GO Battle League: Memories in Motion

Trainers, GO Battle League: Memories in Motion marks the return of a fully ranked competitive season after a three month interlude break.

With the previous season acting as a reset period, this update brings back the traditional ranked climb alongside a new battle system update aimed at improving stability and addressing long standing gameplay issues. After months of experimentation and lighter progression, we now enter a competitive season where every battle carries weight again.

Running from early March through early June, Memories in Motion focuses heavily on balance changes, with a wide range of buffs, nerfs, and moveset updates set to reshape multiple metas across every league.

Let’s dive into the full schedule, rewards, cups, and updates to see what this ranked season has in store.

Season Start, Rank Reset and Early Details

GO Battle League: Memories in Motion begins Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. PST GMT −8.

At the start of the Season:

• 🎁 End of Season rewards become available on the Battle screen.
• 🔄 Your GO Battle League rank will reset.
• 📈 The number of wins required to advance from Rank 19 to Rank 20 returns to 20.
• 📊 All other rank up requirements remain unchanged.

With the return to a standard ranked structure, the climb to Rank 20 once again becomes a meaningful early season milestone before ELO rating takes over. 

The shift back into a fully ranked environment, combined with the recent battle system improvements, signals a renewed focus on competitive integrity heading into this season.

GO Battle League: Memories in Motion Schedule

The following leagues will begin and end at 1:00 p.m. PST (GMT −8) on the dates listed below. Starting March 10, rotations will end at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).

(*) 4× Stardust from win rewards (this does not include end-of-set rewards)

The season features frequent Open League weeks with boosted Stardust, making it ideal for climbing while also stockpiling resources. The return of Catch Cup late in the season always creates a chaotic, fast adapting meta that rewards preparation.

Memories in Motion GO Battle League Events

Daily Discoveries: GO Battle Thursday

Starting this season, Thursdays will feature a dedicated Daily Discovery bonus for battlers.

For the very first time, a brand new event feature will take place every Thursday. Mark your calendars, as you can now complete up to 10 sets on these days. This gives you a consistent weekly chance to earn Stardust and boost your rating during favourable formats.

Guaranteed Rank-Up Encounters

You can encounter the following Pokémon once per Season at the designated ranks.

Rank	Guaranteed Encounter
Rank 1	Pidgeot
Rank 6	Pancham
Ace	Togetic
Veteran	Honedge
Expert	Dreepy
Legend	Pikachu Libre

If you’re lucky, some may be encountered in their Shiny forms.

Standard Encounter Pool

Throughout the Season, you may encounter the following Pokémon at various ranks:

Rank 1+

Rank 6+

Rank 11+

Rank 16+

Rank 20+

Active 5★ Raid Boss encounter becomes available.

After reaching Rank 20, the currently active five-star Raid Boss may appear as a reward encounter. This pool includes several Pokémon relevant for PvP evolution lines, giving competitive players useful resource-building opportunities.

GO Battle League Timed Research Pass

A free battle-themed Timed Research pass will be available in the in-game shop once the Season begins.

The first page requires catching Pokémon and awards encounters designed to help build competitive teams. Each subsequent page requires:

• 100 battles
• 50 wins

Rewards include:

• ⭐ Stardust
• 🍬 Rare Candy XL
• 📘 Elite Fast TM
• 📕 Elite Charged TM

Players who stay consistent will reap big rewards this Season. Plus, it’s a perfect way to track your progress and hit important milestones along the way.

Avatar Rewards

This season’s avatar items are inspired by Blue from Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee!

Blue was the main rival in the original Generation 1 Pokémon games. In Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee!, his role changes. He now acts as a trainer who supports you, having already completed his own adventure.

