Season 8 of GO Battle League lasted from May 31st, 2021 to August 30th, 2021.[1] It is preceded by Season 7 and succeeded by Season 9. This GO Battle League Season ran concurrently with Season of Discovery.
In this Season, Element Cup, Bidoof Cup and Ultra League Remix were introduced.
Formats[]
| Formats | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|
 Great League
|
May 31st, 2021 | June 14th, 2021 |
 Ultra League Premier Cup
|
June 14th, 2021 | June 28th, 2021 |
 Master League Master League Classic Element Cup
|
June 28th, 2021 | July 12th, 2021 |
 Choose Bidoof!
|
July 1st, 2021 | July 1st, 2021 |
Great League Great League Remix
|
July 12th, 2021 | July 26th, 2021 |
Ultra League Ultra League Remix
|
July 26th, 2021 | August 9th, 2021 |
| Master League Master League Classic Ultra Premier Cup
|
August 9th, 2021 | August 23rd, 2021 |
| Great League Ultra League Master League
|
August 23rd, 2021 | August 30th, 2021 |
Great League Remix: 1,500 CP limit. Top 20 Pokémon banned.
Ultra League Remix: 2,500 CP limit. Top 20 Pokémon banned.
Element Cup: 500 CP limit. Only Fire-, Water-, and Grass-types allowed. Only Pokémon that can evolve and that are the first in their Evolutionary line.
Choose Bidoof!: 500 CP limit. Only Bidoof allowed. Available only on July 1st, 2021.
Ranks and Ratings[]
The requirements were different from Season 7.[2] Unlike previous Seasons, which had changing ranking requirements almost every Season, the ranking requirement introduced in this Season has remained unchanged up until now.
| Rank | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Rank 1 | Start |
| Rank 2 | Complete 5 Battles |
| Rank 3 | Complete 5 more Battles |
| Rank 4 | Complete 5 more Battles |
| Rank 5 | Complete 5 more Battles |
| Rank 6 | Complete 5 more Battles |
| Rank 7 | Win 1 Battle |
| Rank 8 | Win 1 more Battle |
| Rank 9 | Win 1 more Battle |
| Rank 10 | Win 1 more Battle |
| Rank 11 | Complete 5 more Battles |
| Rank 12 | Win 5 more Battles |
| Rank 13 | Win 6 more Battles |
| Rank 14 | Win 7 more Battles |
| Rank 15 | Win 8 more Battles |
| Rank 16 | Complete 5 more Battles |
| Rank 17 | Win 10 more Battles |
| Rank 18 | Win 15 more Battles |
| Rank 19 | Win 20 more Battles |
| Rank 20 | Complete 5 more Battles |
| Ace | Reach rating of 2000+ |
| Veteran | Reach rating of 2500+ |
| Expert | Reach rating of 2750+ |
| Legend | Reach rating of 3000+ |
Rewards[]
- Rank 5: Mysterious Item
- Rank 10: 750 (Basic) / 1500 (Premium) Stardust
- Rank 15: 1 (Basic) / 2 (Premium) Rare Candy
- Rank 19: Pokémon Encounter
- Other ranks:
Basic
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
1×
 |
 |
3×
 |
|
Premium
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1×
|
|
6×
|
5×
 |
Stardust
| Rank | 1st win (Basic) | 5th win (Basic) | 3rd win (Premium) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 300 | 600 | 900 |
| 2 | 330 | 660 | 1000 |
| 3 | 330 | 660 | 1000 |
| 4 | 370 | 740 | 1100 |
| 6 | 400 | 800 | 1200 |
| 7 | 430 | 860 | 1300 |
| 8 | 430 | 860 | 1300 |
| 9 | 470 | 940 | 1400 |
| 11 | 530 | 1060 | 1600 |
| 12 | 530 | 1060 | 1600 |
| 13 | 570 | 1140 | 1700 |
| 14 | 600 | 1200 | 1800 |
| 16 | 700 | 1400 | 2100 |
| 17 | 730 | 1460 | 2200 |
| 18 | 770 | 1540 | 2300 |
| 20 | 870 | 1740 | 2600 |
| Ace | 900 | 1800 | 2700 |
| Veteran | 900 | 1800 | 2700 |
| Expert | 900 | 1800 | 2700 |
| Legend | 900 | 1800 | 2700 |
The random items can include:
- ,
- ,
- ,
- or .
Reaching rank 19 awarded:
Reaching Ace rank and above awarded avatar items and an avatar pose inspired by Korrina from Pokémon X and Y.
Pokémon[]
Guaranteed first Pokémon encounters:
- Machamp: rank 1 (one only)
- Mienfoo: rank 5
- Current Legendary Raid boss: rank 20
- Gible: Veteran rank
- Deino: Expert rank
- Pikachu Libre: Legend rank (one only)
New 
Tier 5 Raid Bosses could be obtained starting at rank 20 during their time in raids.
| Unlock Rank | Possible Pokémon Encounters |
|---|---|
| Rank 1 |        |
| Rank 5 |  |
| Rank 10 |    |
| Rank 15 |    |
| Rank 20 |           |
| Veteran |  |
| Expert |  |
| Legend |  |
End-of-Season rewards[]
- (rank 19 or above)
GO Battle Nights[]
June 3rd, 2021[]
GO Battle Night took place on June 3rd, 2021 from 6 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. local time. Great League was available during this GO Battle Night.
July 11th, 2021[]
GO Battle Night took place on July 11th, 2021 from 6 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. local time. Master League, Master League Classic and Element Cup were available during this GO Battle Night. Stardust bonus during GO Battle Night did not combine with the 2× Stardust bonus that was active from June 28th to July 12th, 2021.
August 26th, 2021[]
GO Battle Night took place on August 26th, 2021 from 6 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. local time. Great League, Ultra League and Master League were available during this GO Battle Night.
Attack updates[]
These Attack updates went live at the start of the Season:
New Attacks[]
Attack changes[]
- Acid Spray: Energy cost decreased from 50 to 45 in Trainer Battles.
- Poison Jab: Base power increased from 6 to 7 in Trainer Battles.
- Poison Sting: Energy gain increased from 8 to 9 in Trainer Battles.
- Cross Poison: Base power increased from 40 to 50 and 12.5% chance to increase the user's Attack by 2 stages in Trainer Battles.
- Poison Fang: 100% chance to lower the opponent's Defense by 1 stage in Trainer Battles.
- Dragon Tail: Base power increased from 9 to 13 and energy gain reduced from 10 to 9 in Trainer Battles.
- Focus Blast: Base power increased from 140 to 150 in Trainer Battles.
Attack availability[]
Some Pokémon received new Attacks to their standard Attack pools:
| Moves | Eligible Pokémon |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| |
  | |
|
Trivia[]
- Bidoof was available as the Legendary Pokémon encounter at Rank 20 for one day on July 1st, 2021.
References[]
- ↑ GO Battle League Season 8 begins Monday, May 31, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7). Pokémon GO Live. Retrieved on 2021-05-27.
- ↑ Season 8 Update (PokeMiners) /r/TheSilphRoad. Retrieved on 2021-06-01.
