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:
- in Map View touch Main Menu button
- touch Battle button
Contents
- 1 Battle Mechanics
- 1.1 Stat boosts
- 2 Battle Leagues
- 2.1 Banned Pokémon
- 3 Team Leader Battles
- 4 Rewards
- 5 Development
- 6 Gallery
- 7 Trivia
- 8 References
Battle Mechanics[]
Trainer Battles, unlike Gym and Raid Battles, take place in defined turns. Each turn takes 0.5 seconds, and all Attacks take place within a fixed number of these turns.
- Fast Attacks can take anywhere from 1 to 5 turns.
- Charged Attacks always take 1 turn, regardless of whether they are shielded or not.
- Additionally, in Trainer Battles with Team Leaders and Team GO Rocket, every use of a Charged Attack, switching Pokémon, or a Pokémon fainting on either team will result in the opponent being unable to perform actions for 4 turns.[4]
Using Charged Attacks in Trainer Battles additionally have the Battle Minigames mechanic. Two Protect Shields may be deployed to save Pokémon from Charged Attacks, running out of them the Pokémon will be left defenseless.[3]
After the first Pokémon faints, Trainer has 12 seconds to decide which Pokémon to be sent out. Switching Pokémon has a 50-second cooldown.
If the battle's 4-minute time limit has been reached, the victor will be decided by whomever has the most knock-outs or the remaining health percentage if both Trainers have the same amount of Pokémon left.[5] The final 20-second counter is displayed. Tie battles when both Trainers lose are possible.
Stat boosts[]
- Main article: Stat-changing attacks
Beginning on February 16th, 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.[6]
Battle Leagues[]
There are three Battle Leagues to choose from: Great League, Ultra League, and Master League.[7] 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.[8]
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 friendship, similar to participating in a Raid Battle together or exchanging Gifts.[9]
Due to COVID-19 pandemic:
Trainers now only require to be at least Good Friends to send challenge invites.[10]
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.[9]
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 |  | No Minimum Requirement | Max CP per Pokémon: 1,500 |
| Ultra |  | 3 Pokémon with 1,500 CP or Higher | Max CP per Pokémon: 2,500 |
| Master |  | 3 Pokémon with 2,500 CP or Higher | No Limit |
Banned Pokémon[]
Ditto and Shedinja are banned in Trainer Battles.[9]
Team Leader Battles[]
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. Defeating them will reward progress on Ace Trainer medal.[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.[9] 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 randomly selected from their regular (non exclusive) movepools in each battle, although they will only have one of each within the same battle.
Current Pokémon parties
Blanche
Candela
Spark
POKÉMON PARTY
Previous Pokémon parties
From Jul 19th, 2019 to Jan 27th, 2023[11]
Blanche
Candela
POKÉMON PARTY
| League | 1st Pokémon | 2nd Pokémon | 3rd Pokémon |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Combusken | Magcargo | Sunny Castform |
 | Flareon | Typhlosion | Magmortar |
 | Entei | Salamence | Moltres |
Spark
From Dec 12th, 2018 to Jul 19th, 2019.
Blanche
Candela
POKÉMON PARTY
| League | 1st Pokémon | 2nd Pokémon | 3rd Pokémon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slugma | Vulpix | Charmander |
| Alolan Marowak | Houndoom | Infernape |
| Infernape | Electivire | Moltres |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
500/1000× | 1/2× | 1/2× | 1× 1× |
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. In Master League, there is a ~10% chance to receive other rewards, to include a doubling of said rewards.
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.[12]
Gallery[]
Trainer Battle previews
League choices
Nearby and QR Code
Battle notification
Great League
Ultra League
Master League
Team Leader Battle - Instinct
Team Leader Battle - Mystic
Team Leader Battle - Valor
Action
Protection Shield button
Protection Shield deployed
Team Leader backdrops
Backdrop Blanche
Backdrop Candela
Backdrop Spark
Trivia[]
- Trainer Battles became available on December 12th, 2018, following the forced roll-out of update 0.131.1.[13]
- Rare Candy was added to be a reward on January 9th, 2019.[14]
- Fast TM and Charged TM were added to be rewards on February 25th, 2019.[15]
- 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 ofLegendary Bird Trio.
- In the second set of Team Leader team:
- The last Pokémon in each Leader's Great League team is always Castform weather form.
- In the current set of Team Leader team:
- The last Pokémon in each Leader's Great League team and first Pokémon in each Leader's Ultra League team are always an Eeveelution.
- The first Pokémon in each Leader's Master League team is always a member ofLegendary 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 ofLegendary 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 will not have their health restored automatically.
- Before the introduction of GO Battle League, Trainer Battle was placed left to the nearby Pokémon tag.
- The switch timer was used to be 60 seconds prior to Season 20.[16]
References[]
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ PokemonGoApp. (2018, November 30). Think that CP strength is the only deciding factor in Pokémon GO Trainer Battles?. Twitter. Retrieved on 2018-12-02.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 COMING SOON: Show your skills with Pokémon GO Trainer Battles!. Pokémon GO Live. Retrieved on 2018-12-04.
- ↑ Team GO Rocket Leader Guide: General Tips and Defeating Giovanni. GamePress. Retrieved on 2024-04-26.
- ↑ PokemonGoApp. (2018, December 5). While in a Trainer Battle, keep your eye on the time. Twitter. Retrieved on 2018-12-05.
- ↑ Community Note: Upcoming Changes to Pokémon GO. Pokémon GO Live. Retrieved on 2019-02-14.
- ↑ PokemonGoApp. (2018, November 30). Here's a breakdown of each Battle League's requirements. Twitter. Retrieved on 2018-12-02.
- ↑ PokemonGoApp. (2018, November 30). While Pokémon with high CP might be a big advantage. Twitter. Retrieved on 2018-12-02.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Goldfarb, A. (2018, December 4). Pokemon Go PVP Doesn't Reinvent Battles, But Adds Some New Twists. IGN. Retrieved on 2018-12-04.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ poke_miners. The Team Leaders have changed their lineups. Castforms have been replaced with an Eevee evolution (Vap, Flar, and Jolt). Twitter. Retrieved on 2023-02-06.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ PokemonGoApp. (2018, December 12). Calling all level 40 Trainers. Your time has come to #GOBattle. Twitter. Retrieved on 2018-12-12.
- ↑ Rare Candy from PVP reward.. /r/TheSilphRoad. Retrieved on 2019-01-09.
- ↑ Got TM from pvp. /r/TheSilphRoad. Retrieved on 2019-04-02.
- ↑ NianticHelp. Trainers, starting September 3 at 1:00 p.m. PST through the end of the Max Out season, the switch timer during all battles will be reduced from 60 seconds to 50 seconds. This will apply to GO Battle League, Team GO Rocket Battles, Team Leader Battles and Trainer Battles against friends. Twitter. Retrieved on 2024-09-02.
