragon) — Dratini, Bagon, Gible, Deino — Dragon-types are rare in the wild. Dragon Week events and Community Days (Gible, Deino, Bagon CDs) are when you make real progress. Platinum takes years without event focus
• •Hex Maniac (Ghost) — Gastly, Misdreavus, Shuppet — Ghost-types barely appear outside Halloween events. Plan to do most of your Ghost grinding every October
• •Skier (Ice) — Swinub, Snorunt, Snover — Ice-types are rare except during Winter Holiday events. Swinub Community Day is historically the biggest Ice spike
• •Hiker (Rock) — Geodude, Onix, Larvitar — Rock-types are uncommon generally but Adventure Week events reliably flood Rock-type spawns. Worth saving Lucky Eggs for Adventure Week

Dragon Tamer (Dragon)

Hex Maniac (Ghost)

Skier (Ice)

Hiker (Rock)

Dratini (Dragon)

Gastly (Ghost)

Swinub (Ice)

Geodude (Rock)

Scientist — evolve Pokémon

The Scientist medal counts total evolutions. The Platinum tier requires 4,000 evolutions — a big number that takes sustained effort. The key strategy is to combine evolution sessions with Lucky Egg windows: every evolution you do for XP purposes simultaneously progresses the Scientist medal. Never evolve outside a Lucky Egg if you can avoid it. Cheap 12-candy evolutions (Pidgey, Caterpie, Weedle) are the most efficient way to bulk up this medal.

Scientist

Eevee

Pidgey

Caterpie

Magikarp

Breeder — hatch eggs

The Breeder medal counts total egg hatches. To maximise progress: use your Infinite Incubator on 2km eggs constantly (most hatches per km walked), buy or earn Super Incubators for rarer eggs when you want specific Pokémon, and focus hatching during events with reduced egg distances (2km eggs becoming 1km for example). Hatch Days are the single best window — eggs hatch at a fraction of normal distance.

Breeder

Pichu

Togepi

Igglybuff

Smoochum

Backpacker & Sightseer — PokéStop visits

Backpacker tracks total PokéStop spins. It builds automatically as you play — your daily commute, walks, and event attendance all count. Events with increased PokéStop interaction bonuses or extra spin distance speed this up.

Sightseer tracks spins at PokéStops you've never visited before. To progress this medal you need to actively explore new areas — different neighbourhoods, other cities, or holiday locations. It's the one medal that genuinely requires travel to reach Platinum.

Backpacker

Sightseer

Battle Girl & Champion — gym battles and raids

Battle Girl tracks total gym battles won. Champion (or similar) tracks total raids won. Raid Hour (every Wednesday evening) and Raid Days are where you stack the most raid wins in the shortest time. All raid tiers count — 1-star and 3-star raids are solo-able and can be done rapidly. Remote raids are valid for both medals.

Battle Girl

Champion

Battle Legend

Machamp

Mewtwo

Rayquaza

Ace Trainer — power up and train

The Ace Trainer medal tracks powering up Pokémon and training at gyms held by your team. Powering up Pokémon you use frequently (raid attackers, PvP team) naturally progresses this. The gym training portion requires leaving Pokémon in friendly gyms and battling there — less commonly pursued but relevant when checking level 71+ requirements.

Ace Trainer

Pokémon Ranger — complete Field Research

The Pokémon Ranger medal counts Field Research tasks completed. The easiest way to progress it: always have an active task, complete one per day for the weekly Research Breakthrough stamp, and during events where tasks reward event Pokémon you'll naturally complete many more. Research tasks also give XP, making this a reliable passive earner on both fronts.

Hero & Ultra Hero — defeat Team GO Rocket

Hero tracks total Team GO Rocket Grunts and Leaders defeated. Ultra Hero tracks defeats of Giovanni specifically. Grunts appear at dark PokéStops and in hot air balloons — you can chain them rapidly during Rocket takeover events. Leaders (Arlo, Cliff, Sierra) and Giovanni appear after collecting Mysterious Components and Super Rocket Radars. Giovanni only appears during special research events, so check the in-game news when a new Team GO Rocket season starts.

Hero

Ultra Hero

Purifier — purify Shadow Pokémon

The Purifier medal tracks total Shadow Pokémon purified. Purifying costs Stardust and candy but gives a guaranteed IV boost (+2 to each stat) and reduces power-up costs by 10%. During Rocket takeover events, Grunts drop Shadow Pokémon rapidly — bulk-defeating Grunts then purifying the common ones (Rattata, Zubat, Drowzee) is the fastest way to progress this medal.

Purifier

Best Buddy & Idol — buddy activities

Best Buddy tracks how many Pokémon you have reached Best Buddy status with (400 hearts). Idol tracks total buddy hearts earned across all Pokémon. The most efficient way to earn hearts: take snapshots, play together, walk, battle, and feed berries daily. Adventure Sync walking counts at all times. Swap buddies regularly once one hits Best Buddy to spread progress across your collection.

Best Buddy

Idol

Wayfarer — review PokéStop nominations

The Wayfarer medal tracks agreements in Pokémon GO's PokéStop nomination review system (Niantic Wayfarer). You earn progress by reviewing and agreeing with other reviewers on nominations. Access requires reaching level 40. This is the only medal that requires activity outside the main Pokémon GO app — it won't progress from in-game play alone.

Wayfarer

Gentleman — trades

The Gentleman medal counts total Pokémon trades completed. Even cheap 100-Stardust standard trades count — so event trading days where Stardust costs are halved are perfect for stacking trades efficiently. Trading with Best Friends is cheapest, but any trade counts regardless of friendship level.

Gentleman

Pilot — trade distance

The Pilot medal tracks the total distance between you and the people you trade with (based on where each Pokémon was originally caught). Remote trading with players from other countries counts enormous distances per trade. Coordinating a trade with a friend from a different continent can give thousands of km per trade — far faster than only trading locally.

Pilot

GO Battle League medals

GBL medals track wins and rank progress in each league (Great League, Ultra League, Master League). Each season resets rank, giving a fresh opportunity. Winning battles is the only way to progress these — there's no shortcut. Focusing on one league per season is more efficient than splitting between all three.

Gardevoir

Salamence

Giratina

Medals required for levels 71–80

From level 71 to 80, each level requires both XP and a specific number of Platinum medals — the number increases with each level. This makes the medal grind directly tied to how fast you can level in the late game. You can be at the XP requirement for your next level and still be blocked waiting on medals.

The hardest Platinum medals to earn are Dragon Tamer, Hex Maniac (Ghost), Skier (Ice), and Depot Agent (Steel) — all event-dependent. If you are approaching level 70 and haven't started these, prioritise them at the next relevant event. Check your exact requirements in-game: tap your trainer avatar → the level bar at the top.

Which medals to prioritise

• •Type catch medals first — Gold and Platinum give a daily catch bonus — most impactful for everyday play
• •Start event-dependent types early — Dragon, Ghost, Ice, Steel, and Fire need event play — don't leave them until you're stuck at 70+
• •Combine Scientist with XP sessions — Every Lucky Egg evolution session simultaneously progresses the Scientist medal
• •Use Hatch Days for Breeder — Reduced distance events dramatically speed up egg hatches — save incubators for these
• •Check level 71+ requirements in-game — The exact Platinum medal count per level is shown on your trainer profile — check it and plan accordingly