With Season 1 of the Go Battle League coming to a close, the start date of Season 2, which was stated at the system's announcement to be May 1, 2020, is fast approaching. Many players have been excited to see what this new season would bring, and the wait is finally over! Niantic has issued the official announcement of Go Battle League season 2, including the rewards that we can all aspire to achieve!
Go Battle League: Season 2
Much like Season 1, Go Battle League Season 2 will be split into periods that focus on different leagues, followed by a final run of all leagues concurrently.
| Active League | League Start | League End |
|---|---|---|
| Great League | May 1, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT | May 25, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT |
| Ultra League | May 25, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT | June 15, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT |
| Master League+Premier Cup | June 15, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT | June 29, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT |
| All Leagues+Premier Cup | June 29, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT | July 6, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT |
While everyone should be familiar with the different leagues shown above, this season will also debut the new Premier Cup!
The Premier Cup is stated to be a new sub-division of the Master League that bans the use of Legendary and Mythical Pokemon. In a league that is absolutely infested with Legendary monsters in particular, this will be a real breath of fresh air for many, as it gives many other Pokemon a chance to shine!
New Additions to Go Battle League
- Pokemon encounters will happen at the 3rd win of basic rewards, or 1st win of premium rewards
- Rankings requirements have changes. Ranks 4-7 will now take more wins to achieve
- Reach Rank 10 to receive a new Avatar Pose
- Reach Rank 7 to receive a Elite Fast TM!
- New Pokemon will be Available at different Ranks:
Rank 4
Rank 8
Rank 9
Returning Features
It's not all new in Season 2. Many previous rewards and features will be making a return from Season 1.
- Walking for GBL entries is still postponed until further notice.
- Rank 7 still rewards Pika Libre avatar items
- Rank 10 still rewards Steven Stone avatar items
- Metagross is still a Rank 1 guaranteed encounter
- Pikachu Libre is still a Rank 10 guaranteed encounter
System Updates
Beyond Season 2, several other updates are coming to Trainer Battles, a few of which may have far-reaching impacts.
Trainer Battle Invites
The normal "invite" feature of Pokemon Go Trainer Battles will remain active for Good Friends and above as it has been for some time now. However, it will now be possible to send an invite via QR code to other players regardless of friendship level, greatly streamlining this system and making it more accessible to most players.
Move Changes
This season is bringing a few small changes to a few moves in trainer battles:
Drill Run will take less energy to use
Moon Blast will take less energy to use and have a chance to lower enemy attack, but its damage will also be reduced.
Wild Charge will see an increase in damage and a decrease in energy cost, but will have a chance to lower the user's defense sharply on use.
Moveset Update
This is the largest change in this section: one Pokemon in particular is about to see one new move added to its moveset...
Palkia, the estranged 3rd member of the Creation Trio that's long stood in the shadow of its trio brethren, is going to be given the Water Type Charged Move Aqua Tail. Our team is currently analyzing this change, and you can expect an update on it soon, but here's a small sample of how it's expected to do in the Master League without a second move:
Rating courtesy of PVPoke
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Trainers,
As April comes to a close, so does Season 1 of the GO Battle League. A lot has happened these past few weeks!
GO Battle League Season 1 recap
We kicked off the season with a celebration event that helped Trainers prepare for the GO Battle League, where they had the opportunity to catch powerful Pokémon—like Skarmory, Registeel, and Altered Forme Giratina—to add to their battle parties. As Season 1 continued, Legendary and Mythical Pokémon, such as Lugia and Darkrai, became available as GO Battle League reward encounters for the first time.
On Friday, April 10, 2020, the GO Battle League leaderboard was released, showing the top 500 Trainers in the GO Battle League. In celebration of the leaderboard launch, the GO Battle Day event debuted, this time featuring Marill. Trainers earned reward encounters with Marill in the GO Battle League, enjoyed event bonuses, and gained access to 20 sets of GO Battle League battles for a total of 100 battles on the event day.
