Pokemon GO PvP Trainer Battles Are Now Live

The long-awaited PvP trainer battles feature in Pokemon GO was given some more details about a month ago, with Niantic confirming that it would be arriving to the game “soon”. “Soon” is here at last, and trainer battles have now been rolled out for Pokemon GO, as the game’s official Twitter page confirmed in an update.

If you’re at level 10 or above, you can now engage with other players in PvP battles. As Niantic revealed last month, trainer battles see both players battling each other with teams of three Pokemon each. Battles take place in real time, and Pokemon can use “Fast Attacks” or “Charged Attacks”, or even deploy “Protective Shields”. If timed correctly, these shields can prevent critical hits. Battles will also be tiered on the basis of CP, so you shouldn’t worry about being thrown into the ring against a player at a much higher level than you.

Pokemon GO has been receiving a stream of great updates throughout the year, which has caused a resurgence in popularity for the mobile title. Doubtless, a feature as heavily requested as PvP will only serve to drive up that popularity even more. If it functions properly, that is- here’s hoping that it does.

Attention: Level 10 will be the lowest level of Trainers that can access this feature. For Trainers levels 10 and below, we encourage you to keep catching Pokémon and exploring the world of Pokémon GO! We have no doubt that you’ll be a level 10 Trainer in no time!

— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) December 13, 2018