The Pokémon Go Battle League takes Pokémon Go's Battle system - which until 2020 allowed friends or local players to complete against one another - and make it into a competitive, worldwide matchmade league anyone can compete in.
Following the release of Season 6 in November 2020, the Go Battle League underwent a number of significant changes - increasing the number of ranks to 24 with the highest ranks being marked by special names (Ace, Veteran, Expert, Legend), new rewards and an increased length.
Despite these changes, the overall structure of the Go Battle League in Pokémon Go has remained the same - players are still placed Ranks that reset at the end of every Season.
Like Raids, it also has paid and free participation, with different Go Battle League rewards accordingly.
On this page:
- How the Pokémon Go Battle League works, from Ranks to Seasons
- Pokémon Go Battle League rules and battle restrictions
- Pokémon Go Battle League Season 14 dates explained
- Go Battle League Season 14 events in Pokémon Go
- Pokémon Go Battle League Rank requirements
- Pokémon Go Battle League item rewards
- Pokémon Go Battle League Season 14 encounter rewards
How the Pokémon Go Battle League works, from Ranks to Seasons
There are many components to how the Pokémon Go Battle League works, with a number of changes being introduced in Season 6 alongside the Season of Celebration, but here it is at a glance:
- The Pokémon Go Battle League takes place over the course of a Season, and will rotate through all three existing Leagues which cap Pokémon by their CP - the Great League (1500 CP), Ultra League (2500 CP) and Master League (any CP) - every two weeks. There are bonus leagues introduced in new seasons, but those three will feature in every season.
- From Season 6 onwards, the number of Pokémon Go Battle League Ranks increased to 24. The ranks still have a number of different progression requirements; climbing from Rank 1 to Rank 20 requires you to partake and win a number of battles, while Rank 21 to Rank 24, each with it's own unique title, requires you to reach a certain rating. During the current Interlude season, however, the rankings have been capped at 20.
- Your 'battle rating' that increases when you win and drops when you lose. Though this exists outside of the Rank system, you are required to progress past certain thresholds to progress the last four Ranks. It also gives you an additional metric to complete against (with your friends, or even yourself) once you reach Rank 24 within a Season.
- For the five matches you play within a set, you can receive rewards, which are displayed on screen in a 'free' and 'premium' track, the latter you can enter by using a Premium Pass. Note once you have entered a run of battles, you cannot change track partway through.
- There are also additional rewards you earn when you level up a rank, and more at the end of the season.
Pokémon Go Battle League rules and battle restrictions
Go Battle League battles seem to behave the same as a standard Battle against a Friend or someone locally, but there are some competitive-orientated rules and restrictions to make things fair:
- Each time you enter the Go Battle League, you will play a 'set' of five matches.
- There is a limit to how many Go League Battles you can participate in per day, whether free or paid, at six sets (or 30 battles) per day.
- You can only use one of each Pokémon species in your Battle team in a contest.
- As per game-wide Battle rule changes, if Pokémon use Charged Attacks at the same time, the Pokémon with the highest Attack stat will go first. If they are the same, one Pokémon chosen at random will go first.
- Switching between Pokémon will reset any changes made to Attack or Defence, such as buffs or debuffs from moves made during battle.
Thanks to martycochrane on reddit for helping with some of the above information.
Pokémon Go Battle League Season 14 dates explained
Season 14 of the Go Battle League is running throughout the Season of Rising Heroes in Pokémon. During this season, you'll be able to compete in a selection of special cups and all three leagues - Great, Ultra and Master.
The Leagues will rotate on a fortnightly basis, while the special cups change every week apart. The only exception is when all three Leagues are running simultaneously in the middle of Season 14 and, during this time, no special cup will be available.
It's important to remember that these dates are subject to change and we'll keep this page updated with any changes which occur.
The Go Battle League Season 14 begins on Wednesday, 1st March at 12pm PST / 8pm UK time and ends on Thursday, 1st June.
