They're mostly for rubbing in everyone's face, which is why you need all of them!
The Medal system in is a little self serving for the moment. You don't gain anything by unlocking them, aside from a little note in your account saying you've unlocked them. That means there's a list of accomplishments you and your friends can compete on unlocking, and obviously the one with the most Medals unlocked is the best Pokémon Go player right?
Every Pokémon Go medal comes in Bronze, Silver, and gold. Here's what you need to do in order to unlock each of these Medals!
First things first — where to check your Medal progress
To see where you are in your personal Medal journey, tap on your character icon in the bottom left corner of Pokémon Go. When your avatar pops up, swipe up from the bottom of the screen. You'll see all of your Medals and their current progress. This list is updated every time you play, so you can see how close you are to reaching a goal by the completion of the ring around the medal.
Looking for something more specific? Here's the list!
Medal Description Bronze Silver Gold
Jogger Walk a specific distance 10 km 100 km Unknown
Kanto Register Pokémon to your Pokédex 5 50 100
Collector Number of Pokémon captured 30 500 2000
Scientist Number of Pokémon evolved 3 20 200
Breeder Number of Eggs hatched 10 100 Unknown
Backpacker Visit PokéStops 100 1,000 Unknown
Battle Girl Gym Battle victories 10 100 Unknown
Ace Trainer Times trained at a Gym 10 100 Unknwon
Schoolkid Normal type Pokémon caught 10 50 200
Black Belt Fighting type Pokémon caught 10 50 200
Bird Keeper Flying type Pokémon caught 10 50 200
Punk Girl Poison type Pokémon caught 10 50 200
Ruin Maniac Ground type Pokémon caught 10 50 200
Hiker Rock type Pokémon caught 10 50 200
Bug Catcher Bug type Pokémon caught 10 50 200
Hex Maniac Ghost type Pokémon caught 10 50 200
Kindler Fire type Pokémon caught 10 50 200
Swimmer Water type Pokémon caught 10 50 200
Gardener Grass type Pokémon caught 10 50 200
Rocker Electric type Pokémon caught 10 50 200
Psychic Psychic type Pokémon caught 10 50 200
Dragon Tamer Dragon type Pokémon caught 10 50 200
Fairy Tale Girl Fairy type Pokémon caught 10 50 200
Youngster Catch XS Rattata 3 50 Unknown
Pikachu Fan Catching Pikachus 3 50 Unknown