While many Trainers will be trying to find out how to battle in Pokemon Go, Niantic has not set their new feature live.
The good news is that we aren’t far away and players on Android and iOS are starting to download the important Pokemon Go PvP update.
This has been confirmed by the official patch notes shared by Niantic on the Google PlayStore.
They include details on how the new Trainer Battles will work, confirming that they are included in the latest build.
POKEMON GO PVP PATCH NOTES
Trainers can now challenge someone nearby to a Trainer Battle by scanning their Battle Code.
Trainers can send remote Trainer Battle challenges to their Ultra Friends or Best Friends.
Trainers can also Trainer Battle against team leaders.
Trainer Battles take place in one of three different Trainer Battle Leagues, and each requires a team of three Pokémon. Each Trainer Battle League has different Pokémon CP limits.
New hair colours and skin tones will be available for Trainer avatars.
POKEMON GO TRAINER BATTLES RELEASE
Niantic hasn’t provided a set time or date for when the new Pokemon Go Trainer Battles will go live.
With the new update now being released, it seems likely that the new feature will go live in the next 48hrs.
Thursday seems like a good bet, however, it appears Trainers will be enjoying the new Pokemon Go PvP features at different times.
The first step will be for Niantic to force the update on all devices, which isn’t something that has happened yet.
This will be followed by Niantic turning on the new feature in the game, something that is expected to happen soon.
However, when it does begin, only the highest level Trainers will be able to play first.
Like in the past, Niantic has chosen for the new Trainer Battles to be tested out first by level 40 fans.
This will allow for a short testing phase, and will also steady the game servers against any surges.
After this, Niantic will slowly drop the level requirements until everyone has access to the new PvP features. Here’s some of the latest news shared by the Pokemon Go dev team on the impending release.
“When we release Pokémon GO Trainer Battles, we will be rolling out the feature in stages, starting with level 40 Trainers. We do this so that we can confirm the feature is running smoothly before we begin to release the feature out to more Trainers.
“While this means that Trainers of lower levels will have to wait before they can access this feature, we follow this process to ensure that there are no major disruptions during your #GOBattle experience.”
This was followed by news that Sinnoh Stones will be among the rewards available to earn through Team Leader battles:
“Looking to improve your Trainer Battle skills but don’t have anyone nearby to train with you? No worries! When Trainer Battles launch, Trainers will be able to practice battling against team leaders Spark, Candela, and Blanche!
“Team leaders Spark, Candela, and Blanche are available at any time of the day, and Trainers who battle against them can change the degree of difficulty of their practice Trainer Battle by selecting different Battle Leagues.
“While improving your battle skills is its own reward, Trainers who practice battling against one of the team leaders can also earn rewards, such as Stardust, once per day! Battle wins gained through this training mode also count toward earning an Ace Trainer medal!”
More Pokemon Go PvP release news is expected to be shared by Niantic in the coming day.