Pokémon GO developer Niantic and The Pokémon Company have today revealed that the first season of the game's upcoming competitive mode, GO Battle League, will be launching on 13th March.
The GO Battle League is set to allow players to compete in Trainer Battles against other players around the world, rising up through the ranks as they prove themselves as the very best there ever was. During Season 1, you'll be paired up against similarly ranked competitors through an online matchmaking system.
Three leagues will be available - the Great League, the Ultra League, and the Master League - and the mode's format will rotate between the three. As you win battles you'll climb the rankings, with each new rank offering a wider variety of rewards to those who manage to get there.
A schedule for this league rotation has already been shared and is as follows:
- The Great League (1500 CP limit) will run from Friday, March 13, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Friday, March 27, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).
- The Ultra League (2500 CP limit) will run from Friday, March 27, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Friday, April 10, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).
- The Master League (no CP limit) will run from Friday, April 10, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Friday, April 24, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).
- All three leagues will be available from Friday, April 24, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Friday, May 1, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).
Naturally, this means that the preseason of the GO Battle League will come to an end, but Niantic says that this month's full launch will benefit from a variety of updates and improvements, including "changes to make wins matter more at early ranks and adjustments to awards, including more Pokémon encounters, additional avatar items, and an exclusive avatar pose".
Some of those Pokémon encounters include a number of Legendary and Mythical Pokémon like Altered Forme Giratina, Darkrai, and Thundurus. If you're into your Pokémon GO battles, this certainly sounds like a neat addition.
Excited to get stuck into the GO Battle League? Let us know if you're planning to compete with a comment below.
Comments 4
Let's see how that goes, Go Battle League's pre-season has been rife with issues, ranging from connectivity issues and potential network code abuse, and players deliberately throwing matches because they were no longer eligible to earn the 4th prize in a set after having two losses.
For people not familiar, Go League Battles operate in a set of five battles, each win will unlock a successive reward.
In a free battle set, you need to win four battles to get a Pokémon encounter, which can include sought-after and exclusive species.
But in a premium battle set, which requires using a battle pass that costs 100 Poké Coins, the Pokémon encounter only requires two wins which is a much more realistic outcome.
Yay for the competition. Loving mobile gaming getting more love. Let's take over Nintendo.
I really wasn't expecting to get into the battle league, since PvP didn't really do it for me, but here I am... Actually playing this game regularly again.
I just happened to have a few 'mons kicking around that ended up being top tier competitors. And once you get a taste of these win streals, it's hard to not go back in for more.
Side note, I have an adorable 3 year old neice who is a wonderful conversationalist for her age. The Poliwrath and Rhyperior I use in league battles were Pokemon I've had in my party since before she was born. That hurts my brain.
Pokemon Go's competitive is just not fun or interesting to me. I wish you guys would cover Pokemon VGC competitive more as well! (instead?) The Sword Shield meta game has been amazing!
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