GO Battle League is a feature in Pokémon GO that allows Trainers to battle opponents around the globe in online Trainer Battles. The feature was released on January 29th, 2020.[1] It is only available to Trainers level 10 and up. Only one Pokémon of a single species can be assigned to a Battle Party.
To access GO Battle League in-game, from Map View, Trainers need to tap the Main Menu button 
and tap the Battle button 
. GO Battle League is split into sets of five matches each. Trainers can only play a maximum of 5 sets per day (a total of 25 matches). During GO Battle Days, Trainers can do up to 20 sets in the duration of the event (a total of 100 matches).
Since April 10th, 2020, the GO Battle League leaderboard was introduced to show the top five hundred Trainers in the world.[2]
Current Season[]
GO Battle League is currently at Season 20. The formats are:
| Formats | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|
 Great League Galar Cup: Little Edition
|
September 3rd, 2024 | September 10th, 2024 |
 Ultra League Galar Cup: Little Edition
|
September 10th, 2024 | September 17th, 2024 |
 Master League Psychic Cup: Great League Edition
|
September 17th, 2024 | September 24th, 2024 |
| Great League Ultra League Master League
|
September 24th, 2024 | October 1st, 2024 |
| Great League Galar Cup: Great League Edition
|
October 1st, 2024 | October 8th, 2024 |
Ultra League Sunshine Cup
|
October 8th, 2024 | October 15th, 2024 |
Master League Halloween Cup: Little Edition
|
October 15th, 2024 | October 22nd, 2024 |
 Great League Remix Halloween Cup: Great League Edition
|
October 22nd, 2024 | October 29th, 2024 |
| Great League Ultra League Master League
|
October 29th, 2024 | November 5th, 2024 |
Great League Master Premier
|
November 5th, 2024 | November 12th, 2024 |
Ultra League Willpower Cup
|
November 12th, 2024 | November 19th, 2024 |
Master League Retro Cup
|
November 19th, 2024 | November 26th, 2024 |
Great League Ultra League Master League Catch Cup: Great League Edition
|
November 26th, 2024 | December 3rd, 2024 |
Battle Leagues[]
- For the Leagues and Cups in the current Season, see Season 20 → Formats.
GO Battle League uses a similar Battle Leagues mechanic as seen in normal Trainer Battles. Special Battle Leagues, called Cups, are also featured at certain times. The Leagues and Cups can have the Premier and Remix variants. The same Cup can have different constraints on CP and allowed Pokémon on each appearance.
The following is a list of all Leagues and Cups featured in the GO Battle League:
| League | Icon | Minimum Requirements to Unlock | Constraints |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great League | 
|
No Minimum Requirement | Max CP per Pokémon: 1,500 |
| Ultra League | 
|
3 Pokémon with 1,500 CP or Higher | Max CP per Pokémon: 2,500 |
| Master League | 
|
3 Pokémon with 2,500 CP or Higher | No limit |
| Variants | |||
| Premier | 
|
Legendary Pokémon, Mythical Pokémon and Ultra Beasts are banned Introduced in Season 2 | |
| Remix |  
|
Ban list decided by official Introduced in Season 7 | |
| Classic |
|
Pokémon powered up by Candy XL are banned Introduced in Season 6 Discontinued since Season 14 | |
| Regional Cups | |||
| Kanto Cup | 
|
Only Pokémon with a Pokédex number between #001 and #151 allowed | |
| Johto Cup | 
|
Only Pokémon with a Pokédex number between #152 and #251 allowed | |
| Hoenn Cup | 
|
Only Pokémon with a Pokédex number between #252 and #386 allowed | |
| Sinnoh Cup |
|
Only Pokémon with a Pokédex number between #387 and #493 allowed | |
| Hisui Cup | 
|
Only Pokémon originally discovered in the Hisui region or Pokémon with a Pokédex number between #387 and #493 allowed | |
| Seasonal Cups | |||
| Electric Cup | 
|
Only Electric-type Pokémon allowed | |
| Fighting Cup | 
|
Only Fighting-type Pokémon allowed Psychic-type Pokémon banned | |
| Flying Cup | 
|
