Pokémon GO delays Season 2 of Battle League, reveals new events

Some news from Niantic today regarding Pokémon GO. Unfortunately, technical problems have delayed the release of the second season of the Battle League. You can read more about that immediately below, and following that information is the reveal of new events…. so keep scrolling!

When Season 2 begins on Monday, May 11, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7), be sure to check out the Battle screen to receive your end-of-season rewards, including an Elite Charged TM if you reached rank 7 or higher! Season 2 will rotate through leagues, as noted in the schedule below. Season 3 is planned to begin in early July. Please note that all these dates are tentative. Stay tuned—we’ll update you if anything changes.

    • The Great League will run from Monday, May 11, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Monday, June 1, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).
    • The Ultra League will run from Monday, June 1, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Monday, June 22, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).
    • The Master League will run from Monday, June 22, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Monday, July 6, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).
    • Additionally, the first-ever GO Battle League Cup—the Premier Cup—will run concurrently with the Master League! Like the Master League, the Premier Cup won’t have a limit on Combat Power. However, Legendary and Mythical Pokémon won’t be eligible to participate. Otherwise, everything else about the format will stay the same, including the way ranks and ratings are determined. We hope the Premier Cup will add a fun flavor to Season 2!
    • All three leagues and the Premier Cup will be available from Monday, July 6, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Monday, July 13, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).
    • Season 3 will begin Monday, July 13, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).

For Season 2, the following will be the same as during Season 1.

    • The walking and PokéCoin requirements to unlock sets of battles in the GO Battle League will still be removed. If you’re currently in the middle of walking to earn a set, this will take effect starting with your next set.
    • The avatar items inspired by Pikachu Libre will continue to be rank 7 rewards.
    • Metagross and Pikachu Libre will continue to be guaranteed reward encounters when you reach rank 1 and rank 10 respectively.
    • The avatar items inspired by Steven Stone, a Pokémon League Champion of the Hoenn region, will continue to be rank 10 rewards.

What’s new, Season 2?

There’ll be a few changes coming to the GO Battle League and Trainer Battles for Season 2.

    • The GO Battle League reward system has been changed slightly. You can now earn a Pokémon reward encounter after your third win on the basic rewards track or after your first win on the premium rewards track.
    • The ranking system has been adjusted. More wins are now required to get to ranks 4, 5, 6, and 7.
    • Some of your guaranteed reward encounters will be different for Season 2. You’ll encounter these Pokémon at each listed rank:
    • Stunfisk starting at rank 4
    • Rufflet starting at rank 8
    • Scraggy starting at rank 9.
    • If you reach rank 10, you’ll earn a new avatar pose!
    • Trainers who finish Season 2 at rank 7 or higher will receive an Elite Fast TM rather than an Elite Charged TM. Other than that, end-of-season rewards will stay the same as in Season 1.

Updates to Trainer Battles

We’re excited to announce some additional updates to Trainer Battles.

    • Trainers will be able to initiate Trainer Battles via QR Code from anywhere, regardless of the Trainers’ Friendship level or distance.
    • For Trainer Battles with friends, the Friendship level requirement will remain lowered so you can send battle invites to Good Friends and Great Friends. Originally, you could send battle invites only to Ultra Friends and Best Friends.

The following existing attacks have been updated in Trainer Battles.

    • Drill Run: Its energy requirement has been reduced.
    • Moonblast: Its energy requirement and damage have both been reduced, and it now has a chance to lower the opponent’s Attack stat.
    • Wild Charge: Its energy requirement has been reduced, its damage has been increased, and will now sharply lower the user’s Defense stat.

Along with these updates to existing attacks, the following Pokémon will be able to learn an attack it couldn’t before.

    • Palkia and Aqua Tail: Aqua Tail gives Palkia a powerful Water-type Charged Attack that charges quickly, helping Palkia stand out from the other Legendary Dragon types in the Master League and making Protect Shield decisions tougher for opponents.

On to the new events, which are a new Incense Day events (centered around Water- and Dark-type Pokémon) and a Snubbull Limited Research event. Here are the details:

Snubbull Limited Research

On Saturday, May 9, 2020, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. local time, you can enjoy Snubbull Limited Research through special Timed Research tasks. With more than 50 tasks rewarding encounters with Snubbull, you’ll have plenty of chances to catch this Fairy Pokémon. If you’re lucky, you could even encounter a Shiny one!

Be sure to complete the Timed Research during this time, as it will disappear at 10:00 p.m. local time on the dot. This event will be occurring at the same time as the Safari Zone Philadelphia ticketed event and Throwback Challenge 2020: Johto, so there will be much to do this weekend!

Incense Day: Water and Dark Type

On Sunday, May 17, 2020, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time, you can enjoy an Incense Day event featuring Water-type Pokémon and Dark-type Pokémon—notably Carvanha! During this time, Incense will attract more Carvanha, and you could even encounter a Shiny one if you’re lucky! An event-exclusive 1 PokéCoin bundle featuring three Incense will also be available to pick up in the shop.

In addition to Carvanha, Pokémon of different types will be attracted by Incense. The type of Pokémon attracted by Incense will shuffle every hour between Water and Dark. During hours that feature Water-type Pokémon, you might encounter Horsea, Tympole, and more! If luck is on your side, Alomomola might appear. When Dark-type Pokémon are attracted by your Incense, you might find Murkrow, Sableye, and others. If you’re incredibly lucky, you could encounter Scraggy.

    • From 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.: Water-type Pokémon
    • From 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.: Dark-type Pokémon
    • From 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.: Water-type Pokémon
    • From 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.: Dark-type Pokémon
    • From 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.: Water-type Pokémon
    • From 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.: Dark-type Pokémon

Here’s a refresher of what shiny Carvanha and its evolution Sharpedo look like:

This Incense Day will feature notably less types than the last—do you think that’s a better way to handle these kind of events? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

If you’re having fun on the Nintendo Switch, don’t forget to stop in our Discord server! We’re busy playing Sword & Shield, as well as Animal Crossing: New Horizons!