GO Battle League

GO Battle League is a feature in Pokémon GO that allows trainers to battle opponents around the globe in online Trainer Battles. The feature is released on January, 2020. It is only available to Trainers level 10 and up. Only one Pokémon of a single species can be assigned to a Battle Party.

Entering GO Battle League
To access GO Battle League in game:
 * 1) in Map View touch Main Menu button [[file:Button Main Menu.png|30px|link=]]
 * 2) touch Battle button

Participation in GO Battle League requires unlocking a GO Battle League set, which grants you access to play a series of 5 matches. Your first set is free, and you can unlock future sets by walking 3 km.

If you do not want to walk, a "Battle Now" button will appear, giving you the option to unlock one set by spending, or  if at least 2 km, 1 km or less than 1 km remaining respectively.

You can view your progress towards earning a set on the Battle page, plus you'll receive an in-app notification and see a red dot on the Main Menu's Battle button when you’ve unlocked a set. Trainers can only unlock a maximum of 5 sets per day, but can still accumulate distance for the future's set.

Rewards
Before beginning a set, pick the type of rewards you wish to receive (Basic Rewards or Premium Rewards) before searching for a match. You must exchange a Premium Battle Pass to receive Premium Rewards. Winning a match unlocks one reward.

Basic Premium

The random items include:
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Ranks and Ratings
Rank is a measure how many matches you've played and/or won. Once you attain a new rank, you cannot drop below it for the rest of the season. Reaching rank 7 can see your rating. Losses do not affect rank but lower matchmaking rating. Ending a season with a higher rank results in better end-of-season rewards.

Only playing the GO Battle League global matching system influences the GO Battle League Rank.

Higher ranks include Pokémon rewarded in lower ranks. The Pokémon are set at level 20 with IV floor of 10/10/10. Snorlax is the first guaranteed and Scraggy is the first encounter in rank 4 if Snorlax has already be encountered.

Since March, 2020, Legendary Pokémon can be also obtained starting at rank 4.

Seasons
Preseason
 * Great League: January, 2020 to February , 2020
 * Ultra League: February, 2020 to February , 2020
 * Master League: February, 2020 to March , 2020

Development
Battling has been a core part of the Pokémon universe since the very beginning. This new feature that will build upon Trainer Battles, the current form of player vs. player battling that exists within Pokémon GO. Like many Pokémon GO features, GO Battle League will encourage players to get out and explore the world with Pokémon. Trainers will be able to walk in order to earn entry into the GO Battle League, then battle opponents from around the globe through an online matching system and rise in the ranks of the league. This feature should make the Pokémon GO battling experience more competitive and accessible to more Trainers.

History

 * January, 2020 - GO Battle League was open being available for players level 40
 * Two hours later - GO Battle League was made available for players level 37 and above
 * One hour later - GO Battle League was made available for players level 35 and above
 * January, 2020 - GO Battle League was made available for players level 33 and above
 * Two hours later - GO Battle League was made available for players level 30 and above
 * GO Battle League was temporally closed for minor fixes.
 * January, 2020 - GO Battle League was made available for players level 10 and above
 * February, 2020 - GO Battle League was temporally closed for at least 16 hours for maintenance.
 * February, 2020 - GO Battle League was temporally closed for 3 hours for maintenance.
 * February, 2020 - GO Battle League was temporally closed for 30 minutes for maintenance.
 * February, 2020 - GO Battle League was temporally closed for 20 minutes for maintenance.
 * February, 2020 - GO Battle League was temporally closed for 30 minutes for maintenance.
 * February, 2020 - GO Battle League was temporally closed for 30 minutes for maintenance.
 * February, 2020 - GO Battle League was temporally closed for 30 minutes for maintenance.
 * February, 2020 - GO Battle League was temporally closed for 30 minutes for maintenance.
 * March, 2020 - GO Battle League was temporally closed for 45 minutes for maintenance. Later, it was down for 1 to 3 hours again.

Videos
A special Dev Insights video will be released shortly.

Trivia

 * Initially, unlocking a set required to walk 5 km and at least 2 km was needed first to unlock via PokéCoins.
 * Before March, 2020, the Rare Candy given from each set of reward was 1 and 7 respectively.
 * Due to coronavirus outbreak, GO Battle League has the following amendments in Japan, South Korea and Italy from March to, 2020:
 * without walking or PokéCoins to unlock battle set
 * receive more Rare Candies
 * higher chance to encounter Scraggy and Legendary Pokémon
 * encounter Darkrai from March 8:00 a.m. to  10:00 p.m. and Altered Giratina from March  8:00 a.m. to  10:00 p.m.