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Trainer Battles

Trainer Battles

Trainer Battles are a feature in Pokémon GO that lets Trainers battle against each other, with different rules compared to Gym or Raid Battles.[1] Most notably Charged Attacks are activated by playing Battle Minigames and can be blocked by shields.

Trainers will need to choose a league before going into a Trainer Battle, with each league having different maximum Pokémon CP limits.[2] Trainers can challenge one another using a Battle Code, assemble a team of three Pokémon, and see who comes out on top. When Trainer Battles are completed, both participants will receive great rewards, including a chance at rare, coveted Evolution Items.[3]

One year after the launch of Trainer Battle, GO Battle League was released to allow Trainers battle opponents around the globe in online.

To access Trainer Battle in game:

  1. in Map View touch Main Menu button Button Main Menu
  2. touch Battle button

Battle Leagues

Battle League

Battle Leagues

There are three Battle Leagues to choose from: Great League, Ultra League, and Master League.[4] Great League & Ultra League will need to be unlocked by both trainers with the minimum requirements to battle in. Each Trainer are only allowed to assign three Pokémon to a Battle League party.[5]

Battle League Choice

Battle League choice screen with locked league

Battles are fast-paced and real-time and a Trainer's selected team of Pokémon will be able to execute both their Fast Attack and Charged Attack moves. Using Charged Attacks in Trainer Battles additionally have the Battle Minigames mechanic.

Two Protect Shields may be deployed to save Pokémon from critical damage, running out of them the Pokémon will be left defenseless.[3] If the battle's time limit has been reached, the victor will be decided by whomever has the most knock-outs.[6] Tie battles are also possible when both Trainers lose are possible.

Trainers will usually have find other Trainers on their nearby tab to initiate a Trainer Battle, but Ultra and Best Friends can challenge each other from any distance.[3] Battling against another Trainer adds a new option for increasing your friendship, similar to participating in a Raid Battle together or exchanging Gifts.[7]

Due to coronavirus outbreak, trainers now only require to be at least Good Friends to send challenge invites.[8]

Protection Shield Button

Protect Shield

At the end of a battle, both Trainers will receive prizes regardless of whether they win or lose. Rewards can be rewarded up to three times per day by battling other Trainers, but progress toward medals will continue after that. The end of a battle will also give Trainers an option to propose a rematch, or to send them a Friend Request if they're not already friends.[7]

Pokémon are automatically returned to their previous health after Trainer Battles. If they were not at full health, they enter Trainer Battles at full health, and are returned to their previous health after. However, fainted Pokémon cannot be used.

League Icon Minimum Requirements to Unlock Constraints
Great Battle League Great No Minimum Requirement Max CP per Pokémon: 1,500
Ultra Battle League Ultra 3 Pokémon with 1,500 CP or Higher Max CP per Pokémon: 2,500
Master Battle League Master 3 Pokémon with 2,500 CP or Higher No Limit

Banned Pokémon

Ditto and Shedinja are banned in Trainer Battles.[7]

Team Leader Battles

AceTrainer Gold

Ace Trainer

Team Leaders Spark, Candela, and Blanche are available to battle, any time, any place. Trainers can earn rewards once per day when training with a team leader. Finally, you can work toward earning an Ace Trainer medal once again.[3]

Each Team Leader will always have the same defined set of Pokemon (with a different team for each League), much like battling Gym Leaders in the main series games.[7] They never used protect shields until an update in July 2019, which also changed their teams. They would always block the first two Charged Attacks used against them with protect shields in the Master League, but in the other two cases, they still never use shields.

The Pokémon in the teams are comprised of Fire-types for Candela, Water- and Ice-types for Blanche, and Electric-types for Spark. Their Pokémon can have different Fast and Charged Attacks everyone you battle them, although they will only have one of each within the same battle.

Team Leader League 1st Pokémon 2nd Pokémon 3rd Pokémon
Icon Blanche
Blanche
Battle League Great
Battle League Ultra
Battle League Master
Icon Candela
Candela
Battle League Great
Battle League Ultra
Battle League Master
Icon Spark
Spark
Battle League Great
Battle League Ultra
Battle League Master

List of previous Team Leader Battle teams

Start End Leader League Team
Dec 12,
2018
Jul 19,
2019
Icon Blanche
Blanche
Battle League Great Magikarp, Feebas, Squirtle
Battle League Ultra Alolan Ninetales, Glalie, Lapras
Battle League Master Lapras, Gliscor, Articuno
Icon Candela
Candela
Battle League Great Slugma, Vulpix, Charmander
Battle League Ultra Alolan Marowak, Houndoom, Infernape
Battle League Master Infernape, Electivire, Moltres
Icon Spark
Spark
Battle League Great Magnemite, Mareep, Pikachu
Battle League Ultra Alolan Raichu, Magneton, Manectric
Battle League Master Manectric, Milotic, Zapdos

Rewards

After finishing each day's first three Trainer Battles and the first Team Leader Battle, trainers receive random combination of the following rewards.