Here are all the dates, including the Go Battle Days, for the Go Battle League Season 14:
- Great League and Fantasy Cup: Ultra Cup League Edition dates - 1st March to 8th March
- Great League and Color Cup: Great League Edition dates - 8th March to 15th March
- Ultra League and Psychic Cup: Great League Edition dates - 15th March to 22nd March
- Ultra League and Mountain Cup: Great League Edition dates - 22nd March to 29th March
- Go Battle Day: Palmer - Saturday, 25th March
- Master League and Little Cup dates - 29th March to 5th April
- Master League and Spring Cup: Great League Edition dates - 5th April to 12th April
- Great League, Ultra League, Master League and Evolution Cup: Great League Edition dates - 12th April to 19th April
- Great League and Weather Cup: Ultra League Edition dates - 19th April to 26th April
- Great League and Master Premier Cup dates - 26th April to 3rd May
- Ultra League and Little Cup dates - 3rd May to 10th May
- Ultra League and Sunshine Cup: Great League Edition dates - 10th May to 17th May
- Go Battle Day: Stardust - Sunday, 14th May
- Master League and Element Cup: Little Edition dates - 17th May to 24th May
- Master League and Catch Cup: Rising Heroes Edition dates - 24th May to 1st June
You'll receive triple Stardust for win rewards, but not end-of-set rewards, between the following dates:
- 25th March to 12th April
- 17th May to 1st June
Go Battle League Season 14 events in Pokémon Go
There are three different Go Battle League events running throughout Season 14 in Pokémon Go.
The first is the Go Battle League Timed Research running throughout Season 14.
This quest tracks your victories throughout Season 14, with each step requiring 100 wins to complete. When you achieve this feat, you'll receive some Stardust and a selection of items. You can earn an Elite Fast TM at 400 wins and an Elite Charged TM at 500 wins.
To unlock this quest, you need to select it from the in-game store and, thankfully, its free.
The second event is the Go Battle Day: Palmer - occuring on Saturday, 25th March between 12am to 11:59pm (local time).
During this time, you'll earn x4 Stardust from the win rewards and the maximum set of battle you can partake in is increased to 20, which means you can fight in 100 battles.
There is also a free timed research quest running throughout this event and one of the rewards it offers are the Palmer Gloves. You will only earn this avatar item, however, if you haven't already received it.
The third and final event is the Go Battle Day: Stardust on Sunday, 14th May between 12am to 11:59pm (local time).
Like the event above, this event increases your maximum battle sets to 20 and, in doing so, allowing you to compete in 100 battles. You will also earn x4 Stardust from any win rewards.
During this Go Battle Day, you'll be able to purchase a pay-to-play timed research quest will cost you $1 or the equivalent price in your local region. This quest will reward you with increased Stardust throughout the event.
Pokémon Go Battle League Rank requirements
Go Battle League has you progress through 24 Ranks per Season. This number was increased from 10 on November 30th 2020, alongside the release of Season 6 of the Go Battle League and the Season of Celebrations.
Each Rank requires a different objective for you to progress, and each one also has it's own set of rewards.
From Season 6 onwards, you'll need to participate and win a number of battles to progress from Rank 1 to Rank 20.
Certain ranks will be easier to overcome than others, because they will only require you to complete one set of battles to progress. This means that, even if you only win one battle out of five, you'll still progress to the next rank.
The Ranks that only require you to complete one battle set are - Rank 5, Rank 10, Rank 15 and Rank 19.
If you wish to climb from Rank 21 to Rank 24, however, you need to obtain a certain rating by remaining undefeated for a certain number of matches.
Each Rank from 21 to 24 also has it's own specific title - Ace, Veteran, Expert and Legend - which not only helps you identify which rating you need to achieve, but gives you some good bragging rights too.
Below you can find which title has been assigned to each rank, alongside the rating you'll need to progress to that specific rank:
- Rank 21 - Ace - 2,000 rating
- Rank 22 - Veteran - 2,500 rating
- Rank 23 - Expert - 2,750 rating
- Rank 24 - Legend - 3,000 rating
The Season of Rising Heroes is here! The An Instinctive Hero event is currently running, bringing Larvesta and Volcarona along with the An Instinctive Hero special research quest.The new Grass and Gratitude quest allows you to catch a mythical Shaymin!A new Team Go Rocket quest - From The Shadows - has been released, along with a shake up of the Giovanni and Team Go Rocket Leaders lineups.As you continue your Pokémon Go adventure, make sure to battle in the new Go Battle League season. Don't forget to take a look at the Remote Raid Passes changes or, if you purchased it, work on the Masterwork Research: Wish Granted quest.Elsewhere, be sure to use Daily Adventure Incense for the chance of encountering Galarian Articuno, Galarian Zapdos and Galarian Moltres. This incense may also give you encounters with other rare Pokémon in Pokémon Go.
Pokémon Go Battle League item rewards
As you climb through each Season's in the Go Battle League, you'll find yourself being rewarded in a number of way. This includes set win rewards, Pokémon encounters and rewards for progressing to new a Rank.
