Now that the 2022 Pokémon World Championships have come to a close, we can look forward to the Season of Light, which is right around the corner.
This marks the 12th official season of GO Battle League and there are a lot of new and exciting changes including the introduction of a few never before seen cups, new attacks, attack changes, rewards and more!
Whether you’re a PvP veteran or just looking to get started, these are changes you will want to pay attention to as they will shake up the current meta entirely. There is a lot to cover so let’s dive into this announcement already, shall we?
Introduction
From the official announcement:
Trainers,
GO Battle League: Season of Light is almost here!
Arriving on the heels of the 2022 Pokémon World Championships, GO Battle League: Season of Light will feature the Psychic Cup, the Weather Cup, and the Halloween Cup: Ultra League Edition!
Several changes are coming to the GO Battle League this Season, which we’ve illuminated below. Both new Trainers and time-tested battlers should take a look!
From what we can see here, we get our first glimpse into a few of the new cups which are coming to Season 12 of the GO Battle League. The Psychic Cup, Weather Cup and the Halloween Cup: Ultra League Edition are only some of the new additions we can look forward to in the coming rotations.
Date, Time, Rank Resets & Rewards
-
GO Battle League: Season of Light will start on Thursday, September 1, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT -7)
-
End-of-Season rewards will be available on the battle screen.
-
Your GO Battle League rank will be reset.
-
Rank-up requirements will remain the same as the prior Season.
GO Battle League Timed Research Pass
For our most dedicated battlers, a pass to access battle-themed Timed Research will be available in the in-game shop at no cost once GO Battle League: Season of Light begins.
This Timed Research will keep track of your victories throughout the Season. Each research page will require 100 wins to complete, and doing so will reward you with a small amount of Stardust and items such as an Elite Fast TM (400 wins) and Elite Charged TM (500 wins).
Keep at it throughout the Season to see how far you can get!
GO Battle League Season 12 Schedule
The following leagues will begin and end at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7) on the dates listed below.
| Dates | Active Leagues and Cups |
|---|---|
| Sep 1 – Sep 8 |
|
| Sep 8-Sep 15 |
|
| Sep 15-Sep 22 |
|
| Sep 22-Sep 29 |
|
| Sep 29-Oct 6 |
|
| Oct 6-Oct 13 |
|
| Oct 13-Oct 20 |
|
| Oct 20-Oct 27 |
|
| Oct 27-Nov 3 |
|
| Nov 3-Nov 10 |
|
| Nov 10-Nov 17 |
|
| Nov 17-Nov 24 |
|
| Nov 24-Dec 1 |
|
(*) 3x Stardust from win rewards (this does not include end of set rewards)
Stay tuned as we will be posting specific guides for each cup which will include a full meta-analysis, tips and tricks and other helpful information to help you win more games.
GO Battle Day: Guzma
A GO Battle Day featuring part of the Guzma Avatar Item Set!
Bonuses
-
Saturday, October 1, 2022, from 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. local time
-
4x Stardust from win rewards.
-
The maximum number of sets you can play per day will be increased from five to 20 for a total of 100 battles from 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. local time.
Timed Research
Timed Research Focused on battling will be available for the whole day! Complete the research to earn:
- XP
- Rare Candy
- A watch and bracelet for your avatar inspired by Guzma
- An Elite Charge TM
*Trainers who have already received the watch and bracelet from the rank 20 rewards will not receive another.
GO Battle Days are an excellent opportunity to put your skills to the test. You are able to play 100 battles in a day and while that may sound gruelling to some, others see this as a perfect chance to be able to rank up and cash in on the enticing rewards.
Active Leagues
The following league will be active.
- 🟣 Master League
- 🟣 Master Premier Classic
GO Battle Day: Miltank
Miltank
Sunday, November 6, 2022, from 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. local time A GO Battle Day featuring Miltank, the Milk Cow Pokémon!
Bonuses
-
4x Stardust from win rewards.
-
The maximum number of sets you can play per day will be increased from five to 20—for a total of 100 battles- from 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. local time.
Featured Pokémon – Miltank
Available from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. local time
- Miltank will be guaranteed to appear as a reward encounter.
- In each set, the first win reward from the Basic track will be a reward encounter. The second through fifth win rewards will remain unchanged.
- All win rewards from the Premium track will be reward encounters.
- You’ll have an increased chance of encountering Shiny Miltank.
Timed Research
Timed Research focused on battling will be available for the whole day! Complete the research to earn:
- XP
- Rare Candy
- Miltank encounter
- An Elite Charge TM
Active Leagues
The following leagues will be active.
- Ultra League
- Willpower Cup
Miltank will be taking the spotlight for the second GO Battle Day for season 12. Be sure to take advantage of this event as you can earn a whopping 4x stardust from win rewards along with having the chance to encounter a shiny Miltank. Who wouldn’t want a blue cow?
