As we prepare to enter the final leg of Season 3 of the Go Battle League, Niantic has already announced their plans for Season 4. This season will involve changes to player ranks, a change in rewards, and new special cups! So let's get into it!
Go Battle League Season 4
| League Start | League End |
|---|---|
| September 14, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT | September 28, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT |
| League Start | League End |
|---|---|
| September 28, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT | October 12, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT |
| League Start | League End |
|---|---|
| October 12, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT | October 26, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT |
| League Start | League End |
|---|---|
| ovember 3, 2020, from 6:00 p.m. Local Time | November 9, 2020, from 11:59 p.m. Local Time |
| League Start | League End |
|---|---|
| September 24, 2020, from 6:00 p.m. Local Time | September 24, 2020, from 11:59 p.m. Local Time |
| League Start | League End |
|---|---|
| October 12, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT | October 26, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT |
While most of the above leagues/cups should be easily recognizable, including the postponed Flying Cup which limits players to Great League rules while using only Flying Type Pokemon, new to this season will be the Halloween Cup, which takes a note from the SIlph League in introducing new team limitations:
- The Halloween Cup will use Great League rules: a limit of 1500 CP.
- The Halloween Cup will have a limited type list: only Pokemon that are Poison, Ghost, Bug, Dark, or Fairy Types will be allowed to enter.
- The rewards for the Halloween Cup will be Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle in special halloween hats... which probably won't be able to evolve.
During the Flying Cup window mentioned above, players will also be able to access the Go Battle Night event.
- Players will be able to complete 20 sets during this time frame
- 2x Stardust from all Go Battle League sources
- Evolve Pidgeotto during this time period to gain a Pidgeot that knows Gust! This is a new Flying Type fast move, and we will report on it as soon as we know its stats!
Season 4 Highlights
- As has been the case since the COVID crisis started, Go Battle League will have no walking requirement.
- Pikachu Libre avatar items will still be rewarded at Rank 7
- Blue's outfit will still be rewarded at Rank 10
- Pokemon rewards-per-rank will not change from Season 3
- Ranking systems will be changed. Rank 1 will still be determined via number of battles fought, while rank 2-9 will be determined by total wins. Rank 10 will retain its current ranking system.
- Rank 1-3 rewards will have differnt Stardust amounts
- Stardust, TMs, and raid passes will be the rewards for rank 4 and over
- Rank 10 will have a new avatar pose as the reward
- The reward for reaching Rank 7 or higher will be an Elite Fast TM
Move and Moveset Changes
As has become tradition for new seasons of Go Battle League, we're getting a small moveset revamp for this event!
New Fast Move: Gust
Previously mentioned, this Flying Type fast move will be able to be learned by Pidgeotto evolved into Pidgeot during the Go Battle Night event. Depending on its stats, this could be very interesting, as Mega Pidgeot is set to be unlocked during this week's event!
Learnset:
New Charge Move: Lunge
A new Bug Type move that will have very limited availability, it will include a 100% chance to drop the opponent's attack stat. This will likely end up very close to Icy Wind, as it has identical stats.
Learnset:
Move Change: Bug Buzz
Bug Buzz will soon have a chance to drop the opposing Pokemon's defense, giving it the potential to snowball with a little luck.
Fully Evolved Learnset:
Move Change: Flame Charge
Flame Charge is going the way of Power-Up Punch and Fell Stinger: it will soon deal less damage and have a 100% chance to raise the user's attack.
Fully Evolved Learnset:
Move Change: Signal Beam
Following the Bug Type theme that this season seems to be bringing along, Signal Beam will have a chance to lower both the enemy's Attack and Defense, making it potentially devastating with a little luck!
Fully Evolved Learnset:
New Learnset: Vespiqueen
Something of a niche Pokemon in the Great League, Vespiqueen is being given access to the newly buffed Signal Beam. Just how much this will change her recommended moveset depends on the odds of the stat-drops!
Season 5 Sneak Peek
It's also been announced that Season 5 will bring about even larger changed to the format of Go Battle League. In particular, it will only last 3 weeks total, and rank will be determined by win total. This is a very interesting change, and we look forward to seeing how it will be implemented!
Full Announcement
Trainers,
As Season 3 of the GO Battle League finishes up, here’s a look at what you can expect for Season 4!
