The Lab is where your Stardust turns into permanent power. Every upgrade you buy applies to all future runs, so a few smart early purchases make the whole game easier. Below are all 24 upgrades, what they cost, and an order that works well for new players.
Opening the Lab
From the main menu, choose Lab. Your Stardust balance shows at the top. The Lab has two tabs:
- Upgrades: permanent stat boosts and run tools (109 levels in total across all cards).
- Items: the item catalog, where you unlock and archive items. See Items and Vitamins.
Stardust is earned by playing runs. It is separate from PokéDollars, the money you spend at Meowth during a run.
Training upgrades (permanent stats)
These are the straight stat boosts. Prices are the cost of the first level as of Season 2 (v0.8.13); later levels cost more.
| Upgrade | Effect per level | Max level | First level (Stardust) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Training | +4% damage | 8 | 85 |
| Stamina | +8 max HP | 8 | 85 |
| Agility | +2.5% movement speed | 6 | 100 |
| Study | +5% experience | 6 | 100 |
| Trading | +8% PokéDollars | 6 | 85 |
| Fortune | +5 luck | 6 | 120 |
| Magnetism | +0.6 pickup range | 5 | 70 |
| Leftovers | +0.2 HP regeneration | 5 | 100 |
| Shell | +2 armor | 6 | 100 |
| Precision | +1% crit chance | 5 | 170 |
| Swiftness | +2% attack speed | 5 | 185 |
| Expansion | +3% area | 5 | 170 |
At max level, Training alone adds +32% damage and Stamina adds +64 max HP. Precision, Swiftness and Expansion arrived with Season 2.
Run team upgrades (slots and tools)
This section changes how a run plays rather than raising a stat.
| Upgrade | What it does | Max level | First level (Stardust) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4th move | Opens a fourth move slot | 1 | 1,275 |
| Vitamin slots | +1 vitamin slot per level | 2 | 1,020 |
| Refresh | +1 level-up reroll per run, per level | 6 | 100 |
| Skip | +1 skip per run, per level; skipping pays PokéDollars | 6 | 70 |
| Banish | +1 banish per run, per level; removes a card for the rest of the run | 6 | 130 |
| Fourth option | Level-ups show four cards instead of three | 1 | 2,550 |
| Revive | Start every run with a Max Revive | 1 | 4,250 |
| Research | +25% research progress per level | 4 | 215 |
| Support team | Captured Alpha slots go from two to three | 1 | 2,975 |
| Archive | +5 Archive slots per level | 4 | 510 |
| Harmony | Ultimate charges 4% faster per level | 5 | 215 |
| Big Bag | Bring 3 Bag items into a run instead of 2 | 1 | 3,400 |
The fourth move slot
New players often look for this one. Go to Lab → Upgrades, scroll to Run team, and buy 4th move for 1,275 Stardust. It gives your partner room for one more attack, which is a big jump in damage and coverage.
Do not confuse it with Fourth option. That one only adds a fourth card to each level-up choice; it does not add a slot. Since Season 2 you can also free a slot mid-run by fusing two max-level moves at Bill’s Machine. See Move Fusions.
Archive capacity
Archived items stop appearing in Poké Balls and Meowth’s shop, so the items you actually want come up more often. Each Archive level adds five slots, up to 20 slots at level 4. Version 0.8.17 added up to three Archive templates, so you can keep a different item setup per partner or mode and switch before a run.
Recommended buying order for beginners
There is no single best path, but this order fixes the most common early problems: dying too fast and running out of damage.
- Magnetism (70) and Training (85): cheap, and both help from the first second. Wider pickup means faster levels; more damage clears crowds sooner.
- Stamina (85) and Shell (100): more HP and armor so mistakes hurt less.
- Study (100): more experience means more level-up cards every run.
- 4th move (1,275): your first big purchase. Save for it once the cheap stat levels are in.
- Refresh, Skip and Banish: a couple of levels each gives you control over level-up offers, which matters once your build has a plan.
- Vitamin slots, Archive and Fourth option: worth it once you know which items and vitamins your favorite partner wants.
- Revive, Support team and Big Bag: expensive comfort picks for later.
Spread early Stardust over several cheap cards rather than pushing one card to max. The first levels are the cheapest, and each one helps right away.
Match the upgrade to your problem
- Dying to crowds? Stamina, Shell, then Leftovers.
- Runs feel slow? Magnetism and Study.
- Not enough damage late? Training, Swiftness and the 4th move slot.
- Bad level-up offers? Refresh, Banish and Archive.
Your starter matters too. Squirtle already has extra armor and shield, so it may want damage first; Charmander may want HP first. The Getting Started guide covers your first runs, and once you have Stardust to spend, jump back in and Play PokeBonk.
Quick answers
How much does the 4th move slot cost?
4th move costs 1,275 Stardust as of Season 2. It is a one-level upgrade in the Run team section of Lab → Upgrades.
Is Fourth option the same as 4th move?
No. 4th move adds a fourth attack slot. Fourth option shows four cards on each level-up instead of three. They are separate purchases.
How many Archive slots can I get?
Archive has four levels with five slots each, for 20 slots in total. The first level costs 510 Stardust.
Do Lab upgrades carry over between runs?
Yes. Lab upgrades are permanent and apply to every run you start afterward.
