Everything you need to know.
Trainers, the Season of Legends kicks off in Pokemon Go on March 1 at 8 a.m. local time, and later that day, Season 7 will begin in the Pokemon Go Battle League. (Learn more about the Season of Legends right here.)
Season 7 of the Go Battle League will begin on March 1 at 1 p.m. PT. At that point, any “end-of-season rewards” you earned during Season 6 will become available on the game’s Battle screen, and your in-game rating will be reset for the new Season.
As usual, Season 7 will consist of a variety of timed “Leagues.” Here’s the schedule:
Great League – March 1 at 1 p.m. PT until March 15 at 1 p.m. PT
Ultra League and its Premier Cup – March 15 at 1 pm. PT until March 29 at 1 p.m. PT
Master League, Master League Classic, and the Great League – March 29 at 1 p.m. PT until April 5 at 1 p.m. PT. If a Pokemon has ever been powered up using Candy XL, it won’t be eligible to compete in Master League Classic.
All three Leagues – April 5 at 1 p.m. PT until April 12 at 1 p.m. PT
Great League and Great League Remix – April 12 at 1 p.m. PT until April 26 at 1 p.m. PT. Once the first Great League section for Season 7 ends on March 15, Niantic, the developer of Pokemon Go, will determine the 10 most-used Pokemon during that League. These Pokemon will not be allowed to compete in this Great League Remix in April.
Ultra League and its Premier Cup – April 26 at 1 p.m. PT until May 10 at 1 p.m. PT
Master League, Master League Classic, and the Retro Cup – May 10 at 1 p.m. PT until May 17 sat 1 p.m. PT. If a Pokemon has ever been powered up using Candy XL, it won’t be eligible to compete in Master League Classic. In addition, Dark, Steel, and Fairy-type Pokemon will not be able to compete in the Retro Cup. The Retro Cup will have a CP limit of 1,500.
All three Leagues – May 17 at 1 p.m. PT until May 24 at 1 p.m. PT
All “ranked” play for Season 7 will end on May 24 at 1 p.m. PT. After that point, the unranked Kanto Cup will run from May 24 at 1 p.m. PT until May 31 at 1 p.m. PT. As the name suggests, only Pokemon from the Kanto region of the Pokemon universe will be able to compete in the Kanto Cup (everything from Bulbasaur to Mew), and there will be a CP limit of 1,500.
A variety of rewards will be given to trainers as they reach certain ranks during Season 7. Niantic provided a list of these rewards in a news post:
- “You won’t want to miss these Season 7 rewards. The Pikachu Libre avatar items will be a reward for Trainers who reach rank 10. Trainers who reach Legend rank will earn avatar items and a pose inspired by Elesa, who made her first appearance in Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version. 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.
- Some of the Pokémon you’ll encounter as you reach certain ranks will be inspired by Elesa. Additionally, players who reach rank 20 are guaranteed to encounter the Legendary Pokémon that is appearing in five-star raids at that time.
- Rank 1: You’ll be guaranteed to encounter Zebstrika, one of Elesa’s partner Pokémon in the Pokémon RPGs.
- Rank 1 and up: You’ll be able to encounter Pokémon such as Poliwhirl, Flaaffy, Pupitar, Galvantula, and more.
- Rank 10 and up: You’ll be able to encounter Pokémon such as Medicham, Frillish, Stunfisk, and more.
- Rank 15 and up: You’ll be able to encounter Pokémon such as Scraggy, Lampent, and Rufflet. Don’t forget—if you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny Rufflet!
- From rank 20 and up: You’ll be able to encounter the Legendary Pokémon that is appearing in five-star raids at that time.
- Ace rank and up: You’ll be able to encounter Deino!
- Legend rank: You’ll be guaranteed to encounter a Pikachu Libre. This will be the only time you’ll be able to encounter a Pikachu Libre during the season.
- You’ll earn more Candy XL than normal when you catch these Pokémon in GO Battle League reward encounters: Poliwhirl, Flaaffy, Pupitar, Medicham, Scraggy, Galvantula, Lampent, and Stunfisk.
- Stay tuned for details on the GO Battle League cups to be featured in the second half of Season 7.”
Finally, Niantic announced that the walking requirement to participate in battles in the Go Battle League will not return. The walking requirement was turned off as part of Niantic’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but it was originally a temporary change. Now, this change has become permanent.
Are you excited about Season 7 of the Pokemon Go Battle League? Let us know on Twitter at @superparenthq.
Brandy Berthelson has been writing about video games and technology since 2006, with her work appearing on sites including AOL Games, Digital Spy, and Adweek. When she’s not gaming, Brandy enjoys crafting, baking, and traveling with her husband.