Season 3 rewards, Season 4 timeline, and what to expect
When Season 4 begins on Monday, September 14, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7), your end-of-season rewards for Season 3 will be available on the Battle screen, including an Elite Charged TM if you reached rank 7 or higher! Season 4 will follow a similar league rotation as Season 3, noted in the schedule below. These dates are tentative. Stay tuned—we’ll update you if anything changes.
- The Great League will run from Monday, September 14, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Monday, September 28, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).
- The Ultra League and its Premier Cup will run from Monday, September 28, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Monday, October 12, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7). This Premier Cup will have a 2,500 CP limit.
- The Master League and its Premier Cup will run from Monday, October 12, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Monday, October 26, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7). This Premier Cup will have no CP limit.
- The all-new Halloween Cup will run from Monday, October 26, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7) to Monday, November 3, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PST (GMT −8). You can see more details about the Halloween Cup below.
- All three leagues and the Premier Cup (no CP limit) will be available from Monday, November 3, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Monday, November 9, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PST (GMT −8).
- Season 5 will begin Monday, November 9, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PST (GMT −8).
You can look forward to the all-new Halloween Cup, which will run from Monday, October 26, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7) to Monday, November 2, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PST (GMT −8). In this format, only Poison-, Ghost-, Bug-, Dark-, and Fairy-type Pokémon will be allowed. In addition, you can earn reward encounters with Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, all wearing Halloween costumes! The Halloween Cup will have a 1,500 CP limit.
You can expect the following to stay the same in Season 4.
- There will not be a walking requirement in order to battle in the GO Battle League.
- The Friendship level requirement for battling remotely will remain at Good Friends throughout Season 4. Remember that you can scan another Trainer’s QR Code to battle them, no matter where they are.
- The avatar items inspired by Pikachu Libre will continue to be rank 7 rewards.
- The avatar items inspired by Blue from the Pokémon RPGs will continue to be rank 10 rewards.
- The win rewards and Pokémon reward encounters will remain the same as Season 3. As a reminder, the Pokémon encounter rewards are as follows.
- 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
What’s new in Season 4?
There are some notable changes coming to the GO Battle League for Season 4.
- Rank progression will be changing in Season 4. You can reach rank 2 by completing a certain number of battles, and you can reach ranks 3 through 9 by winning certain numbers of battles. You’ll still need to reach a rating of 3,000 to reach rank 10, similar to past GO Battle League seasons.
- The end-of-season rewards will be similar to those in Season 2.
- Stardust reward from rank 1 to rank 3
- Stardust, TMs, and a raid pass reward from rank 4 to rank 10
- If you reach rank 10, you’ll earn a brand-new avatar pose!
- If you finish Season 4 at rank 7 or higher, you’ll receive an Elite Fast TM rather than an Elite Charged TM.
GO Battle Night
On Thursday, September 24, 2020, from 6:00 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. local time, you can experience the all-new Flying Cup during the limited-time GO Battle Night event!
Features
- The Flying Cup will be available! In this format, only Flying-type Pokémon will be allowed, and the CP limit is 1,500.
- You’ll be able to complete 20 sets of GO Battle League battles, up from the regular five sets, for a total of up to 100 battles.
- You’ll receive twice the Stardust for winning battles, completing sets of battles, and ranking up in the GO Battle League.
- Evolve Pidgeotto (the evolved form of Pidgey) during the event to get a Pidgeot that knows Gust!
The following new attack will be added to the battle system.
- Lunge: This Bug-type Charged Attack will lower the opposing Pokémon’s Attack. Soon, only Masquerain and Galvantula will be able to learn this move.
The following attacks have been updated for Trainer Battles.
- Bug Buzz: This Bug-type Charged Attack now has a chance of lowering the opposing Pokémon’s Defense.
- Flame Charge: This Fire-type Charged Attack now deals less damage and will raise the user’s Attack.
- Signal Beam: This Bug-type Charged Attack now has a chance of lowering the opposing Pokémon’s Attack and Defense.
Along with these updates to existing attacks, the following Pokémon can learn an attack it couldn’t before.
- Vespiquen and Signal Beam: This powerful Bug-type attack is a perfect fit for a powerful Bug-type Pokémon like Vespiquen.
We’re also excited to give you a sneak peek at the next season. Season 5 will be shorter than previous seasons, at just three weeks long. Additionally, ratings won’t be in effect for this season: your rank ups will solely be determined by number of battles and number of winsWe hope to see Trainers try out new strategies, test different battle teams, and prepare for Season 6!
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—The Pokémon GO team
