2020 could be a big year for Pokemon GO. Niantic has already announced its first 2020 live events that it'll be hosting throughout the year, and it has finally begun to add a feature that fans have been waiting for since the game first released - online battles.
At the moment, Pokemon GO PvP has had to be paused due to some technical issues, but we can still explain how it will work. It will be gradually made accessible to players depending on their Trainer level and is still in an early phase and Season 1 of what is being called the Go Battle League won't start until after a preseason period has ended, which is what's running right now. Niantic will be examining it to make sure Pokemon GO is balanced whilst players test it out.
Each season will be split into three different leagues - Great, Ultra, and Master - which will be rotated every couple of weeks. So, the schedule looks like this:
Great League: January 28th - February 10th
Ultra League: February 10th - February 24th
Master League: February 24th - March 9th
Once a player has gained access to the League, they will need to walk at least 5 km to be able to participate in five matches, though there is an option spend Poke Coins to take part after only 2 km. The closer the player is to the 5 km threshold, the fewer coins they'll have to spend.
The higher a player's rank is by the end of the preseason, the better rewards they'll receive, such as Stardust, TMs, Rare Candy, and even encounters with special Pokemon, with the first of these being Pikachu Libre, which first appeared in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Pikachu Libre-themed avatar items will also be added as League rewards.
Meanwhile, Pokemon Sword and Shield players might be struggling to track down this month's exclusive Gigantamax Pokemon in the Wild Area. Fortunately, there is a handy guide with a few tips to making locating and catching the likes of Gigantamax Coalossal and Lapras a little bit easier.
Pokemon GO is available now on iOS and Android devices.
Source: Pokemon GO