Only Flying-type Pokémon allowed | |
| Psychic Cup | 
|
Only Psychic-type Pokémon allowed Mew banned | |
| Catch Cup | 
|
Only Pokémon caught during a specified timeframe allowed, excluding Mythical Pokémon | |
| Choose Bidoof! | 
|
Only Bidoof allowed Max CP per Pokémon: 500 | |
| Color Cup | 
|
Only Fire-, Water-, Grass- and Electric-type Pokémon allowed | |
| Element Cup | 
|
Only Fire-, Water- and Grass-type Pokémon that are able to evolve and have not evolved even once allowed | |
| Evolution Cup | 
|
Only Pokémon that have evolved at least once and can evolve again allowed | |
| Fantasy Cup | 
|
Only Dragon-, Steel- and Fairy-type Pokémon allowed | |
| Fossil Cup | 
|
Only Water-, Rock- and Steel-types Pokémon allowed | |
| Halloween Cup | 
|
Only Poison-, Ghost-, Bug-, Dark- and Fairy-type Pokémon allowed, excluding Legendary and Mythical Pokémon | |
| Holiday Cup | 
|
Only Normal-, Grass-, Electric-, Ice-, Flying- and Ghost-type Pokémon allowed | |
| Jungle Cup | 
|
Only Normal-, Grass-, Electric-, Poison-, Ground-, Flying-, Bug- and Dark-type Pokémon allowed | |
| Little Cup | 
|
Only Pokémon that are able to evolve and have not evolved even once allowed Max CP per Pokémon: 500 | |
| Love Cup | 
|
Only red and pink Pokémon allowed | |
| Mountain Cup | 
|
Only Ground-, Rock-, Ice- and Steel-type Pokémon allowed | |
| Retro Cup | 
|
Dark-, Steel- and Fairy-type Pokémon banned | |
| Single-type Cup | 
|
Only single-typed Pokémon allowed | |
| Spring Cup | 
|
Only Water-, Grass- and Fairy-type Pokémon allowed | |
| Summer Cup | 
|
Only Normal-, Fire-, Water-, Grass-, Electric- and Bug-type Pokémon allowed | |
| Sunshine Cup | 
|
Only Normal-, Fire-, Grass- and Ground-type Pokémon allowed | |
| Weather Cup | 
|
Only Fire-, Water-, Ice- and Rock-type Pokémon allowed | |
| Willpower Cup | 
|
Only Fighting-, Psychic- and Dark-type Pokémon allowed | |
Ranks and Ratings[]
- For the ranks and ratings in the current Season, see Season 20 → Ranks and Ratings.
A Trainer's rank is a measure of their progress in the current GO Battle League Season. The requirements to reach the next rank depend on the Trainer's current rank but usually involve completing or winning a total number of matches. Once a Trainer reaches a new rank, they cannot drop below it for the rest of the Season; losing matches does not lower a Trainer's rank. Ending a Season with a higher rank results in a higher amount of Stardust at the end of the Season, and certain rewards are locked behind the highest ranks.
A Trainer's rating is a measure of their battle performance. This is used to match Trainers in battles with other Trainers of similar skill. Winning matches will increase a Trainer's rating, while losing matches will decrease the rating. Trainers cannot see what their rating is until they reach rank 20.
Ranks and ratings are only affected by playing the GO Battle League. Battling friends or Team Leaders will not influence a Trainer's GO Battle League rank or rating.
Rewards[]
- For the rewards in the current Season, see Season 20 → Rewards.
At the start of each set of matches, Trainers need to pick the rewards they will receive from that set: Basic Rewards, which are free, or Premium Rewards, which require exchanging a Premium Battle Pass. The next match reward in the set is only granted if the Trainer wins the next match. These rewards include Pokémon encounters, Stardust, Rare Candy, and a random item which awards one of the following:
The exact specifics on rewards are different for each Season. The amount of Stardust and Rare Candy, and the order of the rewards, depends on which reward set the Trainer chose and the Trainer's rank. Reaching the highest rank often rewards Trainers with other exclusive items such as avatar items and poses. At the end of each Season, Trainers receive Stardust and, if their rank was high enough, an Elite Fast TM and/or an Elite Charged TM.
