GO Battle League: Season 9 Update
Trainers,
GO Battle League Season 9 is set to kick off!
Your ranking at the end of this season will be more important than it ever has, so make sure to start your climb early! As the season progresses, we’ll have more to share on how this season’s results will impact things going forward—so stay tuned!
Now, let’s get into what you can expect during GO Battle League Season 9!
Season 9 Start Date, Rank Resets, and End-of-Season Rewards
GO Battle League Season 9 will start on Monday, August 30, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).
The following will occur at the beginning of the season.
- End of season rewards will be available on the battle screen.
- Your GO Battle League rank will be reset.
- Rank-up requirements will remain the same as in Season 8.
Season 9 Schedule
The following leagues will begin and end at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7) on the dates listed below.
What’s new in Season 9?
GO Battle Days
To allow more Trainers to participate, GO Battle Nights will become GO Battle Days from GO Battle League Season 9 onward!
Bonuses
The maximum number of sets you can play per day will be increased from five to 20, for a total of 100 battles.
4× Stardust from win rewards (this does not include end of set rewards and will not stack with the 3× Stardust bonus on November 20).
Dates and Times
Saturday, September 18, 2021, from 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. local time
- The Ultra League and Ultra League Remix will be active.
Monday, November 1, 2021, from 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. local time
- The Ultra League, the UL Premier Classic, and the Halloween Cup will be active.
Saturday, November 20, 2021, from 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. local time
- The Master League, ML Premier Classic, and a cup chosen by Trainers will be active.
Season 9 rewards
Since this season of the GO Battle League coincides with the Season of Mischief—featuring the Mythical Pokémon Hoopa—you’ll be able to encounter various Psychic-, Ghost-, and Dark-type Pokémon as encounter rewards throughout the season.
Additionally, in celebration of Pokémon first found in the Galar region arriving in Pokémon GO, you’ll be able to encounter Pokémon and earn avatar items inspired by the Champion of the Galar region, Leon!
Guaranteed rank-up encounters
You can encounter the following Pokémon once per season at the designated ranks. At rank 1, you’ll be guaranteed to encounter one of the Pokémon that Galar Champion Leon is known to use!
Standard encounters
You can encounter the following Pokémon as win rewards throughout the season at the ranks shown in the image below.
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Avatar items and other rewards
Pikachu Libre avatar items will be rewarded to Trainers who reach Rank 3.
Trainers will be able to earn avatar items and a pose inspired by the champion of the Galar region, Leon, who first made his debut in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield!
- At Ace rank, you’ll receive the Reigning Champion Sport Glove.
- At Veteran rank, you’ll receive the Leon’s Look Sport Cap.
- At Expert rank, you’ll receive the Reigning Champion Sport Shorts.
- At Legend rank, you’ll receive the Reigning Champion Sport Top.
- Midway through season 9, Leon’s iconic pose will be added as a reward for Trainers who reach Legend rank.
At Rank 19, you’ll receive an Elite Charged TM, and you’ll also receive an Elite Fast TM as an end-of-season reward.
Cups
You can look forward to the following cups this season.
Great League Remix
The 20 Pokémon most used by Trainers Ace rank and up in the Great League will not be allowed in the Great League Remix.
The following Pokémon will not be allowed.
Ultra League Remix
The 10 Ultra League Pokémon most used by Trainers Ace rank and up in the Ultra League will not be allowed in the Ultra League Remix.
The following Pokémon will not be allowed.
Little Jungle Cup
- Pokémon must be at or below 500 CP to enter.
- Pokémon do not need to be able to evolve to enter.
- Only Normal-, Grass-, Electric-, Poison-, Ground-, Flying-, Bug-, and Dark-type Pokémon are permitted.
- Shuckle and Smeargle are not permitted.
Halloween Cup
- Pokémon must be at or below 1,500 CP to enter.
- Only Poison-, Bug-, Ghost-, Dark-, and Fairy-type Pokémon are permitted.
Special Cup: Players' choice
Kanto Cup
- The CP limit for this cup will be 1,500, and only Pokémon with a Pokédex number between 001 and 151 will be allowed.
New attacks
Weather Ball
A new, low energy cost Normal-type Charged Attack.
- Trainer Battles: 55 Damage
- Gyms and raids: 55 Damage
Attack changes
Weather Ball
Weather Ball is currently a little too efficient as a low-energy Charged Attack. As a result, we’re toning down its damage just a tad.
- Trainer Battles:
60→ 55 damage - Gyms and raids:
60→ 55 damage
Crunch
We’re adding an effect to this move when it’s used in Trainer battles to tie in with its effect in the core Pokémon RPGs.
- Trainer Battles: Now has a chance of lowering the opposing Pokémon’s Defense.
Zap Cannon
We’re adding an effect to this move when it’s used in Trainer Battles to tie in with its effect in the Pokémon RPGs. We hope this will provide Pokémon like Zapdos, Regirock, Magnezone, and Porygon-Z a chance to shine.
- Trainer Battles: Guaranteed to lower the opposing Pokémon’s Attack.
Scald
We’re lowering the energy cost of this Charged Attack and adding an effect to this move when it’s used in Trainer battles to tie in with its effect in the core Pokémon RPGs.
- Trainer Battles: Energy cost decreased and now provides a chance of lowering the opposing Pokémon’s Attack.
Feather Dance
We’re increasing the energy cost of this Charged Attack slightly to make it harder to use as often.
- Trainer Battles: Energy cost increased.
Megahorn
We’re giving Megahorn a slight increase in damage to boost Nidoking’s, Heracross’s, and Escavalier’s high-cost Charged Attack options.
- Trainer Battles:
100→ 110 damage
Attack availability updates
There’s a lot to look forward to this season, so be sure to turn on push notifications in the game settings and follow @PokemonGoApp on Twitter for all the latest updates on the GO Battle League.
Please be aware of your surroundings and follow guidelines from local health authorities when playing Pokémon GO. Upcoming events are subject to change. Be sure to follow us on social media, opt in to receiving push notifications, and subscribe to our emails to stay updated. For the latest on in-game events and feature updates, be sure to check this help center article.
—The Pokémon GO team
