Pokémon Go has finally done it. They’ve introduced trainer battles to the game. Huat ah. Finally, you can feel like a real Pokémon trainer, dueling with your mates. This updates comes after some teasing on Twitter by the official Pokémon Go Twitter account.
Trainer battles are essentially PVP options in Pokémon Go. They are one-on-one fights, pitting a player against another local trainer or allowing two friends to compete online.
To battle your friends online, players need to be either Ultra Friends or Best Friends, the two highest tier of friendship. They may then send each other invites to battle through the Friends list. You cannot battle against your Good or Great Friends. Better start racking up that friend tier hor.
To battle another player in person, you have to be part of the same trainer league. Trainer leagues are split into three tiers which players select to participate in trainer battles. Each comes with a limit on a Pokémon’s power so you can agar agar guess how strong other people Pokémon will be. The three leagues are:
- Great League, with a combat power maximum set at 1,500
- Ultra League, with a combat power maximum set at 2,500
- Master League, with no combat power maximum
You can only battle with trainers of the same league.
Crucially, you’ll also need to swap battle codes. These are different from trainer codes used to add people to your friends list. Instead, battle codes are unique QR codes that players need to scan to send a battle invitation. Battle codes are unique to each player and can be found in the battle menu.
Trainer battles involve two players, each with three Pokémon each. Players can customize their battle party ahead of time and then select it once the battle begins. Players select which Pokémon to use and send them out to fight in real time. Players can then tag their Pokémon in or out so long as the cooldown timer is off.
Battles last a maximum of four minutes and the winner is decided if their opponent is out of usable Pokémon or after that timer runs out. If both players have at least one Pokémon left, the tie is decided by the Pokémon with the most health. Heng ah. Don’t need drag too long also.
Both trainers get a prize after a battle, either candy, stardust or rare items, like a Sinnoh Stone. Plus as a bonus, the friendship level between the two is increased.