The Pokémon GO team congratulates everyone who appeared on the leaderboard this season—what a truly remarkable achievement! Good luck to everyone aiming for the leaderboard in Season 2.
Season 1 rewards, Season 2 timeline, and what’s staying the same
When Season 2 begins on Friday, May 1, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7), be sure to check out the Battle screen to receive your end-of-season rewards, including an Elite Charged TM if you reached rank 7 or higher! Season 2 will rotate through leagues, as noted in the schedule below. Season 3 is planned to begin in early July. Please note that all these dates are tentative. Stay tuned—we’ll update you if anything changes.
- The Great League will run from Friday, May 1, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Monday, May 25, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).
- The Ultra League will run from Monday, May 25, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Monday, June 15, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).
- The Master League will run from Monday, June 15, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Monday, June 29, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).
- Additionally, the first-ever GO Battle League Cup—the Premier Cup—will run concurrently with the Master League! Like the Master League, the Premier Cup won’t have a limit on Combat Power. However, Legendary and Mythical Pokémon won’t be eligible to participate. Otherwise, everything else about the format will stay the same, including the way ranks and ratings are determined. We hope the Premier Cup will add a fun flavor to Season 2!
- All three leagues and the Premier Cup will be available from Monday, June 29, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Monday, July 6, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).
- Season 3 will begin Monday, July 6, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).
For Season 2, the following will be the same as during Season 1.
- The walking and PokéCoin requirements to unlock sets of battles in the GO Battle League will still be removed. If you’re currently in the middle of walking to earn a set, this will take effect starting with your next set.
- The avatar items inspired by Pikachu Libre will continue to be rank 7 rewards.
- Metagross and Pikachu Libre will continue to be guaranteed reward encounters when you reach rank 1 and rank 10 respectively.
- The avatar items inspired by Steven Stone, a Pokémon League Champion of the Hoenn region, will continue to be rank 10 rewards.
What’s new, Season 2?
There’ll be a few changes coming to the GO Battle League and Trainer Battles for Season 2.
- The GO Battle League reward system has been changed slightly. You can now earn a Pokémon reward encounter after your third win on the basic rewards track or after your first win on the premium rewards track.
- The ranking system has been adjusted. More wins are now required to get to ranks 4, 5, 6, and 7.
- Some of your guaranteed reward encounters will be different for Season 2. You’ll encounter these Pokémon at each listed rank:
- Stunfisk starting at rank 4
- Rufflet starting at rank 8
- Scraggy starting at rank 9.
- If you reach rank 10, you’ll earn a new avatar pose!
- Trainers who finish Season 2 at rank 7 or higher will receive an Elite Fast TM rather than an Elite Charged TM. Other than that, end-of-season rewards will stay the same as in Season 1.
Updates to Trainer Battles
We’re excited to announce some additional updates to Trainer Battles.
- Trainers will be able to initiate Trainer Battles via QR Code from anywhere, regardless of the Trainers’ Friendship level or distance.
- For Trainer Battles with friends, the Friendship level requirement will remain lowered so you can send battle invites to Good Friends and Great Friends. Originally, you could send battle invites only to Ultra Friends and Best Friends.
The following existing attacks have been updated in Trainer Battles.
- Drill Run: Its energy requirement has been reduced.
- Moonblast: Its energy requirement and damage have both been reduced, and it now has a chance to lower the opponent’s Attack stat.
- Wild Charge: Its energy requirement has been reduced, its damage has been increased, and it will sharply lower the user’s Defense stat.
Along with these updates to existing attacks, the following Pokémon will be able to learn an attack it couldn’t before.
- Palkia and Aqua Tail: Aqua Tail gives Palkia a powerful Water-type Charged Attack that charges quickly, helping Palkia stand out from the other Legendary Dragon types in the Master League and making Protect Shield decisions tougher for opponents.
Please be aware of your surroundings when playing Pokémon GO. Upcoming events are subject to change. Be sure to follow us on social media, opt in to receiving push notifications, and subscribe to our emails to stay updated. For the latest on in-game events and feature updates, be sure to check this help center article.
—The Pokémon GO team
