Pokemon GO Battle League announced along with special rewards

It’s finally upon us! Pokemon GO Battle League Season 1 will begin on Friday, March 13. In addition to the announcement, Niantic have also revealed some interesting events in the build up to Battle League’s first season.

For those of you who don’t know, the new GO Battle League gives trainers the opportunity to compete against each other in Pokemon Go battles. Players are matched against similar levels opponents and are given the chance to ascend the ranks.

• Read More: Pokemon GO Battle League guide – How to play, ranks and more

GO Battle League will rotate between three different leagues with, to begin with, only one in play at any particular time. This will allow a wide variety of Pokemon to be used and prevent only the very strongest trainers and Pokemon from being effective.

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League schedule, start date

The leagues and their respective schedules are as follows:

• Great League (1500 CP limit): Friday, March 13, 1pm PST to Friday, March 27, 1pm PDT
• Ultra League (2500 CP limit): Friday, March 27, 1pm PDT to Friday, April 10, 1pm  PDT
• Master League (no CP limit): Friday, April 10, 1pm PDT to Friday, April 24, 1pm PDT

All of these leagues will be available from Friday, April 24, 1pm PDT to Friday, May 1, 1pm PDT.

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Chance to get Legendary and Mythical Pokemon

Even before Season 1 begins you’ll have the chance to add a Mythical Pokemon to your team. Darkrai will be available as a GO Battle League reward encounter (for those Rank 4 or above) from Friday, March 6, 8am to Monday, March 9, 10pm (all local times).

This coincides with the Darkrai special Raid weekend. It’s always useful to have a strong dark-type species on your team, especially one as strong as the Pitch-Black Pokemon.

• Read More: How to catch Pokemon with maximum IVs in Pokemon Go

The following weekend, over the same time period from March 13 to March 16, Altered Forme Giratina will be available as GO Battle League reward encounter. The Renegade Pokemon is an excellent all-round choice against a lot of different types.

Both Darkrai and Altered Forme Giratina can be found in their shiny form – if you’re really lucky, of course.

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Events to warm up

Niantic have also announced some events to help trainers warm-up for GO Battle League Season 1, too. The first of those begins on Tuesday, March 10, 8am and finishes on Thursday, March 12, 10pm (local time).

It will feature the following:

• Skarmory, Swampert, Shieldon, and more appearing in Raid Battles
• Registeel and Cresselia appearing in five-star Raids
• 2x Stardust for Raid Battles and Trainer Battles

The second event is a launch celebration for GO Battle League. It starts on Friday, March 13, 8am and finishing on Monday, March 16, 10pm (again local time) and includes:

• More fighting-type Pokemon appearing in the wild
• Receive a Premium Battle Pass when you win all five battles in a set on the premium track of the GO Battle League.
• You’ll be able to complete seven sets of GO Battle League battles per day, up from the regular five sets, for a total of up to 35 battles a day!
• Stardust bonus in the GO Battle League.

It has been years since Pokemon Go released but now trainers, finally, have a way to prove who the very best is.