PokéBonk Lab Upgrades: All Costs & What to Buy First

The fourth move slot costs 1,275 Stardust in the checked v0.8.59 client. Open Lab → Upgrades → 4th move from the main menu. This permanent purchase raises move capacity from three to four for future runs and every partner.

The current Lab has 24 upgrades and 111 purchasable levels. The table below includes the price of every level, not just the first purchase.

Use the Lab Budget Planner to enter your current levels and next targets, then see whether your Stardust covers the plan. It remembers your levels in this browser.

October 27 update: v0.8.57 says each locked Lab item displays how many copies may be taken into a run; v0.8.56 adds Bag capacity and remaining purchase space to the Shop. The 24 upgrade caps, all 111 level prices and Archive arithmetic were independently compared with v0.8.59 and match v0.8.55. Official configuration and notes.

Get your fourth move slot

Two similarly named upgrades do different jobs:

Fourth option gives you more choices each time you level up. It does not create another place to equip an attack. If a fourth move never appears as a new-move offer while your three slots are full, check whether you bought 4th move.

The prices here are the current displayed costs. An older guide’s 1,500 / 3,000 prices do not include the current Lab reduction.

What to buy first

The game’s own Lab tutorial recommends 4th move first, followed by spreading Stardust between Refresh, Skip and Training. That is a useful starting route, rather than a measured best purchase order for every build.

• 4th move opens capacity for another attack and makes it easier to hold a planned fusion pair alongside your existing moves.
• Refresh changes the level-up offers when the current choices do not help your plan.
• Skip passes on the offer for PokéDollars. It is useful when you want to avoid filling a slot with something you do not need.
• Training increases damage across future runs. Its first level costs 85 Stardust.

Banish is another offer-control tool: the chosen option is removed for the rest of that run. Buying its Lab levels gives you more uses; it does not permanently remove a move from the whole game.

Save toward a concrete next purchase. For example, the first levels of 4th move, Refresh, Skip and Training together cost 1,530 Stardust: 1,275 + 100 + 70 + 85.

What can I buy with 500, 1500 or 3000 Stardust?

These example plans start from level zero and use the checked displayed prices. They are editorial priorities, not measured fastest-clear builds. If you already own a level, use the Lab Budget Planner to remove that cost from the plan.

If your first goal is the fourth slot, saving the first 500 is also reasonable. The 500 plan suits a player who wants immediate offer control, pickup range and basic survivability. The 1,500 plan opens move capacity without waiting for a large collection. The 3,000 plan adds one vitamin slot and a spread of inexpensive support levels.

Do not spend 2,550 on Fourth option expecting an extra move slot. Do not buy Big Bag expecting it to increase vitamin capacity. Match the purchase to the problem it actually solves.

All 24 Lab upgrades and costs

The cost sequence reads from left to right. For Training, 85 · 120 · 165 means level 0→1 costs 85, level 1→2 costs 120, and level 2→3 costs 165. Moving from level 1 to level 3 therefore costs 285, not 370; you already paid for the first level.

Current upgrade prices apply a 0.85 multiplier and round to the nearest five Stardust. The table already includes that calculation. Item unlock prices use a separate definition, so do not apply this multiplier to every price in the Lab.

Harmony improves Ultimate charge speed, not a fixed cooldown timer. Research improves research progress, not player experience gain; Study is the experience upgrade. Big Bag raises how many items you can bring from the Bag into a run, rather than increasing move or vitamin slots.

Unlocking items and shaping the pool

The Items tab is separate from permanent stat upgrades. Some items are available initially; others require a one-time Stardust unlock. Once unlocked, an item can enter future Poké Balls and Meowth’s shop.

Unlocking an item does not mean receiving one at the start of every run. It changes what can appear. Read the actual PokéBonk effect before spending: a familiar Pokémon item name can have a different role in this survivor game.

Keep three currencies or contexts separate:

• Lab Stardust pays for permanent upgrades and item unlocks between runs.
• PokéDollars are used for run purchases such as the shop.
• A similarly named item or vitamin in a run is an effect card, not automatically a deposit into your permanent Lab balance.

Archive and saved presets

Archive removes items you do not want from the active offer pool. Each Archive level adds five slots, giving 30 base slots at level 6. Its current level costs are 510, 1,020, 1,700, 2,550, 3,400 and 4,675 Stardust.

Since v0.8.55, every two purchased item unlocks add one bonus slot, but only after you own at least Archive level 1. Initial items do not count: the checked paid-unlock list contains 59 items, so the bonus is at most 29 slots. Total capacity is 5 × Archive level + floor(purchased unlocks / 2) when the level is above zero, for a maximum of 59, not a seventh Lab level. For example, level 1 with 10 purchased unlocks gives 10 slots; level 6 with all 59 gives 59. Enter the unlock count in the Lab Budget Planner to compare current and target capacity.

Archived items stop appearing in Poké Balls and Meowth’s shop. Returning one restores its eligibility; archiving does not erase its unlock. Locked items that you have not purchased cannot simply be archived to bypass their unlock.

Use Archive presets to keep different item-pool plans. Later Season 2 patches changed the preset interface: the active plan updates automatically and presets can be created or deleted. Review the active preset before starting a run. Do not rely on browser-local planning preferences as a cross-device backup.

Archive is most useful once you know which item effects your build needs. A smaller, deliberate pool gives your item choices a clearer purpose, but this guide does not claim a tested probability or guaranteed drop.

How to earn Stardust

The official tutorial names these sources:

1. Finish runs; greater progress earns more.
2. Defeat bosses.
3. Capture shiny Pokémon.
4. Complete achievements.
5. Complete tasks.

The current client submits run results for server settlement. We have not established an exact run-reward formula or a best Stardust-per-hour route, so use your actual results to compare repeatable runs.

A productive early loop is to attempt a League challenge, finish the run, check newly available captures, then spend toward one permanent upgrade. That builds your roster and Lab together without requiring a specific farming claim.

Sources and checks

Watch it in action

Watch video

Videos may show an earlier version. Check the verified version noted in our guides for mechanics, Lab prices and purchase advice. If anything differs, follow the current game. Sources and checked versions

Keep exploring

• PokéBonk Beginner Guide: How to Play Your First Run
• PokéBonk Level-Up Guide: Moves, Refresh, Skip & Banish
• How to Unlock Pokémon in PokéBonk: All 79 League Challenges
• Best PokéBonk Builds: Starter Routes, Upgrades & Fusions