Trainer Battles Are Go!!!

It has been long overdue, gone through the rumor mill, and wondered about by many. But all that is now over. A long-awaited feature that has always been demanded in Pokémon Go is now present and live: Trainers can now challenge each other directly in Pokémon battles, which is referred to in short as PvP ("player vs. player"). I've had the chance to try out the feature as it went live today, and it's really captivating.

The format of the battles is a 3-on-3 battle, similar to a limited Single Battle in the main series games. As is the norm in Go, the battles are real-time and speedy: like Gym or raid battles, the focus is on attacking quickly with Fast moves while building up power to use Charged moves, but unlike the other two battles, Pokémon can't dodge the opponent as they can there. When one Pokémon uses a Charged move, that side is given the chance to build up even more power as it does so, while the other is given the chance to deploy a Protect Shield to mitigate damage. In any case, a Trainer has to be wise; in each battle, only two Protect Shields may be deployed, and while switching is allowed, if a Trainer chooses to switch Pokémon, switching then becomes disabled for 50 seconds. The speed and intricacy of battles keeps Trainers on their feet.

As to who and what can battle, any Trainer level 10 or over can battle with one another. The two Trainers have to be sufficiently close to one another to battle, just like in the case of trading... unless the two Trainers are already Ultra Friends or higher, in which case they can battle remotely from anywhere. If no one is available for battle, a Trainer may opt to spar against any of the three team leaders in Go, including against the other two leaders of the other two teams not of the Trainer's team. The two Trainers can opt to participate in battles in the Great League (CP limit of 1500), Ultra League (CP limit of 2500), or Master League (no CP limit), and battle parties consisting of specific Pokémon may be created for any of these.

To add complexity to the battles, all Pokémon now have the opportunity to learn a second Charged move, which may be used beyond Trainer battles, even in Gyms and raids. This isn't a cheap matter, as doing so will use up Candies and Stardust. But the effect may be substantial in helping to win battles, because by winning, a Trainer stands a chance to earn enticing rewards like Stardust and the currently highly-coveted Sinnoh Stone. In addition, each win in each League fills up the medal for winning in that League, and each battle with a team leader ("training") fills up the Ace Trainer medal (and thereby reactivates it), which was previously filled up by battling a same-team Gym under the old Gym system. These make Trainer battles highly lucrative.

I had the chance to try out battling remotely with a couple of my Ultra Friends today, and I ended up winning 7 and losing 1. These battles are totally a test of my ability to think quickly and act appropriately, in addition to making predictions on the spot as I do with VGC-style battles. Admittedly, this is somewhat simpler than that, but the system could be foreseeably expanded to resemble them someday, which I and another player had theorized. I also earned all the rewards that I needed to earn. My raid group is thinking about holding a get-together to extensively test out Trainer battles, and I'd be interested to join if circumstances allow.

This addition is a huge step for Pokémon Go. Pokémon from the beginning has always been linked to battling with one another, and this is a key thing in the main series games that was always suspiciously missing in Go. Now, it is no longer missing, and the effects are far-reaching to boot, in and out of the game. I'm certainly ready to give as much as I can in Trainer battles in Go and to find out where this leads, along with the other Trainers who will gladly do the same.

One year ago: Will You Be There?