'Pokémon Go' Battle League Season 2 Announced: Complete Schedule and Changes

Niantic and the Pokémon Company have announced that the second season of the Pokémon Go Battle League will begin May 1.

After the first season, Niantic is looking to make changes and improvements to the battle system and the rewards. Niantic has confirmed that new changes will be implemented that will focus on the ranking system, encounters, rewards and more.

Trainers will also be able to participate in Trainer Battles via a QR Code, regardless of the friendship level or distance. This will allow trainers to battle anyone from anywhere.

With the Pokémon Go Battle League Season 2 about to begin, here's everything players need to know to prepare, including the schedule and the changes.

POKEMON GO BATTLE LEAGUE SEASON 2 SCHEDULE

Season 2 of the Pokémon Go Battle League will rotate between the three leagues: the Great League, the Ultra League and the Master League. The schedule below shows when each league format will be available:

The Great League will run from Friday, May 1, at 4 p.m. to Monday, May 25, at 4p.m. EDT.

The Ultra League will run from Monday, May 25, at 4 p.m. to Monday, June 15, at 4 p.m. EDT.

The Master League will run from Monday, June 15, at 4 p.m. to Monday, June 29, 2020, at 4 p.m. EDT.

In addition, the Premier Cup format will be running concurrently with the Master League. In this format, there is no Combat Power limit, but Legendary Pokémon and Mythical Pokémon are not eligible to participate.

All three leagues and the Premier Cup will be available from Monday, June 29, at 4 p.m. to Monday, July 6, at 4 p.m. EDT.

Immediately after Season 2, Season 3 of the Pokémon Go Battle League will begin on Monday, July 6, at 4 p.m. EDT. More details on that will come closer to the start date.

WHAT'S NEW IN POKEMON GO BATTLE LEAGUE SEASON 2

Niantic has confirmed that the reward system will be changed slightly. Trainers can now earn a Pokémon reward encounter after their third win on the basic rewards track or after their first win on the premium rewards track.

More wins are now required to get to ranks 4-7, making it more difficult to rank up and incentivizing players to continue battling during the new season.

Here are the guaranteed reward encounters at each rank:

Stunfisk starting at rank 4

Rufflet starting at rank 8

Scraggy starting at rank 9

If you reach rank 10, you'll earn a new avatar pose.

Trainers who finish the Pokémon Go Battle League Season 2 at rank 7 or higher will receive an Elite Fast TM, rather than an Elite Charged TM. The rest of the end-of-season rewards will stay the same as in Season 1.

Aside from the changes to the ranking system and rewards, Trainer Battles will also be changed.

The aforementioned requirements to challenge trainers via QR Code are changed, but trainers whose friendship level is at Good or Great can now challenge their friends instead of waiting to become Ultra or Best friends.

Also, the following attacks have been updated:

Drill Run - Its energy requirement has been reduced.

Moonblast - Its energy requirement and damage have both been reduced, and it now has a chance to lower the opponent's Attack stat.

Wild Charge - Its energy requirement has been reduced, its damage has been increased, and it now has a chance to sharply lower the user's Defense stat.

To go along with these attack changes, Palkia can now learn Aqua Tail, a move it couldn't before. Aqua Tail is a powerful Water-type Charged Attack.

What do you think of the upcoming season of the Pokémon Go Battle League? Let us know in the comments section.