Trainer Battle (GO)

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Trainer Battles in Pokémon GO

Trainer Battles (Japanese: トレーナーバトル Trainer Battle) are a feature in Pokémon GO that allow players to challenge other players to a 3-on-3 battle. This feature was first introduced on December 12, 2018, and received a major update on July 19, 2019. On January 28, 2020, the GO Battle League was launched to introduce competitive, online Trainer Battles.

Battle Challenge

Players can challenge any player in close proximity by scanning another player's Battle Code from the Battle screen. These Battle Codes are different to the QR codes used to add Friends, with a new one being generated every time the player signs into the game.

Players can also remotely challenge Ultra Friends and Best Friends by sending a Battle Challenge through the Friends List. The Battle Challenge feature can be disabled via the settings page. Battling also counts as a daily activity that may increase Friendship level.

Leagues

Each player selects three Pokémon to battle with. Pokémon will automatically be recommended based on their CP in relation to a League's CP limit. Preset teams can also be made for each League from the Party screen. Ditto and Shedinja cannot be used in Trainer Battles, although they can fight Team GO Rocket.

Players can choose to battle from three different Leagues:

League Max CP per Pokémon Unlock requirements
Great League GO.png
Great League
1,500 None
Ultra League GO.png
Ultra League
2,500 3 Pokémon with CP 1,500+
Master League GO.png
Master League
No limit 3 Pokémon with CP 2,500+

In addition to the above, in GO Battle League, the Little Cup, or a variant of it, may be available to challenge, with a CP limit of only 500.

Battle mechanics

For a list of move data in Trainer Battles, see list of moves in Pokémon GO.

Similar to battling a Gym, the player can command a Fast Attack by simply tapping the screen, which also charges up energy for the Charged Attack meter. However, there are several ways Trainer Battles differ from Gym and Raid Battles:

  • Moves often have separate power and energy boosts or costs
  • All Fast Attack durations are measured in 0.5-second "turns"; Charged Attacks have no duration
  • All attacks have a 30% damage boost
  • No weather bonuses
  • No dodging
  • Receiving damage does not generate energy
  • When a Pokémon faints, the player has 12 seconds to choose a Pokémon before the next Pokémon in the sequence is automatically sent out.
  • Switching out Pokémon mid-battle has a 60-second cooldown period. Switching Pokémon also resets all stat changes.
    • This countdown does not stop during Charged Attacks or when the opponent is selecting a Pokémon to send out

The battle has a four-minute timer and the last 20-second countdown is displayed. If the timer runs out, the player who has the most Pokémon remaining is declared the winner. If both players have the same number of Pokémon remaining, the player who has less damage to their remaining Pokémon wins the battle. Time spent charging up a Charged Attack is not counted against the timer.

Pokémon used in Trainer Battles will always start off with full HP and, after battle, are reset to the HP they had previously; however, fainted Pokémon cannot participate.

Battles against Team GO Rocket members use the same Trainer Battle format. However, the player's Pokémon are not fully restored at the beginning, and medicine is required to restore any HP lost during the battle.

Activating Charged Attacks

Using a Charged Attack (left) and a Protect Shield (right)

Once the Charged Attack meter is full, the player can tap the icon to cast a Charged Attack. Activating a Charged Attack will initiate a five-second minigame in which type icons start appearing on the screen in a pattern specific to the Charged Attack's type. The more icons the player manages to swipe, the more damage the Charged Attack will deal. Since February 15, 2019, certain Charged Attacks may increase the user's stats after use; on March 19, 2019, Charged Attacks that may decrease the target's stats were also introduced.

A damage multiplier is applied to the Charged Attack depending on how many icons the player successfully manages to swipe.

Score Min. Accuracy Multiplier range
Base 0% [0.25, 0.5)
Nice! 30% [0.5, 0.75)
Great! 60%
70%
[0.75, 1)
Excellent! 95% 1

If both players attempt to cast a Charged Attack on the same turn, then the Pokémon with the higher Attack stat will go first. If there is a tie, then priority is given randomly.

Protect Shield

At the same time when a Pokémon is using a Charged Attack, the opponent also has the option to use a Protect Shield to mitigate all incoming damage. Each player can use up to two Protect Shields per battle. Using a Protect Shield will not prevent stat changes, to either the user or target, from an opposing Charged Attack.

The Protect Shield's size depends on the Pokémon's size, e.g. a Wooper's Protect Shield will be smaller than an Infernape's Protect Shield.

When a Protect Shield blocks a Charged Attack, it changes color based on the effectiveness of the blocked move. A super effective move causes the shield to turn red, a not very effective move causes the shield to turn blue, and a move of regular effectiveness does not cause a color change.[1]

Priority

The execution time of Fast Attacks in Trainer Battles is measured in 0.5-second turns. The Fast Attack's damage is applied at the end its final turn. If the Fast Attack's user is knocked out before the move's final turn, then damage will not be dealt.

