Here's what's changing in the game's next competitive season.
The Pokemon Go Battle League debuted in early 2020, giving trainers the ability to compete against other real players for a chance to receive lots of in-game rewards.
Currently, we’re in the middle of Season 2 of the Go Battle League, and Season 3 is quickly approaching. Here’s everything you need to know about it!
Season 3 will kick off on July 27 at 1 p.m. PT, and will run until September 14. As usual, the season will be broken into different timed segments for all three battle leagues: Great, Ultra, and Master. Here’s the timeline:
For Season 3, the Ultra League segment will also have a Premier Cup with a limit of 2,500 CP.
Once Season 3 begins, any “end-of-season rewards” you earned in Season 2 will be rewarded to you on the game’s Battle screen. In a news post, Niantic, the game’s developer, said players can expect to receive “similar end-of-season rewards for Season 2,” with a noteworthy exception: players will receive an Elite Fast TM, rather than an Elite Charged TM, if they reached at least rank 7 during Season 2.
Niantic also detailed the “guaranteed reward encounters” players will receive as they reach different ranks during Season 3:
- “Pidgeot starting at rank 1
- Galarian Zigzagoon starting at rank 4
- Galarian Farfetch’d starting at rank 7
- Rufflet starting at rank 8
- Scraggy starting at rank 9
- Pikachu Libre starting at rank 10”
If players reach rank 10 during Season 3, they’ll receive a new avatar pose and avatar item. Plus, anyone who reaches at least rank 7 in Season 3 will also receive an Elite Charged TM as part of their end-of-season rewards.
Finally, Niantic announced that a Flying Cup will be added to the Pokemon Go Battle League “during an upcoming event.” In this cup, players will only be able to use Flying-type Pokemon.
While Season 3 will feature multiple changes, lots of things are also staying the same. For instance, you won’t be required to walk a certain distance before being able to compete, and you’ll still receive avatar items inspired by Pikachu Libre as part of the game’s rank 7 rewards. Niantic also said that “[t]he battles, wins, and ratings required to reach ranks will remain the same” for Season 3.
In addition to detailing Season 3 of the Go Battle League, Niantic also announced lots of changes that have been made to specific battle moves. Head over to the game’s website to see all of these changes.
To learn more about Season 3 of the Pokemon Go Battle League, check out Niantic’s news post right here.
Are you excited for the start of Season 3 of Go Battle League? Let us know on Twitter at @superparenthq.
Brandy Berthelson has been writing about video games and technology since 2006, with her work appearing on sites including AOL Games, Digital Spy, and Adweek. When she’s not gaming, Brandy enjoys crafting, baking, and traveling with her husband.
