Pokémon GO Leveling Update: Changes & Everything You Need To Know

Starting on October 15, 2025, Pokémon GO is introducing a new Trainer Level system that redefines and changes much of what player experience was tied to before. This includes a new cap for you to strive for, as well as a variety of fresh cosmetic rewards for reaching higher tiers of play. With your existing Level being reshuffled too, it's easy to get confused by everything in this sudden update.

All rewards from Trainer Levels 40-50 are disappearing when this update goes live, as all cosmetics tied to previous experience milestones are being retired. Unlike Ditto Disguises in Pokémon GO, this isn't an update that will keep changing as time goes by. Thankfully, once these new Trainer Level goals and gifts start, they are likely to remain as they are.

Pokémon GO Allows Trainers To Reach A New Level Cap

Over 30 More Tiers For Continuing Your Pokémon Journey

The biggest news from this Pokémon GO update is that trainers now have a Level Cap of 80 instead of 50, giving them 30 more milestones to reach. This comes alongside a complete rebalancing of your current Trainer Level, reassessing what tier you qualify for based on how much XP you've gained throughout your playtime.

Despite heavy changes, no player will drop in Trainer Level following the update, but anyone at Level 23 or higher is almost guaranteed to jump up at least one new Level.

With the new Level Cap, players also gain new benefits tied to various Levels they reach in-game. For example, you can get a free Daily Adventure Egg once you hit Level 15, hatching a Pokémon to earn 10,000 XP in the process. While you can only incubate one of these Eggs in Pokémon GO one at a time, they don't count toward your normal Egg storage and hatch fast after 1km of distance traveled.

Login rewards come with a number of brand-new level-up gifts granted to players for increasing their Trainer Level over time. Items that increase your storage of Pokémon, Items, Gifts, and Postcards come with the higher Level Cap too, giving you more reasons to go above and beyond while earning XP.

Every Reward From Reaching New Levels In Pokémon GO

Earn New Items For Your Avatar At Various Milestones

With over 30 new Trainer Levels comes over 30 new rewards to earn once you start climbing toward the Level Cap introduced in this update. However, it takes a significant amount of XP to get to new Levels, meaning it might take a while to gain the items you want.

You gain a reward every five Trainer Levels, with each giving you a cosmetic for your in-game Avatar. This pattern only lasts until you hit Level 70, where you start earning more rewards the further you climb.

Much like how you would challenge Team Rocket in Pokémon GO, you have to complete Special Research in addition to gaining XP to level-up your Trainer. These come in the form of Level-Up Research, which can include a number of different goals.

The following table has every possible level-up reward for your Trainer, including what Level you need to reach to gain them:

The total amount of XP you have to get to secure these rewards can be tricky, but completing challenges, doing Research, defeating Raid Pokémon, and beating other Trainers can help you farm enough experience to rise through the ranks quickly. For context, here is how much XP you need to reach certain milestones of your Trainer Level:

• Level 10: 48,000 total XP
• Level 20: 258,000 total XP
• Level 30: 1,083,000 total XP
• Level 40: 3,953,000 total XP
• Level 50: 12,753,000 total XP
• Level 60: 34,353,000 total XP
• Level 70: 85,853,000 total XP
• Level 80: 203,353,000 total XP

Defeating the strongest Pokémon in Pokémon GO can help you earn tons of XP fast, so never be afraid to take on harder opponents to raise your Trainer Level. Finishing missions and participating in events can also help you advance, especially if they are offering XP-specific bonuses for a limited time.

All Level Curve Adjustments & New Update Features

Players Keep Former Progress And Gain Multiple Benefits

All XP you've previously earned will be applied to the new leveling curve, meaning that some players will see their Trainer Level change drastically. For example, the new leveling curve determines that someone with 90 million XP is at least Level 70. For those with this XP value that were at the previous Level 50 cap, they will see their Level update.

Even though players can no longer earn Avatar items from previous Trainer Level reward offerings, they may keep any they've already earned.

Another big change in the update is the increased chance for Lucky Friends once you hit Level 70 with your Trainer. If you have achieved a "Best Friends" level with another Trainer, you have much higher odds of being Lucky Friends with them, a trait once as rare as some Shiny Pokémon in Pokémon GO are.

This series of changes may seem jarring at first, but the introduction of new rewards can be encouraging for players looking to gain benefits from their long-stored XP. Even for new players of Pokémon GO, a higher Trainer Level cap through this update offers greater incentive to play, with rare cosmetic items adding new style to their fresh Avatars.