Niantic has just added a feature that many players had on their Pokémon Go wishlist – the player-versus-player trainer battles. All fans of the series can now fight one-on-one against other players and local trainers, or compete in trainer leagues.
How does it work
Players who have the status of either Ultra Friends or Best Friends can now battle each other online by sending invites through the Friends list. Unfortunately, it does not apply to Good or Great friends. When it comes to local fights, both players have to belong to the same trainer league and they have to exchange battle codes – unique QR codes that must be scanned prior to sending a battle invitation. These codes, which we shouldn’t confuse with trainer codes, are located in the battle menu and are assigned automatically by the game.
How to play trainer battles
Trainer battles in Pokémon Go are played between two players who can both use three Pokémon. Players must choose the monsters before the battle, which is not turn-based, but is played in real-time. Once we select our Pokémon, we can freely switch between them, although a cooldown timer does not allow swapping them too often.
Talking about the technical side of the battle, players must tap the screen to perform fast attacks and hold it down to make one of two available charge attacks (the second one has to be unlocked). Additionally, players can defend the Pokémon against powerful moves by using the Protect Shield ability.
How to win a battle
The battle can last up to four minutes, after which the winner is named. Eventually, we can win if our opponent used all the Pokémon. In case both players have the same number of remaining Pokémon, the one whose team has a higher health level is being awarded the victory.
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