Pokémon GO Accessories Worth Carrying on a Walk

Only one accessory talks to the game itself: the Pokémon GO Plus +, the current official Bluetooth device. It spins PokéStops and throws Poké Balls while the phone stays in your pocket. Everything else that helps is ordinary phone gear: a power bank, a grip that keeps the phone in your hand, and a strap.

Buy one thing and make it a power bank. The Anker 10K with the built-in cable suits any phone that charges over USB-C. The Plus + earns its place once you play on foot every day and have already tried the game’s two free settings.

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Pokémon GO Plus +, the official auto-catcher

The Plus + is a disc about 65 mm across that weighs roughly 50 g and comes with a strap and clip. It vibrates when a Pokémon or a PokéStop is in range, and a press of the main button throws a ball or collects the items. Two settings do the pressing for you: auto-spin for PokéStops and Gyms, and auto-throw for Pokémon. It pairs from inside the Pokémon GO app and lets you play without looking at the screen, even when the phone is asleep or the game is running in the background.

The game’s Help Center spells out the limits:

• Auto-throw uses regular Poké Balls only, and only on Pokémon you have caught before. A species you have never caught makes the light flash yellow and waits for a button press.
• Great Balls and Ultra Balls can be chosen for throws you make with the button. Specialty balls such as Premier Balls cannot be used at all.
• You get one throw per Pokémon, and no Berries.
• If your Item Bag is full, a spin collects nothing.

It also tracks sleep. With sleep data sharing switched on in the game, hold the button at bedtime and again in the morning, and the game gives a reward once a day. The device works with the separate Pokémon Sleep app too.

The official site lists a lithium-ion battery that charges through USB-C in about three and a half hours, with the cable in the box and the wall adapter sold separately. It asks for Android 7 or iOS 14 and an iPhone 7 or newer, though the game itself now needs Android 9 or iOS 15 according to the Help Center. It warns that the device is not guaranteed to work with every phone, and it does not work with a Nintendo Switch.

Nintendo’s US store lists the Plus + at $59.99 and its Canadian store at CA$74.99. Both showed it out of stock, the US page pointed to other retailers, and retailers set their own prices. Nintendo’s US store also sells a replacement wrist strap for $7.99.

Buy it if you walk the same streets most days and want the routine catching done with the phone put away. Its feature list covers catching, spinning and sleep, and nothing else, so it adds little for a player who mostly raids or battles. Pokémon GO Plus + on Amazon

The two older devices

The original Pokémon GO Plus and the Poké Ball Plus still pair with the game, and the Help Center still covers both. The Poké Ball Plus can auto-spin, but only after a Pokémon has been moved into it from one of the Pokémon: Let’s Go games on the Switch. Auto-throw belongs to the Plus + alone.

Nintendo’s US store no longer lists either one. A search there for Pokémon GO Plus returns the Plus + and its strap and nothing more. Keep yours if you have one. We would not go hunting for one now.

Two free settings to try first

Inside the game, Battery Saver turns the display off while the phone points downward. The game keeps counting distance, and the phone still vibrates for nearby Pokémon.

Adventure Sync records the distance you walk while the app is closed, so Eggs hatch and your Buddy earns Candy with the phone in your pocket. It does not catch anything. It needs Trainer level 5, location permission set to always, and a link to Apple Health or Google Fit.

Power banks for long walks

A battery case fits one model of iPhone, and a power bank works with any phone. More of them are compared among these 10,000mAh power banks.

Anker Nano Power Bank (10K, 45W), $59.99

Anker lists 10,000mAh, a top output of 45W, a small display and a USB-C cable that retracts into the body. It weighs about half a pound. The built-in cable is the reason to pick it for a walk: there is nothing to forget at home.

One catch for older iPhones. Anker says the iPhone 14 and earlier need a USB-C to Lightning cable, which is not included. Anker Nano Power Bank (10K, 45W) on Amazon

Anker Nano Power Bank (5K, MagGo, Slim), $54.99

This one snaps to the back of the phone and charges it wirelessly at up to 15W, so there is no cable to catch on anything. Anker gives it 5,000mAh, a thickness of 0.3 inches and a weight of 122 g, and lists the iPhone 12 and later as compatible. It says a Qi2 phone with no magnets of its own, and it names two Galaxy S26 models, needs a magnetic case to attach.

Two things to weigh. It holds half as much as the 10K for $5 less. And Anker warns that magnetic and metal attachments, pop grips among them, interfere with charging, as do thick or non-magnetic cases. So it is this or a grip on the back of the phone, not both. Anker Nano Power Bank (5K, MagGo, Slim) on Amazon

Grips and straps

PopSockets PopGrip, from $10

A PopGrip pops out to give your fingers something to hold, folds flat again and works as a stand. The adhesive kind starts at $10 on PopSockets’ store. PopSockets says it sticks to any smooth hard plastic case and not to silicone or heavily textured ones. The MagSafe kind costs $40, attaches to any MagSafe-compatible case and slides off when you want to charge wirelessly.

PopSockets has a Pokémon range of its own: an adhesive Eevee design at $20, and MagSafe grips with Pikachu and Poké Ball designs at $40. PopSockets PopGrip on Amazon

Spigen Style Ring, $19.99

Spigen’s ring is metal, rotates, and props the phone up as a kickstand. It comes with a hook mount for a car dashboard. Spigen says it suits phones with flat, non-textured backs. Pick it over a PopGrip if you want the car mount in the same box. Only the black one was in stock at Spigen’s own store. Spigen Style Ring on Amazon

PopSockets Phone Wristlet, $20

A strap is the cheap insurance for the day the phone leaves your hand anyway, and it is worth having if you play near water or traffic. PopSockets’ wristlet comes with a T-shaped adapter that slips between the phone and its case, and the company says it works with most cases. The wristlet lists at $20 and a longer crossbody strap at $35, and both were marked down on its store.

Spigen’s Wrist Lanyard, at $24.99, attaches differently: it needs a phone or case with strap holes, so check yours first. PopSockets Phone Wristlet on Amazon

Third-party catchers and location spoofing

We leave out auto-catchers from other makers and anything that fakes your location, and the game’s own rules are the reason. The Help Center names only the Plus +, the original Plus and the Poké Ball Plus as official and says nothing about catchers from other makers. What the rules do name is software and location: the Terms of Service count “using modified or unofficial third party software” and falsifying a device’s location as cheating, and the Help Center describes a three-strike policy that runs from a warning of about seven days to a suspension of about 30 days to a permanent ban.

So a third-party auto-catcher is a device the game’s own pages do not vouch for, connected to an account you can lose. We do not recommend one. Location spoofing is named outright as cheating, and we will not cover it.

For something to play between walks, try games like Pokémon for Android.