Pokémon GO Battle League Season 1 is set to kick-off on March 13, 2020.
The Battle League will let Pokémon GO trainers the opportunity to face each other in head-to-head matches. The battle pairing system will have an MMR system that will match players based on skill so contests should be fairly even.
Trainers who have climbed the ranks during preseason and reached Rank 4 or higher will gain one Premium Battle Pass. With this special pass, players can do battle in any of the three leagues. For those that didn’t qualify, they will need to walk a certain distance to earn an entry into the GO Battle League.
The league will feature three different arenas that will open at very specific dates/times and sport different entry requirements:
- Great League (1,500 CP limit): March 13 to March 27
- Ultra League (2,500 CP limit): March 27 to April 10
- Master League (No CP limit): April 10 to April 24
Once April 24 rolls over, all three leagues will be accessible to all until May 1.
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At launch, Season 1 of the Pokémon GO Battle League will also be implementing a couple of changes:
- The rewards list will be fully dependent on the league ranks. Each higher ranking will reward trainers with increased Stardust and a growing pool of Charged and Fast TMs.
- Trainers are now required to win a certain number of battles, to climb up to Ranks 2 or 3.
- GO Battle Pokémon line-up has also changed, featuring a higher encounter rate for Metagross, Rufflet, Pikachu Libre, and Scraggy. Older Pokémon — like Machop, Snorlax. and Meditite, will no longer appear as GO Battle Leauge encounters
- Earn GO Battle League limited edition avatar poses and costumes upon reaching Rank 10.
- Trainers who have reached Rank 7 will receive an Elite Charged TM.
Included in the introduction of Elite Charge TMs is the Elite Fast TM. Both will allow players to select the attack that their Pokémon learns. This includes moves that were previously only available during Raid and Community Days.
Part of the hype efforts for the Go Battle League Season 1 kick-off includes chance encounters with Legendary and Mythical Pokémon and two special events.
For the Legendaries and Mythicals, they will be available as rare rewards for the first time. Players who have reached Rank 4 will be able to encounter:
- Darkrai
- Altered Forme Giratina
- Thundurus
As for the special events, both will be themed around Season 1’s launch. Both global events, which will not run in Japan, South Korea, and Italy, will focus on:
- Preparation for GO Battle League: From March 10 to 12, strong Pokémon will appear in all raids, including Skarmory, Swampert, Shieldon, Registeel, and Cresselia. Trainers will also earn two-times more Stardust in Raid and normal Trainer Battles.
- Pokémon GO Battle League Season 1 Launch celebration: The Altered Forme Giratina will return in 5-Star Raids while Fighting-Type Pokémon will appear more frequently in the wild.
More details and soon-to-be-revealed features can be found here.
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