About Pogodex

Last updated: May 2026 · Author: Marcus K., Editor-in-Chief

Pogodex is an independent Pokémon GO Pokédex, raid guide, and player-tools resource for the millions of trainers worldwide who play Niantic’s location-based Pokémon mobile game. We publish hands-on raid counters, GO Battle League tier lists for Great League, Ultra League, and Master League, IV calculator tools, Community Day breakdowns, Spotlight Hour guides, Shadow Pokémon analysis, Mega Evolution priority rankings, and a complete Pokédex with verified stats, moves, and evolution requirements.

We are not Niantic. We are not Nintendo. We are not The Pokémon Company. Pogodex is an unofficial fan site, built and run by long-time Pokémon GO players who use the game daily and write the kind of granular, source-verified analysis that helps a casual trainer decide whether to power up an Umbreon and helps a Master League grinder pick the right Mega for the meta. The full trademark position is on our Trademark Notice page.

How this site started

Pogodex was founded in summer 2020. Pokémon GO was at one of its peak moments — remote raids had just been introduced in response to pandemic restrictions, the trainer base was growing again, and the existing community resources were either slow to update, hidden behind cluttered ad layouts, or focused exclusively on competitive PvP at the expense of the casual majority.

The original goal was simple: build a clean, fast Pokémon GO database that updated quickly when new Pokémon, new moves, or new events were added; that explained the math behind CP, IVs, attack/defense/HP stats, and damage formulas rather than just spitting out numbers; and that wrote raid and PvP guides in plain language for trainers who do not have time to read a 4,000-word essay before deciding which Pokémon to invest stardust in.

Six years later, that is still the brief. The Pokédex has expanded to cover all generations available in Pokémon GO. The raid guides cover every Tier 1 through Tier 5 boss in the current rotation. The PvP tier lists are updated within 48 hours of every move-pool rebalance. The Community Day and Spotlight Hour archive goes back to 2020.

What we publish

Editorial content on Pogodex falls into the following core categories:

Pokédex entries — complete species pages with base stats, type, available moves, evolution chain, current shiny rate (where known), and our hands-on assessment of where the species fits in the current meta.
Raid guides — for every Tier 1, Tier 3, Tier 5, and Mega raid in the current rotation, with verified counters, weather boosts, and minimum trainer recommendations.
GO Battle League tier lists — updated for Great League, Ultra League, Master League, and seasonal Cup formats. We rank by win rate, role flexibility, and accessibility (because a Pokémon you cannot get is not actually meta).
IV calculator and tools — web-based Pokémon GO IV calculator, CP-at-level lookup, stardust cost calculator, candy-to-XL projection.
Event coverage — Community Day analysis, Spotlight Hour value assessments, GO Fest schedules, special research breakdowns, ticketed event recommendations.
Long-form analysis — meta deep-dives, Mega Evolution priority rankings, Shadow Pokémon worth-it analysis, Best Buddy stat boost interactions, the kind of pieces that take a week to write because they require a week of testing.

Who runs Pogodex

The editorial team is small and stable. Marcus K. is the editor-in-chief and senior PvP analyst; he has been competing in GO Battle League since the format launched, has reached Legend rank in multiple seasons, and runs a regional raid coordination Discord that organizes 200+ trainers for legendary raid hours. Aria T. is the data and stats editor; she comes from a software-engineering background and is responsible for verifying every numerical figure on the site against the PokeMiners game master archive and Niantic’s official assets. Kai N. is the community and events editor; he covers Community Days, Spotlight Hours, GO Fest, and seasonal events, including in-person field testing at GO Fest each year.

Pogodex is published by Giovanni Picaro, who founded the site and remains its publisher and the responsible legal entity. Giovanni is not the editorial voice of the site — the in-game analysis is done by the players — but he handles the business, technical, and operational side of running an independent fan publication.

Full bios are on Meet the Team.

What we believe about Pokémon GO content

Five principles shape what we publish.

First, tested in-game, not theoretical. A raid counter that “should work” on paper is not the same as a counter that has actually beaten the boss in a duo with documented setup. We test before we publish.

Second, source-verified data. Stats, base power, and moves come from the game’s actual data files (cross-referenced against PokeMiners’ public archive) and are checked again whenever Niantic announces a balance update. We do not estimate; we look it up. The full sourcing framework is on our Sources & Citations page.

Third, the editorial wall is real. Affiliate relationships and advertising do not influence which Pokémon we recommend or which counters we list. The full statement is on our Editorial Standards page.

Fourth, respect for the player’s stardust. Stardust is the limiting resource for most trainers. When we recommend powering up a Pokémon, we mean it; we are not chasing keyword volume on “best Pokémon GO Pokémon” listicles.

Fifth, play within the rules. Pogodex does not promote, endorse, or facilitate any practice that violates Niantic’s Terms of Service — specifically GPS spoofing, third-party software that reads game data, multi-accounting, or account-sharing. The site is for trainers who play the game.

Where we test

We are deliberately specific about test conditions because game guidance that does not specify context can be misleading. Our hands-on testing is performed across:

Marcus’s account — trainer level 50, multiple max-level Mega Evolutions, deep PvP roster across all three core leagues.
Aria’s account — trainer level 48, focus on PvE raid testing, full type-coverage roster.
Kai’s account — trainer level 47, event-focused, second account used for duo and trio raid testing.
Regional raid Discord — ~200 trainers, used to verify duo/trio raid claims with multiple teams.

When a guide’s advice depends on roster depth or trainer level, we say so.

What we will not do

To remove ambiguity:

We will not publish “best Pokémon GO” listicles generated by language models. The full position is on our AI Usage Policy.
We will not promote third-party tools that read live game data, intercept location, or otherwise violate Niantic’s Terms of Service.
We will not run “honest review” arrangements with Pokémon GO event organizers, ticketed-event hosts, or third-party Pokémon merchandise sellers in exchange for friendly coverage.
We will not chase trending Pokémon for engagement alone. If a Pokémon is everywhere because of a viral TikTok, we will not pretend to find it more interesting than we do.
We will not republish copyrighted Pokémon artwork. Where we display Pokémon, we use either officially permitted promotional artwork (Niantic press kit) under appropriate fair-use framing, or original illustrations.

How to get involved

If you want to write for us, see Meet the Team for our submission policy. If you have a correction request, see Corrections Policy. If you want to discuss a partnership, see Work with Us. For everything else, the Contact Us page lists the right address for the right question.

Thanks for using Pogodex. May your shinies hatch and your weather always boost.

Related pages: Our Mission · Meet the Team · Editorial Standards · How We Verify Data · Trademark Notice