Memories in Motion Cups

Here’s the full lineup of themed Cups this Season:

Kanto Cup: Great League Edition

• Max 1500 CP
• Pokédex numbers #001–#151 only

Spring Cup: Great League Edition

• Max 1500 CP
• Water-, Grass-, Fairy-types only
• 🚫 Banned: Jumpluff, Roserade, Toxapex

Jungle Cup: Great League Edition

• Max 1500 CP
• Normal, Grass, Electric, Poison, Ground, Flying, Bug, Dark only

Electric Cup: Great League Edition

• Max 1500 CP
• Electric-types only
• 🚫 Banned: Stunfisk, Heliolisk, Charjabug, Vikavolt

Fantasy Cup: Great League Edition

• Max 1500 CP
• Dragon, Steel, Fairy only

Catch Cup: Memories in Motion: Great League Edition

• Max 1500 CP
• Only Pokémon caught between March 3, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. and June 2, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. local time

Kanto Cup offers a nostalgic battling experience, while Electric Cup and Fantasy Cup tend to produce condensed metas. Catch Cup once again encourages strategic resource management throughout the entire Season.

Attack Changes

Move	Pokémon
Low Kick	Power 4 → 5 Energy 5 → 8
Mud Shot	Power 4 → 3 Energy 8 → 9
Psycho Cut	Power 3 → 4
Waterfall	Power 12 → 11 Energy 8 → 10
Wing Attack	Energy 7 → 8
Drain Punch	Power 20 → 40
Heat Wave	Power 95 → 75 Energy cost 75 → 45
Sand Tomb	Power 25 → 40
Twister	Power 45 → 70 Energy cost 45 → 40
Volt Tackle	Energy cost 50 → 40
Bullet Punch	Power 8 → 7
Mud Slap	Power 12 → 11
Smack Down	Power 12 → 11
Mud Bomb	Power 60 → 65 Energy cost 40 → 45
Rock Tomb	Power 80 → 75

Trainers will be pleased to see that some powerhouse fast moves, including Bullet Punch, Mud Slap, and Smack Down, are having their damage slightly reduced. While the nerfs aren’t huge, they could provide the balance we’ve been waiting for. One of the most surprising changes is to Twister, which appears to be a powerful and spammy Dragon-type charged attack.

Attack Availability Updates

The following Pokémon gain access to new moves:

Pokémon	Moves
Gliscor	Acrobatics Flying
Moltres	Fly Flying
Scolipede	Aqua Tail Water
Volcanion	Scald Water
Heracross	Fury Cutter Bug Rock Tomb Rock
Pidgeot	Heat Wave Fire
Zapdos	Heat Wave Fire
Togetic	Heat Wave Fire
Camerupt	Scorching Sands Ground Rock Tomb Rock
Mow Rotom	Leaf Storm Grass
Articuno	Powder Snow Ice
Marshadow	Shadow Claw Ghost
Wormadam (All Cloaks)	Sucker Punch Dark
Flygon	Twister Dragon
Garchomp	Twister Dragon

A few notable Pokémon to highlight include Gliscor, which can now learn the charge move Acrobatics. Combined with the energy generation buff to Wing Attack, this could see Gliscor appearing more frequently in competitive play and open metas. It’s also worth noting that Gliscor has access to Sand Tomb, which has received a damage increase, further boosting its overall pressure.

Heracross also gains two new moves, Fury Cutter and Rock Tomb, giving it both oppressive damage and spam potential. Even with the slight nerf to Rock Tomb’s damage, it remains a strong charged attack thanks to its 100% chance to lower the opponent’s attack by one stage.

Marshadow with Shadow Claw could become a stronger option in the Master League. If you’re wondering where to spend your next Gold Bottle Cap, this is worth considering.

Wormadam can now use Sucker Punch, an extremely strong fast move, allowing it to reach its charged moves faster while maintaining solid fast-move damage. Just be cautious of fire-type attacks.

Finally, the improved Twister could elevate both Flygon and Garchomp in limited metas, giving them more consistent Dragon-type pressure. Flygon stands out in particular, as a slight boost to Mud Shot alongside the Sand Tomb and Twister combination creates a flexible, shield pressure focused moveset that could catch opponents off guard.

Parting Words

All in all, I’m personally very excited for this new season. The balance changes, alongside the complete system overhaul, could signal a brighter future for competitive play. With so much more to learn and adapt to, future large-scale tournaments may become even more intense, as we watch top players find new ways to utilise these changes.

See you on the battlefield, trainers!
GL&HF
–Adam ‘avrip’