PokeBonk beginner guide: your first run, step by step

This PokeBonk beginner guide takes you through a first run from the menu to the last boss. In short: open pokebonk.com, start as a guest, pick a starter, choose a Classic map and survive. Wild Pokémon swarm you while your moves aim at the closest enemy by default. Knocked-out Pokémon drop experience, every level lets you pick an upgrade card, and each of the three zones ends with a guardian that opens the portal onward. The map’s last boss is a legendary. Everything here comes from the game files of version 0.8.46 (October 25, 2026), except the Archive rule, which we read in version 0.8.59 on October 27, 2026, and the saving and clan-mission changes from version 0.8.85, checked on November 2, 2026.

Step 1: start as a guest or with an account

PokeBonk runs in the browser at pokebonk.com and does not need a download. On the sign-in screen, “Play as a guest!” starts the game straight away. Guest play has three limits worth knowing on day one:

• Guests are not listed on the leaderboards.
• Guest accounts that are not used for 60 days are deleted, progress included.
• Guests cannot play co-op. Since version 0.8.73 the game says “Co-op is for trainers with an account.”

You can turn a guest into an account later with “Save to account” on your trainer card, and the game says you keep all of your guest progress. When we checked on October 25, 2026, the server did not ask for an invite code to create an account. If it ever switches to invite-only mode, the game will tell you that guest play is closed and that invite codes are handed out on its Discord.

Step 2: choose your starter

The first time you play, the game asks you to choose your partner: Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle. Your pick becomes the first member of your League, the game’s name for the Pokémon you can play. The other two are not lost. Their challenge is simply to complete 2 runs, win or lose, and then they can appear in a run for you to catch.

There is no wrong first pick. If you want help choosing, the builds page compares the three passives and Ultimates.

Step 3: how a Classic run works

Classic is the mode to learn first. A Classic map has three zones, shown as “Zone 1/3” and so on. Each zone ends with its guardian, and defeating the guardian opens the portal to the next zone. The last boss of a map is a legendary Pokémon. When it falls, the banner reads “Legendary defeated!” and tells you to enter the portal to complete the map. That is a win.

The default keys we list here were read from version 0.8.18: WASD to move, the mouse for the camera, Space to jump, Shift to slide, R for your Ultimate and E to interact. The controls guide has the full list and the touch layout.

Experience and level-up cards

Pokémon you knock out drop pickups. The experience pickups are what make you level up, so keep moving through the horde to collect them. Each level opens a choice of 3 cards, or 4 after you buy the Lab upgrade “Fourth option”. Cards offer new moves while you have a free move slot, upgrades for the moves you already have, and vitamins.

On the level-up screen, F refreshes the offer, X skips it and Z banishes a card. Skip pays you PokéDollars. Banish removes that option for the rest of the run, and it asks you to tap the card again to confirm. The Lab sells extra uses of all three.

Poké Balls and PokéDollars

Poké Balls lie around each zone and hold items; you open them with E. Most cost PokéDollars to open (the prompt shows the price in ₽), some are free, and the coins you need drop from the Pokémon you knock out. A beaten guardian leaves free Poké Balls next to it and a shower of coins.

Guardians, portals and the legendary

Every zone has a guardian altar. Standing at it, the game says: “First, level up and open the Poké Balls.” Take that advice in your first runs: if you wake the guardian early, you face it with fewer levels and fewer items. The type of your moves matters too: the game code multiplies damage by 1.35 when a move is super effective, by 0.8 when it is resisted and by 0.5 against a classic immunity. The type chart has all 324 matchups.

Keep an eye on your health bar. If it reaches 0, the run ends unless you carry a Revive. The game’s own tip is to slide (Shift) to dodge the bosses’ strongest attacks.

Step 4: evolve during the run

Evolution in PokeBonk happens during a run, when your Pokémon reaches a set level. The banner says “Huh? Bulbasaur is evolving!” (with your partner’s name) and the Pokémon changes into its next form.

By our reading of the 0.8.46 code, the in-run evolution level comes from a formula on the game’s data file. For the three starters that gives:

These are values we computed from the code, not timed in play. Some families have their own levels; the Caterpie and Weedle lines evolve at 8 and 36. If you ever want to stay in your current form, the pause menu has an option to hold evolution.

Step 5: catch and unlock new Pokémon

New Pokémon join your League in two steps. First you complete the Pokémon’s challenge, which the Pokédex shows for every Pokémon you do not have. Then you catch it in a run:

1. Once per run, the game picks one Pokémon whose challenge you have completed and makes it appear 50 to 120 seconds into a zone, with the banner “A wild … appeared!”. Mewtwo is not part of this pick; it has its own encounter.
2. Weaken it until it faints. You now have 10 seconds.
3. Get close and press E to throw a Poké Ball. The first throw succeeds at least 55% of the time, and every miss adds 20%; below 100% the chance is capped at 97%, and at 100% the throw always works.
4. After three failed throws it runs away, but it will appear again in another run.

When the catch works, the game says the Pokémon joins your League, and you can pick it at the start of later runs. The five League legendaries (Mew, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres and Mewtwo) work differently since version 0.8.63: they join your League as soon as you weaken them, and the throw only matters if you want to keep a shiny one. Shiny Pokémon that appear on their own do not count as a normal catch. The unlock guide lists every challenge, and the shiny guide explains the Shiny Collection.

