It was only about two years ago that I postulated and proposed that Bottle Caps could make their way into Pokémon Go, and especially if the will is strong. Fast-forward to the present, and in fact, the items have now been implemented in Pokémon Go. Unfortunately, this discussion is long overdue in one sense and right on cue in another, in part due to certain limitations. Yet the matter of fact is that they are indeed present and a discussion can be made out of them, further to elucidate what took me so long for that and their workings.
As suggested, both of its variants are indeed in: the Silver Bottle Cap and the Gold Bottle Cap. They also do what they are expected to do, with the former increasing one kind of IV, and the latter increasing all kinds. Remarkably, they are so powerful, in fact, that they can turn a Pokémon with the worst IVs into the best. Regarding their introduction, the latter was introduced in the lead-up to Pokémon Go Fest back in June, and the former is about to be live in the lead-up to Wild Area this coming weekend, which explains the discussion timescale.
Of course, raising IVs is not as easy as just giving the item; the Pokémon (and Trainer) have to work for it. The way they do so is through what is called "Hyper Training", which consists of a series of timed tasks to be completed sequentially, with each completed task raising an IV point. The time for these tasks, as for the Gold Bottle Cap, is one year. Thus, Trainers may need to be proactive when a Bottle Cap is used, more so when a lot of IV points need to be raised. Appraisal will also show a barbell mark on IVs of Pokémon that are raised in this way.
Understandably, with the way this game is, there is a price to be paid for the item as well. The Gold Bottle Cap had to be gotten from the Premium track of the Go Pass for the event that accompanied Go Fest back then (Ancients Recovered) by completing it, and then it had to be used within the week after the paid event, lest it just turn to Stardust. The Silver Bottle Cap will also be earned and used in the same way within this week for Wild Area. All this is separate from the paid events themselves and demands even more spending beyond them.
Then, as for the usage cases, the Gold Bottle Cap is recommended for use on a Mythical Pokémon, something that cannot be caught again, or at the least something that cannot be traded (since trading is more practical for "rerolling" IVs), with the exception of Shadow Pokémon that have their own "free will". The Silver Bottle Cap may have a bit of its own leeway and can be used on any Pokémon that need the IV boost. Of course, one is free to ignore any or all of these recommendations and use the items on whatever matters.
Something that's evident from all of this is that the game demands payment for attaining perfection, and a lot of that, which is why I passed up the Gold Bottle Cap's initial offering. Many will conceivably still have at least one Pokémon that could benefit from a treatment of either Bottle Cap - even me, as I had discussed previously - and a lower price for even just one instance may be helpful. Whether that can happen in the future may be up to the strong will of the people to make things happen in and for the best way.
Even with all the strings attached to them, the entry of Bottle Caps (in both forms) into Pokémon Go is still something of a wonder, but a bit of a necessary one at that. While that necessity may only be to achieve perfection on whatever species - more specifically, their instances - that Trainers deem as "perfect" or needing to be as such, it just becomes another example of their strong will. Ensuring and expanding that strong will may just be the next task, especially when the time of perfection is at hand.
One year ago: Cosplay: Kaioken Fest
Two years ago: Stuck in a Rut... or Rank
Three years ago: Running (through) the World with Pokémon Shoes
Four years ago: Pressing the B Button... Realistically
Five years ago: Stepping into the Marsh
Six years ago: Tournament: Raid Group Ferocious Cup
Seven years ago: 3D Printing and Pokémon
Eight years ago: (Mid-)Generational Updates
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