Why is that Pokestop Yellow? An Experienced Trainer‘s Guide to Pokestop Mechanics and Secrets

Have you ever wandered around your neighborhood in Pokemon Go and noticed the colors of the pokestops and gyms around you changing? That blue stop suddenly turns purple or an unclaimed gym flashes red. But what does it mean when one turns a radiant gold? As an experienced Pokemon Go trainer, let me be your guide to understanding the secrets behind pokestop colors, what makes them change, and especially that mystery of why sometimes they turn yellow!

When a normally blue pokestop transitions to a vibrant golden hue, it signals the appearance of the ghost Pokemon Gimmighoul. These temporary yellow stops are the only place you as a trainer can collect Gimmighoul coins to evolve this mysterious new monster. I‘m going to walk you through everything you need to know about pokestop colors and mechanics so you can take advantage of these rare yellow stop sightings and master pokestop best practices.

A Brief History of Pokestops and Gyms

To understand why pokestops change color, we first need to explore how they are created in the first place. When Pokemon Go launched in 2016, the locations of pokestops and gyms were based on portals from Niantic‘s previous augmented reality game Ingress. Players could submit portal nominations, which were then reviewed by other players before going live as in-game locations.

When Pokemon Go exploded in popularity, this system was not robust enough to handle the sheer demand for new pokestops, especially in underserved rural areas. Players had minimal influence on shaping their local pokestop distribution beyond Ingress‘ existing portal network.

Over Pokemon Go‘s evolution, Niantic has gradually opened up the process for players to submit new pokestops and gyms. This is now done through a system called Niantic Wayfarer, which allows high-level players to review nominations.

According to Niantic’s criteria, valid pokestops must be locations of public interest, permanent, and safe to access. Examples include murals, historical markers, public libraries, and unique architecture. Private residences and unsafe locations don’t meet the requirements, so don’t expect a pokestop in your bedroom anytime soon!

The colors of existing pokestops and gyms can tell you a lot about their current status…

Pokestop Colors Decoded

Let‘s decode what each color of pokestop means so you can learn to read the map:

Blue

• This is the standard color of any unlocked pokestop ready for you to spin! If you see blue, it means you can interact with the stop normally and this stop is “yours” for Team Mystic.

Purple

• A purple pokestop indicates it is on cooldown. Pokestops can only be spun once every 5 minutes, so purple signals another player has recently collected from it or you’ve already spun it yourself. Hang tight and it will turn blue again soon!

Yellow

• The golden yellow color signals the stop is ready to reward Gimmighoul‘s cherished coins! Make sure to spin it during the 15-30 minute active window. This color is exceptionally rare and overrides other cooldowns.

Orange

• You will see orange pokestops on the map if you have nominated a new stop which is still under review. It hasn’t gone live yet but shows up for you as pending. Approval can take weeks or months.

Gym Colors and Levels

Gyms can also change color depending on which team controls them:

Blue

• A blue gym hasn’t been claimed yet by any team. Battle here to take over it for your team!

Red

• Red indicates Valor (red team) has laid claim to this gym. The deeper the red, the higher the gym’s level, which increases with more Valor Pokemon added to defend it.

Yellow

• Yellow shows this gym is controlled by Instinct (yellow team). Again, deeper yellow means a higher level for this gym.

Pink

• Pink gyms belong to Mystic (blue team). You’ll need to defeat the Pokemon here to take it over with your own Mystic squad.

So if you see a friendly gym that matches your team colors, look for the deep shades to show its well-defended status!

Submitting Pokestop Nominations

Now that you understand pokestop status colors, let‘s talk about getting new ones approved in your area!

Niantic has a few requirements:

• You must be at least Level 38 to submit nominations.
• Child accounts are ineligible.
• Nominations must be for permanent physical locations. Private residences don’t qualify.

Once eligible, you can nominate notable local spots by going to your profile screen and tapping “Nominate New Pokestop.” Take a strong photo, fill out the location details, and describe why this spot is worthy of becoming gameplay space.

I‘ve seen new murals, sculptures, and community gardens successfully turned into pokestops this way. It helps rural areas especially. According to username123 on /r/PokemonGo, “It took about 3 months but my local park finally got 4 new stops approved thanks to nominations.” So be patient, it can take a while for submissions to go live.

Optimizing the density of pokestops in your play area lets you maximize spins and item harvesting. Speaking of items…what kinds of goodies can you collect at pokestops anyway?

Special Items from Pokestop Spins

Pokestops are the main way to stock up on essential items like Pokeballs, berries, potions, revives, and eggs. But they also have a small chance of rewarding special evolution items and eggs that can’t be acquired any other way!

According to rarity data aggregated by the Silph Road researchers, here are the odds of scoring rare items:

Item	Odds per Pokestop
Metal Coat	1 in 1,000
King‘s Rock	1 in 1,000
Dragon Scale	1 in 1,000
Sun Stone	1 in 500
Up-Grade	1 in 500

These special items allow you to evolve Onix, Poliwhirl, Seadra, Sunkern, Gloom, and Porygon respectively. They are some of the rarest items in the game according to Forbes, so be sure to pineap your spins when you score one!

