Evergreen
Trainer Battles with Friends and Nearby Players
How Trainer Battles work in Pokémon GO: battling nearby players by QR code, remote battles with friends, choosing a league and practice games worth trying.
Trainer Battles are the relaxed side of PvP: you choose the opponent, nothing happens to your GO Battle League rank, and you can rematch the same person as often as you like. Groups use them for local battle nights, families use them to settle who has the best team, and anyone can use them to practise without risking rating. Below: how to start a battle in person or remotely, how to pick a league, and a handful of practice games your group can try. New to the game altogether? Start from the Trainer Hub homepage, which points to the beginner guides.
Ways to battle, compared
| Mode | Opponent | How you connect | Affects GO Battle League rank? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trainer Battle, in person | Anyone standing next to you | One player scans the other's battle QR code; no friendship needed | No |
| Trainer Battle, remote | Someone on your friend list | Start it from their friend profile; needs a higher friendship level | No |
| Team Leader battles | The computer, as one of the three team leaders | From the game's battle menu | No |
| GO Battle League | A stranger matched by the game | Queue a set | Yes |
Battling someone nearby
- Both players open the battle section from the main menu. Menus move around between app versions, but the Trainer Battle option includes a QR code.
- One player shows their code and the other scans it with the in-app scanner.
- One player picks the league and the other accepts the challenge.
- Each player chooses three Pokémon, from a saved party or picked fresh, and the battle starts.
If a code won't scan, turn the screen brightness up, tilt the phone away from glare and hold the phones a little further apart.
Battling a friend remotely
Remote Trainer Battles start from a friend's profile and need a higher friendship level than a brand-new friendship. The exact level is set by the game and could change, so the simplest check is whether the battle option appears on that friend's profile. Friendship grows through one interaction a day, such as exchanging gifts, trading or battling together; our guide to trading and friendship levels explains how the levels work.
Choosing the league and your three
Trainer Battles offer the three standard leagues, capped at 1,500 CP for Great, 2,500 CP for Ultra and no limit for Master, and special cups are sometimes on the list too. Pokémon above the cap can't be picked, which is why a favourite may be missing from the list. Our guide to Great, Ultra and Master League helps you decide which Pokémon suit each one.
Save a few battle parties in advance. It stops the fumbling in the middle of a battle night, and it keeps everyone honest if your group agrees to lock teams for a round.
Rewards and limits
Trainer Battles and Team Leader battles have typically given a small reward for a limited number of battles each day, and the details are set by the game and can change. After that you can keep playing as long as you like for practice. Check the battle screen for what is on offer now rather than planning around rewards.
Research tasks sometimes ask you to battle another trainer; a quick Trainer Battle with a friend is usually the easiest way to clear them. Check the task wording, since some specify the GO Battle League.
Games worth playing with friends
- No-shield games. Both players agree not to use shields, so every charged move lands and energy counting matters far more than usual.
- Mirror matches. Both bring the same three species with the same moves, so decisions matter far more than the matchup.
- House cups. Invent a restriction for the night that everyone can check at a glance: starter Pokémon only, Pokémon from a single region's Pokédex, or nothing anyone has already used earlier in the evening.
- Replay a loss. Recreate a matchup you keep losing on the ladder. Recording your battles makes it easy to spot which ones.
- Handicap games. An experienced player uses a weaker team so a beginner gets close, winnable games.
Etiquette
At a meetup, ask before challenging someone and accept "not now" gracefully. Say good game, whoever wins. If you are the more experienced player, explain what happened afterwards if they want to know, not during the battle. With children, keep it light, let them choose the league, and remember the goal is that they want to play again.
Trainer Battle questions
Do Trainer Battles count towards my GO Battle League rank?
No. They are entirely separate from the ladder, which is exactly what makes them good for practice.
Can we battle if we are not friends in the game?
Yes, in person: one of you scans the other's battle QR code. Remote battles need you to be friends at a high enough friendship level. Either way, both players need to have reached the game's minimum Trainer level for battling (level 10 at the time of writing), so a brand-new account may need to level up first.
Why did the battle drop?
Usually a weak connection on one of the phones. Move somewhere with a better signal, restart the app if needed and try again. If it keeps happening at a venue, switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data often helps.
Can more than two people battle at once?
Trainer Battles are one against one. For a group, pair people up in rounds, or run a mini tournament with a simple bracket.