A new season is starting in Pokémon GO courtesy of the Hidden Gems update, beginning tomorrow, June 1, at 4:00 p.m. EDT. That means the GO Battle League rank is reset and end-of-season rewards become available on the battle screen. There's a lot to unpack so we'll give you the highlights.
GO Battle Weekend: Clay
Let's start with GO Battle Weekend: Clay running from July 1 at 12:00 a.m. (local time) to July 2 at 11:59 p.m. (local time). The bonuses for this event are:
- 4× Stardust from win rewards.
- Doesn't include the end-of-set rewards.
- Won't stack with the 3× Stardust bonus from Master League rotation weeks.
- The maximum number of sets trainers can play per day is increased from 5 to 20 from 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m., local time. There will be a total of 100 battles.
- Free battle-themed Timed Research is available with rewards including the Clay-Style Hat.
- Paid battle-themed Timed Research awarding Stardust is available for $1.
Active leagues for this event are the Master League Premier and Single-type Cup: Great League Edition.
World Championships Event
To celebrate the World Championship finals, a battle-focused event will go live from August 11 to August 15. The active leagues for this event are Great League, Ultra League, and Master League.
More details will be revealed as we get closer to the event.
Guaranteed Rank-up Encounters
Trainers can encounter these Pokémon once per season at the designated ranks:
- Rank 1: Excadrill
- Rank 6: Skwovet
- Ace Rank: Axew
- Veteran Rank: Gible
- Expert Rank: Goomy
- Legend Rank: Pikachu Libre
Standard Encounters
Trainers can encounter these Pokémon in reward encounters throughout the season:
- Rank 1
- Marill
- Gligar
- Wingull
- Nosepass
- Meditite
- Rank 6
- Spheal
- Frillish
- Rank11
- Onix
- Lickitung
- Wobbuffet
- Phantump
- Mareanie
- Rank 16
- Scraggy
- Wooloo
- Falinks
- Rank 20
- Five-star Raid Bosses
- Ace Rank
- Axew
- Veteran Rank
- Gible
- Expert Rank
- Goomy
Timed Research Pass
For the most dedicated battlers, a pass to access battle-themed Timed Research is available at the in-game shop for free once the new season starts.
This Timed Research keeps track of the trainers' victories across the season. Each research page needs 100 wins to complete and those who succeed will receive a small amount of Stardust, along with an Elite Fast TM (at 400 wins), an Elite Charged TM (at 500 wins), and more.
The Timed Research can be claimed between June 1 and June 15.
You can read the complete details of GO Battle League: Hidden Gems here.
Pokémon GO is available on Google Play and App Store.