The specifics of rewards, especially the Pokémon encounters, tend to change from season to season, so it's always a good idea to read through this section at the beginning of each season, so that you know what's waiting for you.
Rank rewards
Rank rewards are, as the name suggests, the rewards you receive for progressing to a new rank in the Go Battle League. These rewards often include useful items, like Potions, and Stardust.
Under the ranking system from Season 6 onwards, a number of ranks now only require you to complete one set of battles, be it win or lose, for you to progress to the next rank. These ranks have also been given specific reward tracks, which means you're guaranteed a certain type of reward for completing them.
Below you can find these special ranks and the type of rewards you'll receive for completing them:
- Rank 5 - Mystery items
- Rank 10 - Stardust
- Rank 15 - Rare Candies
- Rank 19 - Pokémon encounters and an Elite Fast TM
Go League set win rewards
Each set contains five matches, and you earn more rewards for each subsequent win, allowing you to win a total of five rewards if you win every match.
Before you play, you can either earn basic (free) rewards or use a Premium Pass to earn a different set of rewards. These are usually more of the same reward types, or will see the order shuffled so it's easier to get certain rewards.
You can see what the rewards in both the basic and premium sets are before you begin, so you can make the call of whether you want to spend a Premium Pass or not (after all, winning isn't guaranteed!).
Possible rewards in both tracks include:
- Stardust
- Charged TMs
- Mystery Item (either a Sinnoh Stone, Charged TMs, Golden Razz Berry or Silver Pinap Berry
- Rare Candy
- Pokémon Encounter (some suaranteed at certain ranks)
- When you hit certain ranks - Avatar items, such Pikachu Libre and character-inspired clothing and avatar pose exclusive to that season
Pokémon Go Battle League Season 14 encounter rewards
Pokémon encounters are the same regardless of whether you go for the free or premium reward track, but differ according to your Rank. If your playing the free reward track, then you're guaranteed a Pokémon encounter after three wins, but, if you're on premium, then you only need one win to earn your encounter.
The higher the rank, the wider the pool of possible encounters gets, with more rare creatures available. Here are the Pokémon encounter rewards which have been currently announced for the Interlude Season:
| Rank | Guaranteed Pokémon encounter | Pokémon added to encounter pool |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dragonair | Poliwag Ponyta Electabuzz Wingull Meditite |
| 6 | Mareanie | Skarmory Frillish |
| 11 | None | Onix Lickitung Lapras Dratini Mareanie |
| 16 | None | Snorlax Hisuian Sneasel Scraggy |
| 20 | None | Current five-star raid boss |
| Ace Rank | Axew | Axew |
| Veteran Rank | Noibat | Noibat |
| Expert Rank | Goomy | Noibat |
| Legend Rank | Pikachu Libre | No new Pokémon |
If you reach rank 20, you're also guaranteed an encounter with the legendary Pokémon which is in five-star raids at the time you reach the Pokémon encounter reward.
Guaranteed Pokémon encounters will always occur, even if you don't earn enough wins on that encounter specific rank. This means if you haven't had your encounter with Dragonair by the time you reach Rank 6 and then earn an encounter, you'll have to face these Pokémon before Mareanie.
Once you've caught Dragonair, you'll be able to catch Mareanie during your next Pokémon encounter and this is the same all the guaranteed Pokémon encounters.
Other Pokémon Go Battle League rewards
The exclusive clothing for Season 14 is inspired by Palmer - the leader of Sinnoh's Battle Tower who makes an appearance in Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
There are five pieces in the Palmer-themed clothing set, including a new pose, and you'll earn each piece by reaching a specific Rank in the Go Battle League.
You can, however, earn the Palmer Gloves by completing the Go Battle Day: Palmer timed research quest. If you've already earned the Palmer Gloves before this quest, you can not earn them again.
Below you'll find which pieces of the Palmer-themed clothing set are earned at each Rank:
- Rank 20 - Palmer Gloves
- Ace Rank - Palmer Top
- Veteran Rank - Palmer Shoes
- Expert Rank - Palmer Pants
- Legend Rank - Palmer Pose
Finally, by reaching Rank 19, you'll earn an Elite Charged TM and, when Season 14 ends, you'll also receive an Elite Fast TM.
Remember - your ranking will reset at the end of every season, so, if a certain reward has caught your eye, make sure you get it this season or else you risk missing it!
