Medals in Pokémon GO have a collector’s value for many trainers. We show you the 6 medals that are probably the hardest to earn in gold. Do you have them all?
These are medals: If you go to your statistics in the game, you will also see a long list of medals. It includes, for example, the total number of Pokémon caught or the amount of raids or field research you have completed.
However, some medals require a lot of effort and are quite elaborate.
The 6 medals that are hardest to turn gold
300 tiny Rattata: This medal has been around since the launch of Pokémon GO, and many trainers may still not have it in gold.
You need to catch 300 tiny Rattata. It’s not enough for your Rattata to be XS; your team leader must say something like “Your Rattata is so tiny, I almost overlooked it!”.
Currently, the medal has become much harder, as Rattata has become significantly rarer compared to its release in 2016. However, you have gained an advantage: You can trade tiny Rattata among each other, which will count towards the medal.
At events where Rattata is among the increased spawns, it is sometimes the hidden star.
300 large Magikarp: The large Magikarp are just as difficult to obtain as the tiny Rattata. The medal has been around since release, and you need to catch 300 large Magikarp.
Many trainers haven’t even gotten 400 candies for a Gyarados evolution, but catching 300 XL Magikarp is another whole new challenge.
Outside of events, Magikarp is not that commonly found, and then you also need a bit of luck to catch a large fish. Therefore, you should rather take advantage of events where Magikarp is one of the common Pokémon.
For Magikarp, the same applies as for Rattata: You can also complete the medal through trading.
Win 1000 raids: The medal for 1000 raids is probably one of the most expensive medals to obtain. Here, legendary raids do not count, but only all raids from level 1 to 4.
You need to complete a total of 1000 raids to fully earn the medal. With just the free raid pass, that would take almost 3 years, and you wouldn’t even be able to do a legendary raid.
Anyone who has this medal in gold has probably invested quite a few raid passes into regular raids.
Now during the Corona period, this medal is particularly difficult, as you shouldn’t raid outside with other trainers. However, you can use remote raid passes now.
Take 200 snapshots: With the introduction of GO-Snapshot this medal was added. A total of 200 Pokémon must have jumped into your photo.
Outside of events, it is very rare for the color eagle to appear, and to get this snapshot, you may have to shoot dozens of photos quickly.
It’s somewhat easier during special events. There you can often get 5 guaranteed snapshots per day. Anyone who has been diligent about taking pictures there should be quite far along with the medal, but anyone who has it in gold surely has countless pictures of Pokémon in their gallery.
Catch 26 Unown: The rarest Pokémon in the game also has one of the rarest gold medals. You need to catch 26 different Unown in total to turn this medal gold. Particularly difficult: There are only 28 different Unown.
The Pokémon usually only appears during special events, such as the GO Fest or the Safari Zone and otherwise appears incredibly rarely in the wild.
So if you haven’t been to any of these events, you probably still have something to nibble on with the medal. Anyone who diligently visits such events may already have some Unown. However, particularly rare letters, such as Q or Y, may be missing for many trainers.
Have 100 best buddies: The currently hardest gold medal is the one surrounding buddies. You need to have a total of 100 best buddies to turn it gold.
The path to becoming a best buddy is quite tedious and takes days. Having a total of 100 best buddies is quite a challenge, and so far, probably only a few trainers have this medal in gold.
No one has this medal in gold yet: Regardless of this list, there is another medal that no trainer has yet turned gold. It is the medal where you must defeat Giovanni 20 times.
This is currently not possible, as Giovanni has only appeared 5 times. So you can play as much as you want, but no one can have this medal in gold yet. If you still have a challenge with Giovanni, we recommend the guide on how to best defeat Giovanni.
