Pokémon Go Launches Season 2 Of GO Battle League Tomorrow

Pokémon Go announced that Season 2 of the GO Battle League is all set to begin tomorrow, May 1. Specifically, the battle starts at 4:00 PM EDT. Like the previous season, the new one is set to rotate through leagues.

The GO Battle League is set to run until early July. Here is the complete schedule:

• The Great League
  • Start: May 1 at 4:00 PM EDT
  • End: May 25 at 4:00 PM EDT
• The Ultra League
  • Start: May 25 at 4:00 PM EDT
  • End: June 15 at 4:00 PM EDT
• The Master League
  • Start: June 15 at 4:00 PM EDT
  • End: June 29 at 4:00 PM EDT

That’s not all, as all three leagues and the Premier Cup start on June 29 at 4:00 PM and end on July 6 at 4:00 PM. The Premier Cup is like the Master League, where there isn't be a limit when it comes to Combat Power. The downside is that Trainers won’t be able to use Legendary Pokémon, and most especially Mythical ones. Niantic hopes that the addition of the Premier Cup is going to give Season 2 that added flavor.

So what else is happening with Season 2? There are going to be features similar to that in Season 1. The walking and PokéCoin requirements to unlock battles continue to be removed. For those currently in the middle of walking in order to earn a set, this features is going to start with the next set.

Like Season 1, avatar items that are inspired by Pikachu Libre are still going to be rank 7 rewards. Meanwhile, Metagross continues to be the guaranteed reward encounter when Trainers reach rank 1. For rank 10, it’s an encounter with Pikachu Libre. Finally, avatar items that are inspired by Steven Stone continue to be rank 10 rewards.

There are going to be some new stuff as well. The Reward System is going to be tweaked a little. Trainers can now earn a Pokémon reward with their win on the basic rewards track. They can get the same reward in their first win on the premium rewards track. In addition, additional wins are now needed in order to get ranks 4,5, 6, and 7.

For Pokémon encounter rewards, Trainers can expect these:

• Stunkfisk starting at rank 4
• Rufflet starting at rank 8
• Scraggy starting at rank 9
• New avatar pose on reaching rank 10

Trainers that manage to finish Season 2 at least at rank 7 will receive an Elite Fast TM instead of an Elite Charged TM. Otherwise, most of the end-of-season rewards stay the same.

Trainer Battles Update

Pokémon Go also gave an update on Trainer Battles. One change is that Trainers can now start Trainer Battles through QR Codes from anywhere. Trainers can also start those battles regardless of what the Trainer's Friendship level is or even the distance. When it comes to Trainer Battles with friends, the Friendship level requirement is still lowered. That means players can send battle invites to Good Friends and Great Friends.

Another change is that Palkia can now learn an attack. Aqua Tail gives Palkia a strong Water-type Charged Attack which also charges quickly. This should help Palkia stand out from the different Legendary Dragon types, especially in the Master League.

Finally, these attacks have been updated:

• Drill Run
  • Energy requirement reduced
• Moonblast
  • Enery requirement reduced
  • Damage reduced
  • Has a change to lower opponet’s Attack stat
• Wild Charge
  • Energy requirement reduced
  • Damage increased
  • Lower user’s Defense stat

Don’t take too long as Season 3 is expected to start on July 6 at 4:00 PM EDT.