Pokemon Go PVP Doesn't Reinvent Battles, But Adds Some New Twists - IGN

Trainer Battles add new attacks, new ways to get rewards, and the potential for something more.

By Andrew Goldfarb

After two full years and tease after tease, Pokemon Go finally has competitive Trainer Battles on the way.

While this new PVP mode isn’t the full battle system rework some people were hoping for, it also isn’t entirely identical to the Raid and Gym battles players are already used to. Niantic has started with some simple changes that are a potential foundation for some much bigger ones, and also introduced new reasons to maintain your friendship levels and battle regularly.

Last week, I visited Niantic’s office for over an hour of hands-on gameplay with Trainer Battles, which gave me a much better idea of what Niantic has built already, and what could come next.

Battle Basics

Starting a trainer battle is as simple as scanning a Battle Code. In the Nearby menu in the lower right corner of the screen (which normally shows Pokemon and Raids in your area), a new Battle tab allows you to view a Battle Code, which is essentially a QR code featuring your trainer’s avatar.

A player standing close to you can scan your code (or you can scan theirs) in order to initiate a battle. This means you’ll need to be standing directly next to anyone you’re hoping to battle, with one major exception: you’ll be able to battle against your Ultra or Best Friends remotely over the internet.

After you’ve initiated a battle, you’ll choose your League and team (more on that below) and get ready to fight. Once the battle begins, it’ll be familiar to anyone who’s tried Raid or Gym battles in the past. You’ll tap to use your Pokemon’s Fast Move, which will build up energy and eventually allow you to use a more powerful Charge Move.

However, along with Trainer Battles, Niantic will now add the ability to unlock a second Charge Move. You can go to any Pokemon and spend additional Stardust and Candy to permanently add a second Charge Move, though Niantic couldn’t specify the final costs just yet.

After you have a second Charge Move unlocked, when you use a Charge TM in the future, you’ll simply decide which of the two moves you want to replace rather than one automatically being picked. The second Charge Move will be available in all battle scenarios, including Raids and Gyms in addition to Trainer Battles.

Exit Theatre Mode

In battle, you’ll be able to choose which Charge Move you want to use once you’ve built up enough energy, then you’ll have an additional few seconds to charge it up even more. During that window, the opposing player will have the option to use a Protect Shield. Each player only gets two of these to use for the entire battle, so you’ll need to be careful in deciding which Pokemon and which attacks to use them against.

At the end of a battle, both players will receive prizes regardless of whether they win or lose, which included the possibility of Stardust or Sinnoh Stones in the build we played. Niantic said you’ll be able to earn these rewards three times per day by battling other players, but can continue to earn progress toward medals (which will track your wins in each of the three different Leagues) as much as you want. The end of a battle will also give you an option to rematch the same opponent, or to send them a Friend Request if you’re not already friends. Battling against a player is also a new option for your once-per-day friendship increase, similar to battling in a raid together or exchanging gifts.

Players will also be able to train by fighting against AI-controlled versions of the three Team Leaders (Blanche, Candela, and Spark), which are also accessible via the Battle tab in the Nearby menu. Once per day, players can also earn rewards from this method of training (with the same potential prizes as battles against real players), as well as progress toward the formerly-retired Ace Trainer medal. Each Team Leader will always have the same defined set of Pokemon (with a different team for each League), much like battling Gym Leaders in the main series games.

Choose Your Fighter

Pokemon Go Trainer Battles are 1 v. 1, and each player uses a team of three Pokemon. After a battle has been initiated, you’ll choose your team just like in Raid Battles. A set of Pokemon will be recommended to you and can be replaced manually, or you can select from one of your pre-made Battle Parties prepared ahead of time.

You won’t be able to choose Ditto or Shedinja, but any other Pokemon (including Mythicals and Legendaries) is fair game.

But before you can choose your team of Pokemon, you’ll need to decide which League you want to battle in. Trainer Battles will let you decide between three Leagues:

Great League: Each Pokemon must be 1,500 CP or under
Ultra League: Each Pokemon must be 2,500 CP or under
Master League: Pokemon have no CP limits

This is where Pokemon Go Trainer Battles introduce the most strategy. Since you won’t be able to see your opponent’s team ahead of time, you’ll want to choose smart all-around attackers, and will also have to be careful as you’re training Pokemon if you want to keep their CP value low enough to battle in a specific League.

With the addition of a second Charge Move, Niantic said it will add a CP preview for Pokemon, so you’ll know what their new CP value will be before you spend Stardust and Candy to power them up.

Exit Theatre Mode

CP and move set will be the most important factors in battling, as no items can be used during battle, and Pokemon won’t be able to dodge like in Gym or Raid battles.

While you’ll see weather effects in the background such as rain or snow falling, Pokemon will not be boosted by the current weather during Trainer Battles.

Unanswered Questions

Niantic didn’t confirm a specific release date for Trainer Battles, but hinted that they could start to arrive as soon as next week, and will definitely be out before the end of the month.

Our demo was using a development build, which meant that we still don’t know some other aspects of Trainer Battles. The cost for unlocking an additional attack wasn’t final; we saw costs ranging from 15 Stardust and 2 Candy to 250,000 of each, but all numbers were placeholder and not indicative of the actual amount.

The overall match timer, which was set to four minutes during our battles and only displayed during the final 20 seconds, was also still in development according to Niantic representatives at the event, and could change before the final release.

The build we played did feature a new Trainer Battle-themed loading screen that will presumably launch alongside the feature, as well as some Sinnoh Pokemon that have not yet been released, but Niantic didn’t comment on when any of those will actually come to the game.

For now, Trainer Battles seem like they’ll be an approachable way to introduce the feature, and the pared down teams of three Pokemon (as opposed to six in the main games) are in line with the simplified mechanics Go players are used to. In the short term, they’re also sure to be a relief to players looking for more ways to earn Sinnoh Stones, but their ultimate success will depend on whether or not communities decide to organize tournaments, or if Pokemon Go is ever incorporated into official competitive events.

Most importantly, Niantic lead software engineer Rob Giusti and product manager Matt Slemon suggested that Trainer Battles are just the beginning of what the team wants to accomplish with a competitive mode. The pair told us that more complex features may arrive in the future as the game continues to evolve, including “more strategies to master, more ways to find competition, and more ways to win.”

Andrew is IGN’s executive editor of news and can’t wait to use more Sinnoh Stones. You can find him rambling about Persona and cute animals on Twitter.

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