Get ready for a revamped Gym experience, cooperative fun with Raid Battles, and more.

Pokémon GO is about to get the biggest update since its launch! Starting soon, Trainers around the world will discover new fun at Gyms and a cool new Raid Battle feature where players can coordinate to take on very powerful Pokémon. Let's take a closer look at these two exciting new features.

Prepare for more exciting Gym battles and more ways to support your team! With this update, you'll be able to get items from Gyms like you do at PokéStops. And how you add Pokémon to a Gym is changing: Gyms will have six permanent slots that can be filled with the controlling team's Pokémon, and each Pokémon assigned to these slots must be unique. Opposing teams will battle the Pokémon in the order they were assigned to the Gym.

A new motivation system will further change how you battle at Gyms. Pokémon defending a Gym will lose motivation as they are defeated in battle. As their motivation decreases, their CP will also temporarily decrease, making them easier to defeat. It's up to you to keep your team's Pokémon motivated by giving them Berries! But if a Pokémon loses all its motivation, it'll return to its Trainer the next time it loses in battle.

New rewards are coming to Trainers when they interact with the many Gyms around the world. Cool Gym Badges demonstrate your accomplishments and your contribution to that Gym's success. As you level up these Badges by battling, giving Berries to Pokémon, and spinning the Photo Disc, you'll get opportunities to earn bonus items by spinning the Photo Disc and increased rewards by participating in Gym battles.

The other big news is the introduction of Raid Battles, cooperative gameplay features that encourage you to work with other Trainers to defeat extremely powerful Pokémon. Gyms all over the world will offer the chance to participate in Raid Battles. However, unlike Gym battles, Trainers on opposing teams can work together to complete them. When you defeat a Pokémon in a Raid Battle, each participating Trainer earns special items as well as the opportunity to catch the Raid Boss. Team up and catch tough Pokémon at Gyms soon with the new cooperative Raid Battle experience!

Before you can battle the Raid Boss, you'll need a Raid Pass. You can get one free Raid Pass per day by visiting a Gym, and you can hold only one at a time. After you use your pass to join the battle, you and up to 20 other Trainers work together to defeat the Raid Boss. If you successfully defeat the Raid Boss within the five-minute time limit, you'll have the chance to catch a stronger-than-normal Pokémon of your own! You'll also receive fantastic rewards, including new items only obtained for defeating a Raid Boss: Rare Candies, Golden Razz Berries, and Fast and Charged Technical Machines. A Rare Candy is an item that turns into the Pokémon's Candy when used on a Pokémon. A Golden Razz Berry will greatly increase your chance to catch a Pokémon you encounter in the wild; it can also be given to a Pokémon assigned to a Gym to fully recover its motivation meter. Technical Machines are items you can use to permanently teach a Pokémon a new Fast Attack or Charged Attack at random.

In preparation for these changes, all Gyms will be disabled in Pokémon GO for a brief time. Once this update has been rolled out in every region, Gyms will come back online. Trainers will be able to begin entering Raid Battles over the next few weeks following the update.

Have fun battling at Gyms and joining up for challenging Raid Battles with Pokémon GO's biggest update—coming soon!