Overview
- Niantic and The Pokémon Company released the update on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, enabling the Explorer Gadget to attempt catches and spin PokéStops while the app is open.
- The Explorer Gadget is available to Trainers at level 20 and above and can be activated from the map or the Key Items section of the Item Bag.
- A pink Poké Ball icon now marks Pokémon and PokéStops the gadget is handling, and players can tap those icons to manually interact and override the gadget’s action.
- The update adds user interface improvements including an updated catch summary, a dedicated Appraise button on Pokémon pages, and refreshed visuals for PokéStops and encounter rings.
- Niantic adjusted Power Spot behavior to stop triggering special wild encounters after certain actions, and the gadget still will not catch species that are not already registered in a player’s Pokédex, signaling ongoing, incremental tuning rather than sweeping gameplay changes.