The October update for "Pokémon GO" has altered the gym training system, but it also gave a purpose to the medals in the game. Medals used to be ordinary achievements with no function, but they now grant catch bonuses that help players catch some of the more elusive and powerful Pokémon in the game.

As reported by Nintendo Life, catching more of a certain Pokémon type will grant the player medals. One example listed is earning a bronze "Kindler" medal, attained by capturing 10 Fire-type Pokémon. If the player catches 10 Bug-type Pokémon, they'll earn the bronze "Bug Catcher" medal.

If the player manages to capture 50 of a Pokémon, type they'll earn the silver medal. If they capture 200 of a certain type, they'll earn the gold medal. Given that there are 17 types in the game, there are 17 different medals that can be earned, and each medal type has a bronze, silver, and gold tier.

Earning the bronze medal will give one additional point used in catching Pokémon of that type. A silver medal gives a two-point bonus, and the gold medal grants a three-point bonus. If the Pokémon the player is trying to catch has two types, such as Charizard which is a Pokémon under the Flying and Fire types, the game will take the average bonus of both and grant that to the use.

It is pointed out in the report that the exact formula on how these catch bonuses help, but it is confirmed that the higher the bonus, the easier it is to catch a Pokémon.

According to the report, this will become more useful for high-level players. One aspect of the game is that the higher the player's level is, the harder it becomes to catch rare Pokémon, even when the PokéBall is thrown perfectly on the reticule. With this new catch bonus feature, a player will have a higher chance of catching rare Pokémon with high CP.