Pikachu Libre is the only Pokémon currently exclusive to GO Battle League encounter rewards. Scraggy, Rufflet, Frillish and Mienfoo were also exclusive to these encounter rewards when they were introduced.
Development[]
According to Niantic, battling has been a core part of the Pokémon universe since the very beginning. This feature would build upon Trainer Battles, then-current form of player vs. player battling that exists within Pokémon GO. Like many Pokémon GO features, GO Battle League would encourage players to get out and explore the world with Pokémon. Trainers would 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. Niantic hoped this feature "will make the Pokémon GO battling experience more competitive and accessible to more Trainers."[3]
Until March 13th, 2020, entering the GO Battle League required unlocking each set. The first set was free, but following sets had to be unlocked by walking 3 km for each set. If a Trainer did not want to walk, a button was displayed which allowed Trainers to unlock the next set by spending 
200, 100 or 50 if the walking distance remaining was greater than 2 km, greater than 1 km, or less than 1 km, respectively. Progress was displayed on the Battle page, and Trainers could accumulate distance for a future set after playing the maximum five sets. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, the walking distance requirement was removed to allow Trainers to participate in the GO Battle League without having to go outside.[4] The removal was intended to be temporary. A week before Season 7 began, Niantic announced the removal would be permanent and the walking requirement would not return.[5]
With different Seasons of GO Battle League, there were significant changes to this feature including Pokémon rewards pool and moving Pokémon encounter reward into third place in the free set. Legendary and Mythical Pokémon may sometimes appear in rewards pool.
Starting from the GO Beyond update in Season 6, the GO Battle League has expanded from 10 to 24 ranks, with the top four ranks called Ace, Veteran, Expert and Legend. Rewards are tied to the theme of the Season as well.
History[]
Feature launch[]
- January 29th, 2020 – GO Battle League was made 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 30th, 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
- January 31st, 2020 – GO Battle League was made available for players level 10 and above
Seasons[]
- Preseason – January 29th to March 13th, 2020
- Season 1 – March 13th to May 11th, 2020
- Season 2 – May 11th to July 27th, 2020
- Season 3 – July 27th to September 14th, 2020
- Season 4 – September 14th to November 9th, 2020
- Season 5 – November 9th to 30th, 2020
- Season 6 – November 30th, 2020 to March 1st, 2021
- Season 7 – March 1st to May 31st, 2021
- Season 8 – May 31st to August 30th, 2021
- Season 9 – August 30th to November 29th, 2021
- Season 10 – November 29th, 2021 to March 1st, 2022
- Interlude Season – March 1st to June 1st, 2022
- Season 11 – June 1st to September 1st, 2022
- Season 12 – September 1st to December 1st, 2022
- Season 13 – December 1st, 2022 to March 1st, 2023
- Season 14 – March 1st to June 1st, 2023
- Season 15 – June 1st to September 1st, 2023
- Season 16 – September 1st to December 1st, 2023
- Season 17 – December 1st, 2023 to March 1st, 2024
- Season 18 – March 1st to June 1st, 2024
- Season 19 – June 1st to September 3rd, 2024
- Season 20 – September 3rd to December 3rd, 2024
Events[]
- GO Battle League Preparation – March 10th - 12th, 2020
- GO Battle League Season 1 Launch Celebration – March 13th - 16th, 2020
- GO Battle Day: Marill – April 12th, 2020
- Various GO Battle Days and Nights
Gallery[]
Promotional images[]
Videos[]
References[]
- ↑ Battle other Trainers globally soon—the GO Battle League has started rolling out!. Pokémon GO Live. Retrieved on 2020-01-30.
- ↑ View globally ranked Trainers with the GO Battle League leaderboard, and celebrate with GO Battle Day: Marill!. Pokémon GO Live. Retrieved on 2020-04-11.
- ↑ Coming 2020: GO Battle League. Pokémon GO Live. Retrieved on 2019-10-21.
- ↑ NianticHelp. Trainers, for the next 30 days, we will be making the following changes for GO Battle League and Trainer Battles with friends:. Twitter. Retrieved on 2020-03-14.
- ↑ GO Battle League Season 7 begins Monday, March 1, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. PST (GMT −8). Pokémon GO Live. Retrieved on 2021-02-23.