Stardust Sinnoh Stone Rare Candy Technical Machines

The amount of Stardust awarded is the same for all three leagues in Trainer Battles, but in Team Leader Battles, Great League only gives 300/600 Stardust, and 400/800 for Ultra League.

Stat boosts

Main article: Stat-changing attacks

Beginning on February 16, 2019, certain Charged Attacks have a chance to trigger stat boosts during Trainer Battles. These stat boosts persist on the affected Pokémon until they either faint or are switched out of battle.[9]

Development

When designing Trainer Battles, Niantic wanted to create an experience that everyone could enjoy and ensure that different kinds of Pokémon can show their strengths. With Leagues in Trainer Battles, they hope to create a system that's accessible to many Trainers.[10]

Currently, battles have a four minute timer and the time is only displayed during the final 20 seconds of battle, but this could change before release.[7]

Gallery

Trivia

  • Trainer Battles became available on December 12th, 2018, following the forced roll-out of update 0.131.1.[11]
  • Rare Candy was added to be a reward on January 9th, 2019.[12]
  • Fast TM and Charged TM were added to be rewards on February 25th, 2019.[13]
  • In the first set of Team Leader team:
    • The last Pokémon in each leader's Great League team was always a Starter Pokémon.
    • The first Pokémon in each leader's Ultra League team was always an Alolan-form Pokémon.
    • The second Pokémon in each leader's Master League team was always the only one that does not have their typical type(s).
    • The last Pokémon in each leader's Master League team was always a member of Legendary Bird Trio.
  • In the current set of Team Leader team:
    • The last Pokémon in each leader's Great League team is always Castform weather form.
    • The first Pokémon in each leader's Ultra League team is always an Eeveelution.
    • The first Pokémon in each leader's Master League team is always a member of Legendary Beast Trio.
    • The second Pokémon in each leader's Master League team is always a Pseudo-legendary Pokémon that does not have their typical type(s).
    • The last Pokémon in each leader's Master League team is always a member of Legendary Bird Trio.
  • Although it is not battling real players, the battle against Team GO Rocket members has the same battle mechanic as Trainer Battle.
    • Two major differences are that there is no selection between Leagues in these battles and Trainers are free to use any Battle Party they have and after battling Team GO Rocket members Trainer's used Pokémon won't have their health restored automatically.
  • Before the introduction of GO Battle League, Trainer Battle was placed left to the near Pokémon tag.

References

  1. PokemonGoApp. (2018, November 30). We hear you loud and clear, Trainers! Here's your exclusive sneak peek into Trainer Battles. Twitter. Retrieved on 2018-12-02.
  2. PokemonGoApp. (2018, November 30). Think that CP strength is the only deciding factor in Pokémon GO Trainer Battles?. Twitter. Retrieved on 2018-12-02.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 COMING SOON: Show your skills with Pokémon GO Trainer Battles!. Pokémon GO Live. Retrieved on 2018-12-04.
  4. PokemonGoApp. (2018, November 30). Here's a breakdown of each Battle League's requirements. Twitter. Retrieved on 2018-12-02.
  5. PokemonGoApp. (2018, November 30). While Pokémon with high CP might be a big advantage. Twitter. Retrieved on 2018-12-02.
  6. PokemonGoApp. (2018, December 5). While in a Trainer Battle, keep your eye on the time. Twitter. Retrieved on 2018-12-05.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Goldfarb, A. (2018, December 4). Pokemon Go PVP Doesn't Reinvent Battles, But Adds Some New Twists. IGN. Retrieved on 2018-12-04.
  8. 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.
  9. Community Note: Upcoming Changes to Pokémon GO. Pokémon GO Live. Retrieved on 2019-02-14.
  10. PokemonGoApp. (2018, November 30). Developer note: When designing Trainer Battles, we wanted to create an experience that everyone can enjoy. Twitter. Retrieved on 2018-12-02.
  11. PokemonGoApp. (2018, December 12). Calling all level 40 Trainers. Your time has come to #GOBattle. Twitter. Retrieved on 2018-12-12.
  12. Rare Candy from PVP reward.. /r/TheSilphRoad. Retrieved on 2019-01-09.
  13. Got TM from pvp. /r/TheSilphRoad. Retrieved on 2019-04-02.
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