10km eggs can also contain rare and powerful Pokemon, and pokestops are one of only two ways to get them along with Adventure Sync rewards. Let’s look deeper at the egg pool…

What‘s in Those Colorful Eggs?

Pokemon eggs come in a rainbow of colors representing different rarity tiers. Here’s what can hatch from each:

2km Eggs

These common eggs contain early route normal types like Rattata, Pidgey, and Zigzagoon. They hatch fast but often lack excitement.

5km Eggs

Slightly less common Pokemon come from 5km eggs. You’ll often get starters like Charmander or Treeko as well as some Fairy, Fighting and Psychic types as well.

7km Eggs

These eggs contain regional exclusives from gifts. Baby Pokemon and Alolan forms also hatch frequently from the 7km pool. My favorite is opening gifts from friends in Europe for a chance at Mime Jr!

10km Eggs

Now we get to the exciting stuff! 10km eggs host rare and powerful Pokemon. According to Silph researchers, here are the odds of important hatches:

Pokemon	Hatch Odds
Feebas	20.3%
Absol	14.5%
Dratini	10.1%
Bagon	8.1%
Beldum	8.1%
Riolu	7.0%
Shinx	6.3%
Cranidos	4.2%
Gible	4.2%

Riolu, Gible, Cranidos, and Deino are exceptionally rare hatches I always hope for when incubating 10km eggs. Make sure you have open egg slots before spinning new stops so you can take advantage of the 10km egg drop chance!

12km Eggs

The mysterious 12km red "Strange Eggs" come from defeating Team Go Rocket leaders. The pool contains Vullaby, Pawniard, Absol, and other edgy Pokemon. They look cool but take forever to hatch so I usually just throw them in bonus infinity incubators.

Now that you know the ins and outs of all these colored eggs, let’s talk about how to maximize your egg collecting potential…

Hatching Tips and Spin Strategy

The daily PokéStop spin limit is 1,200, but that doesn’t mean you need to try hitting that max every single day. According to the pokestop gallery website PokéAlbum, the distribution of stops looks like this:

• Rural areas: ~3 stops per square km
• Suburban areas: ~12 stops per square km
• Urban areas: ~60 stops per square km

So your practical limit depends heavily on the concentration of stops where you live and play. Here are some tips to optimize your strategy:

• Find a good loop or cluster – Look at your local map for pockets of stops you can walk or drive between efficiently. Parks and downtown areas tend to have the best densities.

• Camp lures – Use lure modules during Community Days or other events. Sitting between 2+ stops can get you hundreds of spins per hour.

• Submit nominations – As mentioned earlier, submit valid nominations for new stops to enhance your local loop.

• Follow cooldowns – Don‘t waste spins on a purple stop, just move on until it turns blue again.

• Equip starpiece – You get 500 dust per spin normally – star piece doubles it to 1,000! Great reward especially when catching is slow.

With excellent spin technique, you can stay stocked with hundreds of Pokéballs, ensure your egg bag is always full, and gather rare evolution items over time. Now let‘s talk about the biggest spin challenge of all – catching that golden Gimmighoul stop!

The Yellow Exception – Gimmighoul and Special Lures

By now you understand all the colors and states of regular PokéStops. But when one turns that coveted golden yellow, it signals the presence of the rare Gimmighoul! Let me tell you about the heart-pounding thrill of stumbling upon a yellow stop and reaping the rewards.

It was a quiet Wednesday evening in my suburban neighborhood. The Nearby tracker showed the usual suspects – Ekans, Mankey, Murkrow. But as I walked past the plain blue stop outside my local coffee shop, I did a double take. That familiar cube was now glimmering with a yellow glow!

I rushed over and tapped furiously to start my spin. The disc circled, stars erupted from the center, and I held my breath hoping for those prized Gimmighoul coins. Sure enough, my journal showed 3 coins added to my inventory!

This yellow stop phenomenon is the only way to collect Gimmighoul coins outside of catching the Pokemon itself. And you need a whopping 49 coins to evolve Gimmighoul into its Roaming Form. Since yellow stops last 15-30 minutes, finding one is like striking gold.

Occasionally other special lures can also turn stops yellow. During certain events, special lure modules are available that can attract event-exclusive Pokemon for 30 minutes. It pays to look closely when you see that flash of yellow – you never know what special bonus it might bring!

The thrill of yellow stops keeps me exploring my neighborhood day after day. With patience and persistence, you can collect the full 49 coins to evolve a Gimmighoul of your very own.

So now you know all about pokestop colors and what they mean! Let’s do a quick recap:

• Blue means go ahead and spin – this stop is active!

• Purple means it‘s on cooldown – check back in 5 minutes.

• Yellow signals special occurrences – like Gimmighoul appearances and limited-time lures. Always check them out!

• Orange indicates your own suggested stop awaiting approval.

• Gyms show team control by their color. Battle to take over the ones controlled by rival teams!

With this knowledge in hand, you can approach every pokestop as a surprise opportunity. You‘ll recognize the status of gyms at a glance and most importantly, never miss a chance to spin for gold when you see that coveted yellow sheen. Time to head out on your pokestop run – adventure awaits, and you’re now fully prepared to make the most of every spin!