After the run: Stardust, the Lab and the Bag

Win or lose, every run pays Stardust, the Lab’s currency. You earn more the further you get, plus extra from bosses, shiny catches, achievements and tasks. Spend it in the Lab on permanent upgrades such as the fourth card on level-up and extra Refresh, Skip and Banish uses. The game shows a Lab guide the first time you enter and gives tips during your first three runs.

One Lab upgrade is worth planning early: the Archive. Items you archive no longer appear in Poké Balls or in the shop. The Archive upgrade has 6 levels with 5 slots each. Since version 0.8.55 you also get 1 extra slot for every 2 items you have unlocked in the Lab, once the Archive is at level 1 or higher, so the Archive tops out at 59 slots. You can save up to 3 Archive presets.

Since version 0.8.85, your build plans and Archive presets also save to your account.

The Bag holds items you take into a run: 2 per run at first, 3 after an upgrade. Since version 0.8.37 there are two ways to fill it: the Stardust Shop in the menu and the Treasure wheels paid with Bonkoins, which guardians and legendaries sometimes drop. Our Bonkoins guide covers both.

PokeBonk tips that new players often miss

These cover small rules that are easy to miss in your first week. Each one comes from the game’s code, its English text or its patch notes.

• Play the Daily Mutation once a day. Since version 0.8.61 there is a daily Classic run with a special rule that pays up to 300 Stardust a day, and you can retry it as often as you like. Our Daily Mutation guide explains the four mutations.
• Save Archive presets. You can save up to 3 Archive presets, so you can switch the list of hidden items between builds instead of archiving them one by one.
• Use the Dawn Stone and the Master Ball on purpose. From the Bag, the Dawn Stone guarantees a shiny in zone 1; if you clear zone 1 before it shows up, it appears in the next zone instead. The Master Ball from the Bag makes your first Poké Ball throw of the run at a League Pokémon, a shiny or a Classic Shiny a sure catch. Since version 0.8.60 you can also bring Bag items to co-op: you pick them in the room, under the difficulty, and they are only used up if the run starts. Team Survival is the exception: as in solo Survival, its Bag only offers Rare Candy, Lucky Egg and Amulet Coin.
• A shiny will not wait. A shiny that appears on its own in a zone flees after 120 seconds, or 150 with the Shiny Charm, and it has 2.5 times the HP a wild Pokémon would have at that point, so start weakening it as soon as the banner appears. Catching one pays 120 Stardust the first time for that species and 50 after that.
• Status helps the throw. A target that is paralyzed, asleep or frozen adds 15% to your Poké Ball throw.
• Hold Tab for the map. Holding Tab shows the map while you keep playing, and M opens the big map.
• Stop with Save and quit, not by closing the tab. Since version 0.8.63 the pause menu has “Save and quit”: it stores the run exactly as it was, with the wild Pokémon, the Poké Balls, the clock and your build, and you continue it later from the main menu. It works in Classic, the Daily Mutation and Survival, but not in co-op or the Lavender Tower, and not while something is still under way, such as a boss fight, an event or an upgrade choice you have not made. The save is kept in this browser. Since version 0.8.85, Save and quit also keeps a copy on your account, so you can continue on any device. If you press Save and quit when saving is temporarily blocked, it queues the save. Keep playing until the save completes. When you come back, the game asks whether to continue the run or finish it, and finishing keeps what you earned. Since version 0.8.85, in Classic, Daily Mutation and solo Survival, an unexpectedly closed run can be recovered if a valid autosave is available. Co-op and Lavender Tower runs cannot be recovered this way. Recovery can be unavailable if the autosave is too old, comes from an older version or has been recovered too many times.
• In co-op, revive your teammates. A trainer who goes down has 60 seconds; stand next to them and hold the interact key (E by default) to bring them back. Co-op runs only count on the co-op leaderboard, so play solo when you want points for other leaderboards or for your clan. Co-op also needs an account since version 0.8.73. Since version 0.8.85, co-op runs also count toward clan missions. The game’s co-op leaderboard notice says they do not earn clan points.
• The Stardust Shop resets daily. Every copy you buy today raises the price of the next one, and the daily limits reset at 00:00 UTC.

First-run mistakes to avoid

• Waking the guardian too early. The game itself tells you to level up and open the Poké Balls first.
• Banishing by accident. Banish removes a card for the rest of the run, so read the card before you tap it a second time.
• Ignoring types. A resisted move deals 0.8 times its damage, so a mixed set of move types handles more enemies.
• Expecting a wild shiny to unlock a Pokémon. It counts for your Shiny Collection, not as a normal catch.
• Letting the fainted Pokémon recover. If 10 seconds pass without a throw, it gets back up with 40% of its HP and runs.
• Playing a run that did not start on the server. If the connection fails before the start, an offline run does not count toward your progress or quests.
• Leaving a guest account alone for two months. After 60 days unused it is deleted.

Where to go next

This PokeBonk beginner guide only covers the first steps. These pages go deeper:

• Builds: how to play each starter and what to pick on level-up.
• Unlock guide: every challenge and the capture rules.
• Pokédex: the 151 Kanto Pokémon, evolution lines and Ultimates.
• Tier list: every League family ranked from the game’s code.
• Mobile: playing on a phone, battery saver and touch controls.
• Multiplayer: co-op rooms, friends, clans and leaderboards.
• Lavender Tower: the Halloween event mode, while it lasts.

The game itself is at pokebonk.com, and this guide is an unofficial fan site. If the game and this PokeBonk beginner guide ever disagree, trust the game, since it updates often.