This is the Pokémon GO Battle League
The Pokémon GO Battle League is the competitive game mode where players can show their worth against each other. In this game mode, you'll compete against players all over the world. We'll tell you everything you need to know to be well prepared to battle it out.
For weeks, you've traveled city and country to catch the best Pokémon. You've faithfully completed field research assignments from Professor Willow and evolved your best Pokémon. Then you want to show off your skills against other players. That's the time to start the Pokémon GO Battle League.
Enter the Pokémon GO Battle League
Starting the Pokémon GO Battle League is simple. You go to the menu in the game and press battle in the upper right. You'll then find yourself in the GO Battle League menu. There you'll see how many games you've played and won, what your longest winning streak is, and how much stardust you've earned.
Below that, you'll see which rewards you can play for. These are Basic Rewards or Premium Rewards. For the latter rewards you need a Premium Battle Pass. Below the available rewards you press battle to enter the battle. Next, you choose a League. After that, you can choose three Pokémon to use. Once you've done that, an available opponent is searched for you, and the match is on!
Fast Move, Charged Move, and Energy
A Pokémon has two types of attacks: a Fast Move and a Charged Move. A Fast Move can be used at any time. It does little damage and is performed in relatively rapid succession. By performing these fast moves, you'll build up energy.
This energy is used to perform a Charged Move. This is a move that you can only perform when you have enough energy, but it does a lot of damage. To perform this move, you must complete a kind of fast-paced mini-game with circles. It is possible to teach a Pokémon a second Charged Move.
Seasons and ranks in the Go Battle League
Seasons in Pokémon GO Battle League have their own theme and last for three months. During these three months, it's up to you to achieve the highest possible rank. Each season you can climb from rank 1 to rank 24. The interlude season is an exception: in this season you can only climb to rank 20.
The ranks 1 to 20 are obtained by simply playing and winning matches. To get to the last four ranks, you need to have a certain rating. This means that you have to win more matches than you lose. These are the ratings for the last four ranks:
- Ace (21): 2000
- Veteran (22): 2500
- Expert (23): 2750
- Legend (24): 3000
The current Pokémon GO Battle League Season is the interlude season. It runs from March 1 to June 1.
Great League, Ultra League, and Master League.
There are three leagues in which the matches take place. The Great League, Ultra League and Master League. Within a season, different leagues are active each week. Anyone can participate in all leagues. However, with which Pokémon to play depends on the active league.
In the Great League, you may enter with Pokémon that have a CP of 1500 or lower. If you're a beginner and don't have many strong Pokémon yet, this is the ideal league for you. You'll often encounter Pokémon like Azumarill and Skarmory here.
In the Ultra League, Pokémon up to 2,500 CP are allowed. In this league, you'll encounter more legendary and multiple-evolved Pokémon. These include Registeel, Walrein, or Giratina. Did you make a great catch during a Community Day? If so, you'll probably find it useful here.
Finally, we have the Master League. In this league there is no CP restriction. Here you will encounter the absolute „power house“ Pokémon that are also useful in raids. Examples include Groudon, Metagross and Lugia.
To prevent boredom, there are also so-called cups with a certain theme. Only certain types of Pokémon are allowed to participate. For example, there's the Love Cup, where you'll face Wigglytuff, Talonflame, and Alomomola. These cups are rotated just like the leagues.
Rules in the GO Battle League
Normally, it is possible to play five matches per day in the GO Battle League. Each match has five sets, after which the winner is known. There are exceptions to the rule: during a GO Battle day it is possible to play more matches.
So before starting, you choose three Pokémon. All three of these must be of a different species (species, not type). In the match that lasts 240 seconds, each player has two Protect Shields that he or she can use with a Charged Move.
It is also possible to switch between Pokémon. This can be done right from the start of the match, but after a switch you must wait one minute to perform another switch. Are the opponent's attacks super effective against your Pokémon? Then a switch may be smart, but don't do it too often.
You win a match by eliminating all three of your opponent's Pokémon. In some cases, you may not be able to do this in time. In that case, the person with the most life points left in total wins.
GO Battle League rewards
You'll be richly rewarded for playing matches against other players. Pokémon encounters and elite TMs are examples of the GO Battle League rewards. The rewards are renewed every Pokémon GO Battle season. So it always pays to achieve the highest possible rank.
