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Pokémon Go's latest update gives players more of a reason to unlock medals

Earn a capture bonus the more Pokémon you catch.

Pokémon Go players will be rewarded for collecting medals as part of today's update.

Previously serving as in-game achievements that catalogued in-game progress, certain medals will now reward players with a Catch Bonus for certain Pokémon elemental types.

For example, earning the bronze Kindler medal - by catching 10 Fire Pokémon - will increase your chances of capturing Fire creatures in future, with additional bonuses available when unlocking silver and gold tiers.

If you come across a Pokémon with multiple Types - such as the common Normal and Flying Pidgey - then the game will use the average of both medals you've unlocked to work out the Catch Bonus.

It means that catching hordes of low level Pokémon should give you more of an advantage when you eventually come across rarer creatures. You can see a complete list of rewards in our Pokémon Go Catch Bonus and Medals guide.

This would have all been pretty useful last week when I spotted my first wild Charmander that swiftly got away.

Meanwhile, the update also makes training more accessible, allowing players to take a team of six Pokémon to a friendly Gym instead of just one, and lowers the strength and CP of the creatures you spar with for the duration of the session.

There are a host of other smaller fixes in the new update too. The distances on the Egg and Incubator screen will update as you're viewing them - so you no longer have to close and reopen the screen to refresh the figures - and you can expect decreased evolution animation times, fixed audio issues and other undisclosed tweaks.

Developer Niantic has been steady with updates for Pokémon Go since its hugely popular debut in the summer; August saw the introduction of new trackers and the ability to appraise the potential of your squad, while last month added a Buddy Pokémon feature and support for the Pokémon Go Plus peripheral.

Niantic previously teased Pokémon trading, improved AR functionality and leaderboards earlier in the year, so expect those eventually too.