GO Battle League
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The GO Battle League (Japanese: GOバトルリーグ GO Battle League) is a feature in Pokémon GO for competitive, online Trainer Battles. It was first introduced on January 28, 2020.[1] Due to an exploit that allowed players to cheat, the GO Battle League was taken down indefinitely on June 12, 2020 until a fix could be patched into the game.[2] It was restored on June 23, 2020.
Rules and mechanics
Official rules for the GO Battle League were first announced on December 11, 2019.[3]. They are as follows:
- A season is a predetermined period of time during which players can battle to increase their rank and rating. At the start of a season, all players start from Rank 1 and can work their way up to Rank 10. A rating is assigned once the player reaches Rank 7, and it is recalculated upon finishing a set of five battles.
- GO Battle League matches take place in all three leagues: Great, Ultra, and Master Leagues. Only one league is available during a period of time, and the leagues will rotate throughout the season.
- Winning a match increases a Trainer's rating, and losing a match lowers it; currently, a tie counts as a loss. If the timer expires, the Trainer having the most remaining cumulative HP among their remaining Pokémon wins. Once a Trainer's rank moves up, it will not drop down for the remainder of the season.
- Teams with multiple Pokémon of the same species are not allowed. As with other Trainer Battles, Ditto and Shedinja are also ineligible to participate.
- In the Premier Cup, all Legendary and Mythical Pokémon (including Meltan and Melmetal) are ineligible to participate in it. The Premier Cup for the Master League was introduced in GO Battle League Season 2 and for the Ultra League in Season 3.
Walking requirement
Prior to March 13, 2020, players would have to walk a certain distance in order to unlock a set of five GO Battle League matches, or alternatively could spend PokéCoins to unlock them immediately. Since March 13, 2020, there is no longer any walking requirement.
From January 28 (the launch of GO Battle League) until January 31, 2020, players would have to walk 5 km; from January 31, 2020 until March 13, 2020, players would have to walk 3 km. After unlocking a set, any additional distance traveled will be rolled over towards unlocking the next set. A player could only participate in at most five sets (or 25 GO Battle League matches) per day, but afterward, could still accumulate distance for the next day's set.
The PokéCoin cost to immediately unlock the next set depended on how much distance was left:
200 if at least 2 km remaining- 100 if at least 1 km remaining
- 50 if less than 1 km remaining
Starting March 13, 2020, the walking requirement was temporarily waived amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] On April 5, 2021 (just before Season 7), it was announced that the walking requirement had been permanently removed.[5]
Ranks
The following lists the requirements to move up in each rank. All listed requirements are non-cumulative, so the counters restart upon reaching a new rank.
| Rank | Unlock requirement | |
|---|---|---|
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1 | Start |
| 2 | Battle 5 times | |
| 3 | Win 2 additional battles | |
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4 | Win 4 additional battles |
| 5 | Win 8 additional battles | |
| 6 | Win 10 additional battles | |
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7 | Win 14 additional battles |
| 8 | Achieve a rating of 2000+ | |
| 9 | Achieve a rating of 2500+ | |
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10 | Achieve a rating of 3000+ |
Rewards
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This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Exact amounts of Stardust awarded for finishing a set |
Trainers can earn up to five reward bundles per set for winning in the GO Battle League. Before starting a set of battles, the Trainer can choose either basic or premium reward track. A Premium Battle Pass is required for the premium reward track, which has better rewards than that of the basic. And upon finishing a set of five matches, the player will earn Stardust based on how many matches were won. The available rewards for both tracks improve as the player moves up in rank.
| Tier | Wins | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| Basic | 
|
|
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 ×3* |
|
 Premium |
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×6* |
 ×5 |
Stardust
The amount of Stardust awarded increases linearly with the player's rank.
| Rank | Basic | Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 win | 5 wins | 3 wins | |
| 1 |  300 |
600 |
900
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| 2 | 350 |
700 |
1,100
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| 3 | 400 |
800 |
1,300
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| 4 | 450 |
900 |
1,500
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| 5 | 500 |
1,000 |
1,700
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| 6 | 550 |
1,100 |
1,900
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| 7 | 600 |
1,200 |
2,100
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| 8 | 650 |
1,300 |
2,300
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| 9 | 700 |
1,400 |
2,500
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| 10 | 750 |
1,500
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2,700
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Random items
The following lists the possible random item that may be awarded in the GO Battle League. The items do not appear to differ between reward tiers and rank.
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|---|---|
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Fast TM |
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Charged TM |
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Sinnoh Stone |
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Silver Pinap Berry |
Wild encounters
The possible wild Pokémon encounters as rewards vary depending on the Rank. They are caught at Power Up level 20 and have a guaranteed 10 IVs per stat. Currently, the wild encounter rewards are the same between the basic and premium reward tracks.
Usually, the awarded Pokémon is randomly selected from a pool that expands as the player increases in rank. However, reaching certain ranks will guarantee a specific Pokémon encounter for the first time only. If the player reaches another higher rank, that also has a guaranteed encounter, before being awarded the previous one, then the next wild encounter will be from the lower Rank first, and the higher rank's encounter will be queued for the next wild encounter that is earned.
From March 3 to April 21, 2020, it was also possible to encounter the current level 5 Raid Boss from these wild encounters at any rank. This feature was brought back on November 9, 2020, at the start of Season 5 of the GO Battle League.
| Rank |
| |
|---|---|---|
| Random | First-time guaranteed | |
| Rank 1 |
    
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| Rank 4 |
  
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| Rank 7 |
   
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| Rank 8 |
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| Rank 9 |
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| Rank 10 |
| |
Seasons
- Preseason
- Great League: January 28 - February 10, 2020; March 9 - May 1, 2020
- Ultra League: February 10 - February 24, 2020
- Master League: February 24 - March 5, 2020
- All 3 Leagues: March 5 - March 13, 2020
- Season 1
- Great League: March 13 - March 27, 2020
- Ultra League: March 27 - April 10, 2020
- Master League: April 10 - April 24, 2020
- All 3 Leagues: April 24 - May 1, 2020
- Season 2
- Great League: May 1 - June 1, 2020
- Ultra League: June 1 - June 15, 2020
- Master League and Premier Cup: June 15 - June 29, 2020
- All 3 Leagues and Premier Cup: June 29 - July 6, 2020
- Season 3
- Great League: July 27 - August 10, 2020
- Ultra League and Premier Cup: August 10 - August 24, 2020
- Master League and Premier Cup: August 24 - September 7, 2020
- All 3 Leagues and Premier Cup: September 7 - September 14, 2020
- Season 4
- Great League: September 14 - September 28, 2020
- Ultra League and Premier Cup: September 28 - October 12, 2020
- Master League and Premier Cup: October 12 - October 26, 2020
- Halloween Cup: October 26 - November 3, 2020
- All 3 Leagues and Premier Cup: November 3 - November 9, 2020
- Season 5
- Little Cup: November 9 - November 16, 2020
- Kanto Cup: November 16 - November 23, 2020
- Catch Cup: November 23 - November 30, 2020
In other languages
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References
- ↑ Battle other Trainers globally soon—the GO Battle League has started rolling out!
- ↑ https://twitter.com/NianticHelp/status/1271594784461778944?s=20
- ↑ Community Note: GO Battle League preview, combat system update, legacy attacks, and more!
- ↑ Niantic Support on Twitter
- ↑ GO Battle League Season 7 begins Monday, March 1, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. PST (GMT −8)