The fourth move slot costs 1,275 Stardust in the checked v0.8.18 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 109 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.
Get your fourth move slot
Two similarly named upgrades do different jobs:
| Upgrade | Current cost | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| 4th move | 1,275 Stardust | Carry four moves instead of three. |
| Fourth option | 2,550 Stardust | Choose from four level-up cards instead of three. |
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.
Our fresh-guest Lab capture from the original game, v0.8.18, October 22, 2026. The cards show first-purchase prices and level caps. Game and artwork belong to their respective rights holders.
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.
All 24 Lab upgrades and costs
| Upgrade | Effect per level | Max | Costs: first → last |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4th move | Raises move capacity from three to four. | 1 | 1,275 |
| Vitamin slots | Adds one vitamin slot per level. | 2 | 1,020 · 2,550 |
| Refresh | Adds one Refresh use per run, per level. | 6 | 100 · 145 · 200 · 280 · 390 · 550 |
| Skip | Adds one Skip use per run, per level; skipping awards PokéDollars. | 6 | 70 · 95 · 135 · 185 · 260 · 365 |
| Banish | Adds one Banish use per run, per level; the chosen option leaves that run’s offer pool. | 6 | 130 · 180 · 250 · 350 · 490 · 685 |
| Fourth option | Raises level-up choices from three to four. | 1 | 2,550 |
| Training | Adds 4% damage per level. | 8 | 85 · 120 · 165 · 235 · 325 · 455 · 640 · 895 |
| Stamina | Adds 8 maximum HP per level. | 8 | 85 · 120 · 165 · 235 · 325 · 455 · 640 · 895 |
| Agility | Adds 2.5% movement speed per level. | 6 | 100 · 150 · 215 · 310 · 450 · 655 |
| Study | Adds 5% experience gain per level. | 6 | 100 · 150 · 215 · 310 · 450 · 655 |
| Trading | Adds 8% PokéDollars per level. | 6 | 85 · 125 · 180 · 260 · 375 · 545 |
| Fortune | Adds 5 luck per level. | 6 | 120 · 175 · 250 · 365 · 525 · 765 |
| Magnetism | Adds 0.6 pickup range per level. | 5 | 70 · 100 · 145 · 205 · 300 |
| Leftovers | Adds 0.2 regeneration per level. | 5 | 100 · 150 · 215 · 310 · 450 |
| Shell | Adds 2 armor per level. | 6 | 100 · 150 · 215 · 310 · 450 · 655 |
| Revive | Starts each run with a Max Revive. | 1 | 4,250 |
| Research | Adds 25% research progress per level. | 4 | 215 · 340 · 545 · 870 |
| Support team | Raises captured Alpha support capacity from two to three. | 1 | 2,975 |
| Archive | Adds five Archive slots per level; archived items leave Poké Ball and Meowth shop pools. | 4 | 510 · 1,020 · 1,700 · 2,550 |
| Precision | Adds one percentage point of critical-hit chance per level. | 5 | 170 · 255 · 385 · 575 · 860 |
| Swiftness | Adds 2% attack speed per level. | 5 | 185 · 280 · 420 · 630 · 945 |
| Expansion | Adds 3% area per level. | 5 | 170 · 255 · 385 · 575 · 860 |
| Harmony | Adds 4% Ultimate charge speed per level. | 5 | 215 · 320 · 480 · 715 · 1,075 |
| Big Bag | Raises the number of Bag items you may bring into a run from two to three. | 1 | 3,400 |
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, up to 20 slots at level 4. Its current level costs are 510, 1,020, 1,700 and 2,550 Stardust.
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.
The current client supports three Archive presets, including switching at run preparation. Presets are stored in this browser under the current account’s local storage key. Do not rely on them 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:
- Finish runs; greater progress earns more.
- Defeat bosses.
- Capture shiny Pokémon.
- Complete achievements.
- 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
Primary sources: the original game’s gameplay client, configuration and news, and English UI names, build mvjge531. We read static definitions and their calling code without executing downloaded JavaScript.
Our screenshots show the live English guest interface on October 22, 2026. Game and artwork by the original PokéBonk project and their respective rights holders. Read our source methodology.