GO Battle League Season 12 Rank rewards
Guaranteed rank-up encounters
You can encounter the following Pokémon once per Season at the designated ranks. At Rank 1, you’ll be guaranteed to encounter one of the Pokémon that Guzma is known to use!
| Rank | Guaranteed reward |
|---|---|
| Rank 1 |
Pinsir
|
| Rank 6 |
Machamp
|
| Ace Rank |
Axew
|
| Veteran Rank |
Noibat
|
| Expert Rank |
Goomy
|
| Legend Rank |
Pikachu (Libre)
|
Standard Rank Reward Encounters
You can encounter the following Pokémon in reward encounters throughout the season at the ranks shown below.
Rank 1+
Rank 6+
Rank 11+
Rank 16+
Rank 20+
Active Raid Boss in five-star raids
Ace+
Veteran+
Expert+
Avatar Items and Other Rewards
Pikachu Libre available at Rank 3+
Pikachu Libre avatar items will be rewarded to Trainers who reach Rank 3.
Guzma Outfit
Trainers will be able to earn the following rewards for your avatar. They’re all inspired by Guzma, leader of Team Skull in Pokémon Sun, Pokémon Moon, Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon.
- Ace rank: Watch and Bracelet
- Veteran rank: Pants
- Expert rank: Glasses
- Legend rank: Shirt and Pose
At Rank 19, you’ll receive an Elite Charged TM, and you’ll also receive an Elite Fast TM as an end-of-season reward.
Many trainers look forward to seeing what character each season of GO Battle League will be based around. This season we have Guzma, who is the antagonist of Team Skull.
GO Battle League Season 12 Cups
You can look forward to the following new cups this season.
Great League
- Pokémon must be at or below 1,500 CP to enter.
Ultra League
- Pokémon must be at or below 2,500 CP to enter.
Ultra Premier
- Pokémon must be at or below 2,500 CP to enter.
- Legendary or Mythical Pokémon are not eligible.
Ultra Premier Classic
- Pokémon must be at or below 2,500 CP to enter.
- Legendary or Mythical Pokémon are not eligible.
- Pokémon that have been powered up using Candy XL are not eligible.
Master League
- No CP Limit.
Master Premier Classic
- No CP Limit.
- Legendary or Mythical Pokémon are not eligible.
- Pokémon that have been powered up using Candy XL are not eligible.
Little Jungle Cup Remix
- Pokémon must be at or below 500 CP to enter.
- Only Normal, Grass, Electric, Poison, Ground, , Bug and Dark type Pokémon will be eligible.
- The three Pokémon most used by Trainers Ace rank and up in the last Little Jungle Cup will not be allowed in the Little Jungle Cup Remix.
- In addition, Salandit will not be allowed.
The following Pokémon will not be allowed.
Evolution Cup
- Pokémon must be at or below 1,500 CP to enter.
- Only Pokémon that have evolved at least once and can evolve again will be eligible.
Psychic Cup
- Pokémon must be at or below 1,500 CP to enter.
- Only Psychic type Pokémon will be eligible.
The following Pokémon will not be allowed.
Weather Cup
- Pokémon must be at or below 2,500 CP to enter.
- Only Fire, Water, Ice and Rock type Pokémon will be eligible.
Halloween Cup
- Pokémon must be at or below 1,500 CP to enter.
- Only Poison, Bug, Ghost, Dark and Fairy type Pokémon are permitted.
Halloween Cup: Ultra League Edition
- Pokémon must be at or below 2,500 CP to enter.
- Only Poison, Bug, Ghost, Dark and Fairy type Pokémon are permitted.
Willpower Cup
- Pokémon must be at or below 1,500 CP to enter.
- Only Fighting, Psychic and Dark type Pokémon will be eligible.
The following Pokémon will not be allowed.
Element Cup Remix
- Pokémon must be at or below 500 CP to enter.
- Only Fire, Water and Grass type Pokémon will be eligible.
- Only Pokémon that are able to evolve and have not evolved even once will be eligible.
- The three Pokémon most used by Trainers Ace rank and up in the last Element Cup will not be allowed in the Element Cup Remix.
- In addition, Salandit will not be allowed.
The following Pokémon will not be allowed.
Catch Cup: Season of Light Edition
- Pokémon must be at or below 1,500 CP to enter.
- Only Pokémon caught during the Season of Light allowed*
*Pokémon must be caught between September 1, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. and November 30, 2022 at 9:59 a.m.
It’s good to prepare your teams in advance, having knowledge beforehand about what cup is coming next is a great way to theorycraft and assemble your squad. A great resource tool would be PvPoke.com which grants you with all the information about each cup including the top picks, what beats certain Pokémon and you can even input your team into a simulation versing other top-tier picks.
New moves in GO Battle League Season 12
Two new moves are coming into the game this Season, Double Kick and Fairy Wind!
Double Kick Fighting
- Trainer Battles: 8 Damage
- Gyms and Raids: 10 Damage
Fairy Wind Fairy
- Trainer Battles: 3 Damage
- Gyms and Raids: 9 Damage
GO Battle League Season 12 Move Changes
Several moves are getting updated damage and energy generation values this Season.