Given two opposing Pokémon in a Trainer Battle...

  • If both Pokémon have cast a Fast Attack that complete on the same turn, then damage will be applied to both simultaneously. This can result in a double-knockout or a draw.
  • If both Pokémon cast a Charged Attack on the same turn, the one with a higher Attack stat will go first; if the Attack stats are identical, then priority is randomly assigned. The other Pokémon will move immediately after, unless it was knocked out.
  • If one Pokémon casts a Charged Attack and the other a Fast Attack, the Charged Attack will execute first. If the Fast Attack's user was not knocked out, its damage will be applied immediately after, regardless of its remaining turns. (This is unofficially called a "free turn" for the Fast Attack's user.)
    • In Team GO Rocket battles, a Charged Attack will instead cancel the Fast Attack.

NPC battles

Some non-playable characters can be battled in Trainer Battles, such as team leaders in Battle Training, members Team GO Rocket, and Challengers during certain in-game events.

NPCs may use Pokémon with stats and CP that are unattainable by powering up. But they also battle in a very predictable manner:

  • Pokémon are always sent out in the same order, and they are never switched out until they faint.
  • Pokémon moves are randomly selected from their standard move pools, and they will only have one Charged Attack. They will never use moves that are event-exclusive or require an Elite TM to learn.
  • "Easy" NPCs never use Protect Shields.
  • "Hard" NPCs always use Protect Shields against the player's first two Charged Attacks.
  • NPCs will briefly pause and not use any attacks (est. 3 seconds or 6 turns) if either side
    • Uses a Charged Attack, regardless if blocked by a Protect Shield.
    • Switches in a Pokémon, except for sending out the initial one. This also includes switching in a Pokémon due to the previous one fainting.

NPC battles also handle move priority differently. This makes some advantageous scenarios in player-vs-player battles (PvP) become disadvantageous in NPC battles, or vice versa.

  • If one side uses a Charged Attack while the opponent is in the middle of a Fast Attack, the Fast Attack is cancelled.
    • In PvP, the Fast Attack's damage and energy gain is applied immediately after the Charged Attack completes (i.e. a "free turn" for the Fast Attack user).
  • If both sides simultaneously use a Charged Attack, only the side that has priority will execute it.
    • In PvP, the side without priority is locked into executing the Charged Attack immediately afterwards.

Battle Training

Battle Training is a type of Trainer Battle where the player battles one of the team leaders, Blanche, Spark, or Candela. It can be accessed from the "Training" section at the bottom of the Battle view.

Team leaders use Pokémon that have the maximum 15 IVs across all stats and are powered up to the highest integer level that meets the league's CP limit. In the Master League, the team leaders' Pokémon are powered up to Lv. 55, which is unattainable by players.

In Great and Ultra Leagues, team leaders will never use their Protect Shields. In Master League, they will always use a Protect Shield against the player's first two Charged Attacks.

Blanche
Team Mystic Leader
VSBlanche.png
League Pokémon
Great League GO.png
Great League
Sneasel
CP 1465
Sealeo
CP 1494
Castform (Snowy Form)
CP 1492
Ultra League GO.png
Ultra League
Glaceon
CP 2412
Empoleon
CP 2486
Mamoswine
CP 2472
Master League GO.png
Master League
Suicune
CP 3576
Metagross
CP 4545
Articuno
CP 3658
Spark
Team Instinct Leader
VSSpark.png
League Pokémon
Great League GO.png
Great League
Plusle
CP 1473
Electrode
CP 1499
Castform (Rainy Form)
CP 1492
Ultra League GO.png
Ultra League
Jolteon
CP 2476
Luxray
CP 2475
Magnezone
CP 2472
Master League GO.png
Master League
Raikou
CP 4138
Tyranitar
CP 4597
Zapdos
CP 4228
Candela
Team Valor Leader
VSCandela.png
League Pokémon
Great League GO.png
Great League
Combusken
CP 1487
Magcargo
CP 1483
Castform (Sunny Form)
CP 1492
Ultra League GO.png
Ultra League
Flareon
CP 2423
Typhlosion
CP 2476
Magmortar
CP 2416
Master League GO.png
Master League
Entei
CP 4163
Salamence
CP 4495
Moltres
CP 4154


Prior to July 19, 2019

Prior to July 19, 2019, team leaders would never use Protect Shields, even in Master League. Their Pokémon, as listed below, were powered up as much as the league's CP limit allows.

