Pokémon Go raises the level cap, adds Gen 6 and more in a huge new update

There’s a massive new update coming to Pokémon Go next month, it’s even got a name: Go Beyond.

The update will see the level cap raised above level 40, the first release of Pokémon from Kalos, a new seasons mechanic, competitive changes, new medals and more. All of the updates begin rolling out Monday, 30th November unless you’re in Australia (and if you’re reading this you probably are) where we will be getting some features early. Just like we got the game early in 2016.

At the moment the game’s level cap is at 40, it’ll now change to 50 but getting there won’t be as easy as just amassing XP. While any XP over 40 you’ve gained already will help there are new tasks that will be required to step all the way up to level 50. Not at 40 yet? There are events on the way to help boost that XP before the update goes live.

All of these changes go live November 30th but Aussies will get them from later today. If you hit level 41 during the test you’ll get a survey asking what you think about it and it could be changed later for the rest of the world.

If you get to level 40 before Thursday, December 31, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. you’ll get a medal as a “legacy” level 40 person and a Gyrados hat.

The other changes to the game include the first batch of Pokémon from the Kalos region from Pokemon X and Pokemon Y. They include the likes of Chespin, Fennekin, Froakie, Bunnelby, Talonflame, Pyroar and more. From Wednesday, December 2, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. to Tuesday December 8, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. local time is when these Pokemon will appear more often.

The game will also adopt “seasons”, every three months different Pokémon will appear in the wild, hatch from eggs and appear in raids. It’ll be based on the real-life seasons so expect some summer Pokémon this December. There’s also changes to Mega Evolutions and how they rotate on a roster and change to the GO Battle League.

Niantic did a handful blog posts detailing the changes, if you’re interested further you can check that out here.

Will these changes get you back in Pokémon Go, or have you been playing all along and looking for more things to do? Let us know in the comments.