Zap Cannon Electric
- Trainer Battles: Chance to lower the opposing Pokémon’s Attack is no longer guaranteed
Icicle Spear Ice
- Trainer Battles: Energy cost increased
Rollout Rock
- Trainer Battles: Energy generation decreased
Ancient Power Rock
- Trainer Battles:
40➡ 60 power - Attack and Defense increase amount has been lowered
Ominous Wind Ghost
- Trainer Battles: Attack and Defense increase amount has been lowered
Silver Wind Bug
- Trainer Battles:
40➡ 60 power - Attack and Defense increase amount has been lowered
Quick Attack Normal
- Trainer Battles: Energy generation increased
Tackle Normal
- Trainer Battles: Energy generation increased
From these Attack changes, we can already tell that 2 top-tier mons, Walrein and Registeel, will finally be getting a nerf. With the change to Zap Cannon, it will no longer guarantee the opposing Pokémon’s Attack. Although this change affects Registeel’s overall potential, I feel as though it will still see play, considering that it will still deal the same amount of damage and is a safe Steel type tank to use.
Walrein on the other hand will still be strong with its overall coverage, however, this change to Icicle Spear means that you won’t be able to spam the move as much as usual. This will affect certain matchups and will be interesting to see if its popularity will decrease or if it will still be a viable option in many trainers’ teams.
GO Battle League Season 12 Attack availability updates
Nidorina
Nidorina will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Thunderbolt Electric.
Nidorino
Nidorino will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Ice Beam Ice.
Nidoking
Nidoking will now be able to learn the new Fast Attack Double Kick Fighting.
Arcanine
Arcanine will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Psychic Fangs Psychic.
Tentacruel
Tentacruel will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Scald Water.
Rapidash (Galarian)
Galarian Rapidash will now be able to learn the new Fast Attack Fairy Wind Fairy.
Haunter
Haunter will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Ice Punch Ice.
Marowak
Marowak will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Rock Slide Rock.
Hitmonlee
Hitmonlee will now be able to learn the new Fast Attack Double Kick Fighting.
Weezing (Galarian)
Galarian Weezing will now be able to learn the new Fast Attack Fairy Wind Fairy.
Dragonair
Dragonair will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Body Slam Normal.
Dragonite
Dragonite will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Superpower Fighting.
Ledian
Ledian will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Dynamic Punch Fighting.
Lanturn
Lanturn will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Surf Water.
Jumpluff
Jumpluff will now be able to learn the new Fast Attack Fairy Wind Fairy.
Espeon
Espeon will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Psychic Fangs Psychic.
Girafarig
Girafarig will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Psychic Fangs Psychic.
Girafarig will now be able to learn the new Fast Attack Double Kick Fighting.
Dunsparce
Dunsparce will now be able to learn the Fast Attack Rollout Rock.
Steelix
Steelix will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Psychic Fangs Psychic.
Miltank
Miltank will now be able to learn the Fast Attack Rollout Rock.
Mawile
Mawile will now be able to learn the new Fast Attack Fairy Wind Fairy.
Manectric
Manectric will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Psychic Fangs Psychic.
Camerupt
Camerupt will now be able to learn the Fast Attack Incinerate Fire.
Lopunny
Lopunny will now be able to learn the new Fast Attack Double Kick Fighting.
Swoobat
Swoobat will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Psychic Fangs Psychic.
Florges
Florges will now be able to learn the new Fast Attack Fairy Wind Fairy.
Slurpuff
Slurpuff will now be able to learn the new Fast Attack Fairy Wind Fairy.
Incineroar
Incineroar will now be able to learn the new Fast Attack Double Kick Fighting.
Golisopod
Golisopod will now be able to learn the Fast Attack Shadow Claw Ghost.
Nihilego
Nihilego will now be able to learn the Fast Attack Poison Jab Poison.
Dubwool
Dubwool will now be able to learn the new Fast Attack Double Kick Fighting.
Runerigus
Runerigus will now be able to learn the Fast Attack Shadow Claw Ghost.
Parting Words
These move changes are sure to restructure the current meta. With a few top-tier picks such as Registeel and Walrein getting a nerf, some of these Pokémon and their new moves are sure to overtake them in overall popularity. Many Pokémon listed here have been waiting for this move update. Some were already considered good, and only really lacked either a better Fast or Charge Move.
Which Pokémon are you most looking forward to using now? With so many viable options, season 12 is looking like a breath of fresh air. We may no longer see the same copy/paste teams since there are so many more viable picks.
A few picks that stand out to me are Tentacruel and Lanturn since they will both be able to learn a faster charging Water type move. Initially, the only option was to use Hydro Pump, which is a heavy-hitting move, however, in reality, takes way too long to charge up. Having these faster-charging moves means that they can be a lot more versatile and will have considerably more play.
Another move change I am looking forward to is for Golisopod and Runerigus who can now learn Shadow Claw, which if you didn’t know, is one of the best fast moves in the game due to its energy per second. These 2 Pokémon were always lacking a solid fast move option and now this change means they can actually have solid coverage.
Best of luck in season 12, trainers!
-Adam ‘Avrip’