Blanche
Team Mystic Leader
VSBlanche.png
League Pokémon
Great League GO.png
Great League
Magikarp
CP 274
Feebas
CP 274
Squirtle
CP 946
Ultra League GO.png
Ultra League
Ninetales (Alola Form)
CP 2309
Glalie
CP 2105
Lapras
CP 2490
Master League GO.png
Master League
Lapras
CP 2641
Gliscor
CP 2692
Articuno
CP 3051
Spark
Team Instinct Leader
VSSpark.png
League Pokémon
Great League GO.png
Great League
Magnemite
CP 1362
Mareep
CP 991
Pikachu
CP 938
Ultra League GO.png
Ultra League
Raichu (Alola Form)
CP 2286
Magneton
CP 2485
Manectric
CP 2340
Master League GO.png
Master League
Manectric
CP 2340
Milotic
CP 3005
Zapdos
CP 3527
Candela
Team Valor Leader
VSCandela.png
League Pokémon
Great League GO.png
Great League
Slugma
CP 895
Vulpix
CP 883
Charmander
CP 980
Ultra League GO.png
Ultra League
Marowak (Alola Form)
CP 1835
Houndoom
CP 2484
Infernape
CP 2491
Master League GO.png
Master League
Infernape
CP 2683
Electivire
CP 3079
Moltres
CP 3465


Rewards

After a battle, both players will receive a randomly-selected reward bundle. Each day, players can only receive rewards from Trainer Battles three times and training against a team leader once. There is also a 10% chance to receive a second reward bundle, regardless of outcome. Losing against a team leader always yields GO Stardust icon.png300 instead of a random reward, but outcome does not affect the reward from battles against other players.

Rates for training against team leaders have been approximated based on empirical data.[2]

Potential rewards Quantity Probability
Great League
Training
Ultra League
Training
Master League
Training
PvP
GO Stardust.png Stardust ×300
×400
×500
93% 90% 83% 67%
GO Sinnoh Stone.png Sinnoh Stone ×1 5% 6% 10% 15%
GO Rare Candy.png Rare Candy ×1 1% 3% 5% 15%
GO Fast TM.png Fast TM ×1 0.5% 0.5% 1% 1%
GO Charged TM.png Charged TM ×1 0.5% 0.5% 1% 2%

Medals

Medals can be earned for winning Trainer Battles against other players in each league and for defeating a team leader. Each of these medals unlocks Style items that the player can then purchase using PokéCoins.

Medal Task Bronze Silver Gold Rewards
Male Female
Ace Trainer Train ___ times. GO Ace Trainer Bronze Medal.png
10
GO Ace Trainer Silver Medal.png
100
GO Ace Trainer Gold Medal.png
1,000
Bronze Medal Pokémon GO.pngAce Pants
Silver Medal Pokémon GO.pngAce Boots
Gold Medal Pokémon GO.pngAce Vest
Bronze Medal Pokémon GO.pngAce Belt
Bronze Medal Pokémon GO.pngAce Skirt
Silver Medal Pokémon GO.pngAce Boots
Gold Medal Pokémon GO.pngAce Vest
Great League Veteran Win ___ Trainer Battles in the Great League. GO Great League Veteran Bronze Medal.png
5
GO Great League Veteran Silver Medal.png
50
GO Great League Veteran Gold Medal.png
200
Silver Medal Pokémon GO.pngAce Gloves
Silver Medal Pokémon GO.pngAce Earbud
Gold Medal Pokémon GO.pngVeteran Pants
Silver Medal Pokémon GO.pngAce Gloves
Silver Medal Pokémon GO.pngAce Visor
Gold Medal Pokémon GO.pngVeteran Leggings
Ultra League Veteran Win ___ Trainer Battles in the Ultra League. GO Ultra League Veteran Bronze Medal.png
5
GO Ultra League Veteran Silver Medal.png
50
GO Ultra League Veteran Gold Medal.png
200
Silver Medal Pokémon GO.pngAce Top
Gold Medal Pokémon GO.pngVeteran Jacket
Silver Medal Pokémon GO.pngAce Long Top
Gold Medal Pokémon GO.pngVeteran Coat
Master League Veteran Win ___ Trainer Battles in the Master League. GO Master League Veteran Bronze Medal.png
5
GO Master League Veteran Silver Medal.png
50
GO Master League Veteran Gold Medal.png
200
Silver Medal Pokémon GO.pngAce Shorts
Silver Medal Pokémon GO.pngAce Shoes
Gold Medal Pokémon GO.pngVeteran Boots
Silver Medal Pokémon GO.pngAce Shoes
Gold Medal Pokémon GO.pngVeteran Boots

Updates

050Diglett.png This section is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.
  • Prior to July 19, 2019, a player using a Charged Attack would instead repeatedly tap the screen for three seconds to strengthen its power. If the player did not tap the screen at all, the Charged Attack would only deal 1 HP damage.
  • Prior to December 11, 2019, if both players attempt to cast a Charged Attack at the same time, priority is given to whomever selects their team first

References

Project Sidegames logo.png This article is part of Project Sidegames, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon Sidegames.