April’s GO Pass is on the way

Pokemon GO has pulled back the curtain on its April GO Pass, giving players a look at the monthly rewards track set to roll out as the game continues its 10th anniversary celebrations. Because one milestone was clearly not enough, Niantic is still stacking seasonal events onto a game that has been doing the most since 2016.

The GO Pass is the monthly progression system introduced after the success of Tour Pass. It lets all players earn rewards for collecting points in-game, with a free track available to everyone and a paid deluxe tier that adds more prizes along the way.

What players can earn

The standard April GO Pass includes:

  • An encounter with Entei
  • Stardust
  • XP
  • Max Particles

The deluxe version adds:

  • A Lucky Trinket
  • A Super Incubator
  • Additional Pokémon encounters

The April GO Pass will run from April 7 at 10 a.m. local time through May 5 at 10 a.m. local time.

Entei headlines the free track

The biggest reward in the April pass is an encounter with the Legendary Pokémon Entei, which can appear shiny. That encounter does not arrive until players reach level 100, so anyone hoping to claim it will need to work through the pass first rather than simply wandering in and collecting a legendary on a lunch break.

Entei has appeared in Pokémon GO before in different ways, but this remains a useful option for players who still do not have one.

Rank bonuses and gift limits

As players climb through the pass, they will unlock milestone bonuses:

  • Rank 25: Open up to 40 Gifts per day, hold 10 additional Gifts, and receive up to 125 Gifts per day from PokéStops and Gyms
  • Rank 50: Double the duration of Daily Adventure Incense
  • Rank 75: More Stardust and XP from hatching Eggs
  • Rank 25, Deluxe Pass: Open up to 50 Gifts per day, hold 20 additional Gifts, and receive up to 150 Gifts per day from PokéStops and Gyms

Yes, April’s big theme is apparently gifts. The game remains committed to turning inventory management into a personality trait.

Deluxe tier details

Players can upgrade to the deluxe GO Pass for $7.99. In addition to the standard rewards, deluxe buyers receive the extra rewards from the premium track.

This month’s deluxe highlights include the Lucky Trinket, a Super Incubator, and more Pokémon encounters. The Lucky Trinket, first introduced in Pokémon GO last summer, turns any Friend into a Lucky Friend. The one tied to the GO Pass expires on May 12 at 11:59 p.m. local time, so it is not something players can tuck away indefinitely and forget about.

Niantic is also offering pricier deluxe options that unlock several ranks right away for players who would rather pay to skip some of the climb.

A stopgap before the April pass begins

Players do not have to wait completely idle for the new pass to start. After the March GO Pass ended, Niantic added GO Pass: A Shockingly Good Time, a limited-time pass focused mainly on Electric-type Pokémon.

That pass is also tied to the long-awaited debut of Mimikyu in Pokémon GO. Players who buy the deluxe version can unlock a Mimikyu top avatar item based on the Pokémon’s disguised form.

Mimikyu has been teased for years. A Mimikyu-inspired costumed Pikachu arrived back in 2021, and avatar items based on Mimikyu showed up long before the Ghost-type itself was actually catchable. The game, as always, enjoys arriving fashionably late to its own party.