Pokemon Go update with catch bonuses, revamped gym training and more goes live

Niantic has announced that the company's popular augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go has been updated on both iOS and Android bringing multiple improvements and changes including a restructured gym system, new catch bonuses and more. The update, called 0.41.2 for Android and 1.11.2 for iOS, has introduced a few new significant features including some changes to its gym training mechanism that will now allow players to bring up to six Pokémon to battle.

As previously announced, the update will temporarily adjust the combat power (CP) of the digital critter you're battling against to "generally match your Pokémon's battle capabilities."

"No matter what your level, you can now have an impact on your team's Gym," the Pokémon Go team wrote in a blog post last week. "Walk with your Buddy Pokémon to that nearby landmark and show your Team Leader that you can battle with the best."

The update has also introduced its new medal-based feature that gives players a catch bonus when you earn medals based of snagging certain types of Pokémon. Besides giving you incentive to capture more common pocket monsters like Pidgeys and Rattatas, it will also boost your chances of capturing a rare Pokémon of the same type.

"For example, as you reach a higher tier for the Kindler Medal, your bonus to catch Fire-type Pokémon such as Charmander, Vulpix and Ponyta increases," the Pokémon team explains. "Trainers can work their way to a new tier by catching many Pokémon of the same type. If a Pokémon has multiple types, your bonus will be the average of your bonuses for each type."

The latest update has also added egg and incubator screens that will "periodically" update the distance walked without you having to close and then open the screen again. The developer also fixed several "audio issues" but did not specify any further details. The evolution animation time has also been decreased in the new updates in addition to some other minor fixes.

So far, the reception to the latest update has been mostly positive.

"Gyms are SO much more pleasant to tap on now!" one Reddit user noted in the Pokémon Go subreddit. "No more uncontrollable lag!" Another wrote, "Beyond that, I love that we can finally get XP for training at our gyms - win OR lose. So much more incentive to train and raise the gym level."

However, some did notice a few loading issues with the new update while others said they would have preferred the developer worked on a new tracking system instead.

The Pokémon Go team listed a few release notes and comments regarding the game's latest update: