Trainers, Season 13 of the GO Battle League is only days away and you know what that means, buffs, nerfs, brand new cups, move introductions, rewards and more! For our Season of Mythical Wishes coverage, check out the related guides on GO Hub.
There’s nothing like a fresh start. Each and every season seems to get more and more competitive, whether that may be from trainers adapting to a new meta, more in-person Pokémon Championships or even the fact that trainers are showcasing more talent and skill each season.
Introduction
From the official announcement:
Trainers,
GO Battle League: Mythical Wishes is almost here!
That’s right, Mythical Wishes will be the name of this new season. Let’s dive into this announcement and break down the information so that you can be prepared for what’s to come.
Date, Time, Rank Resets & Rewards
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GO Battle League: Mythical Wishes will start on Thursday, Deptember 1, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT -8)
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End-of-Season rewards will be available on the battle screen.
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Your GO Battle League rank will be reset.
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Rank-up requirements will remain the same as the prior Season.
GO Battle League Season 13 Schedule
The following leagues will begin and end at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −8) on the dates listed below.
| Dates | Active Leagues and Cups |
|---|---|
| Dec 1-Dec 8 |
|
| Dec 8-Dec 15 |
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| Dec 15-Dec 22 |
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| Dec 22-Dec 29 |
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| Dec 29-Jan 5 |
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| Jan 5-Jan 12 |
|
| Jan 12-Jan 19 |
|
| Jan 19-Jan 26 |
|
| Jan 26-Feb 2 |
|
| Feb 2-Feb 9 |
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| Feb 9-Feb 16 |
|
| Feb 16-Feb 23 |
|
| Feb 23-Mar 1 |
|
(*) 3x Stardust from win rewards (this does not include end of set rewards)
From what we can see here, there are some never before seen cups that we will have the opportunity to participate in for this season. Arguably, one of the most exciting new cups is the Master League: Mega Edition.
We will finally be able to harvest the power of our Mega Pokémon in the GO Battle League. Although we did have a one-day GO Battle Day event back in May where we could use Mega Evolved Pokémon, the roster has since been expanded and will last a whole week to enjoy using these insanely strong Pokémon.
Regarding Classic Cups
Trainers, as Candy XL has continued to become more accessible thanks to Candy XL becoming available at level 31 (rather than level 40) and Rare Candy XL being a potential reward for completing in-person raids, we will be retiring the Classic Cup format after this Season. We will be running Premier Cups more frequently in future Seasons instead.
This is huge news for those who do not like participating in certain cups due to having insufficient Candy XL to keep up in the meta. This will make things a lot fairer and will create an even playing field that disregards the Trainer level. Many people have voiced their opinion about the unfair Candy XL system and this will be a welcoming change that will be more frequent in future seasons.
Mythical Wishes: GO Battle Days
GO Battle Weekend: Steven Stone
Date & Time
Saturday, January 14, 2023, at 12:00 a.m. to Sunday, January 15, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. local time
A GO Battle Day featuring part of the Steven Stone Avatar Item Set!
Wait a second… doesn’t this look familiar? Didn’t we have the Steven Stone Avatar Item Set in Season 1?
As we can see from this short video, the pose will be an animated version of the Season 1 pose. Along with this, the clothing is slightly different too. Although it may be recycled, it’s good that Season 1 Rank 10 players can still be easily acknowledged as it was a static pose compared to this animated one.
Bonuses:
- 4x Stardust from win rewards. (This does not include the end-of-set rewards and will not stack with the 3x Stardust bonus from Master League rotation weeks.)
- 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 weekend!
Complete the research to earn the following rewards:
- *XP
- *Rare Candy
- *Rings inspired by Steven Stone (Ruby/Sapphire)
- *An Elite Charged TM
*Trainers who have already received the avatar item from the rank 20 rewards will not receive another.
Actives Leagues:
- Great League
- Ultra League
- Master League
GO Battle Day: Vulpix
Date and Time
Sunday, February 12, 2023, from 12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. local time. Enjoy a GO Battle Day featuring the Fox Pokémon Vulpix!
Featured Pokémon
- Available from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. local time.
- All win rewards from the Premium track will be reward encounters.
- Vulpix will be guaranteed to appear as a reward encounter.
Vulpix
If you’re lucky, you may encounter a Shiny one!
Ninetales
Evolve Vulpix to get a Ninetales that knows the Fast Attack Ember!
Timed Research
Timed Research focused on battling will be available for the whole day!
Complete the research to earn the following rewards.
- XP
- Rare Candy
- An encounter with Vulpix
Active leagues
The following leagues will be active.
- Ultra League
- Love Cup: Great League Edition
Vulpix will be taking centre stage for GO Battle Day! A great benefit from participating in this event will be that evolving a Vulpix to Ninetales will learn the Fast Attack Ember which has rapidly gained popularity. Ninetales is an excellent option in the Great League since there are very few solid Fire type Pokémon in the meta.
GO Battle League: Mythical Wishes Rewards
Guaranteed rank-up encounters
You can encounter the following Pokémon once per Season at the designated ranks.
| Rank | Guaranteed reward |
|---|---|
| Rank 1 |
Metang
|
| Rank 6 |
Mareanie
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| Ace Rank |
Axew
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| Veteran Rank |
Noibat
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| Expert Rank |
Goomy
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| Legend Rank |
Pikachu (Libre)
|
Standard encounters
You can encounter the following Pokémon in reward encounters throughout the Season at the ranks
Rank 1+
Rank 6+
Rank 11+
Rank 16+
Rank 20+
Active Raid Boss in five-star raids
Ace+
Veteran+
Expert+
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: Mythical Wishes 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 (at 400 wins) and an Elite Charged TM (at 500 wins). Keep at it throughout the Season to see how far you can get!
The GO Battle League Research Pass is back in Season 13, a great feature that we had that entices trainers to push themselves and to try and work their way up the reward list. Plus, who can forget that satisfying message pop-up that you get knowing that you’ve secured a win.
Avatar items and other rewards
Avatar items will be awarded to Trainers who reach certain ranks.
Trainers will be able to earn the following avatar items. They’re all inspired by Steven Stone, Champion of the Hoenn region’s Pokémon League in the Pokémon Ruby, Pokémon Sapphire, Pokémon Omega Ruby, and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire games!
- At Ace rank, you’ll receive rings inspired by Steven Stone (Ruby/Sapphire)
- At Veteran rank, you’ll receive shoes inspired by Steven Stone (Ruby/Sapphire).
- At Expert rank, you’ll receive top inspired by Steven Stone (Ruby/Sapphire) and pants inspired by Steven Stone (Ruby/Sapphire).
- At Legend rank, you’ll receive the pose inspired by Steven Stone (Ruby/Sapphire).
At rank 19, you’ll receive an Elite Charged TM. You’ll also receive an Elite Fast TM as an
end-of-Season reward.
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.
Great League Remix
- The 20 Pokémon most used by Trainers ranked Ace and above in the Great League will not be allowed in the Great League Remix.
The following Pokémon will not be allowed:
Ultra Premier Classic
- Pokémon must be at or below 2,500 CP to enter.
- Legendary Pokémon, Mythical Pokémon, and Ultra Beasts are not eligible.
- Pokémon that have been powered up using Candy XL are not eligible.
Ultra Premier
- Pokémon must be at or below 2,500 CP to enter.
- Legendary Pokémon, Mythical Pokémon, and Ultra Beasts are not eligible.
Master League
- No CP limit.
Master Premier Classic
- No CP limit.
- Legendary Pokémon, Mythical Pokémon, and Ultra Beasts are not eligible.
- Pokémon that have been powered up using Candy XL are not eligible.
Fighting Cup: Great League Edition Remix
- Pokémon must be at or below 1,500 CP to enter.
- Psychic-type Pokémon are not eligible.
The following Pokémon will not be allowed.
Holiday Cup: Great League Edition
- Pokémon must be at or below 1,500 CP to enter.
- Only Normal, Grass, Electric, Ice, , and Ghost type Pokémon are eligible.
Holiday Cup: Ultra League Edition
- Pokémon must be at or below 2,500 CP to enter.
- Only Normal-, Grass-, Electric-, Ice-, Flying-, and Ghost-type Pokémon are eligible.
Weather Cup: Great League Edition
- Pokémon must be at or below 1,500 CP to enter.
- Only Fire, Water, Ice, and Rock type Pokémon are eligible.
Electric Cup: Great League Edition
- Pokémon must be at or below 1,500 CP to enter.
- Only Electric-type Pokémon are eligible.
The following Pokémon will not be allowed.
Love Cup: Great League Edition
- Pokémon must be at or below 1,500 CP to enter.
- Only red- or pink-coloured Pokémon are eligible.
Hoenn Cup: Great League Edition
- Pokémon must be at or below 1,500 CP to enter.
- Only Pokémon with a Pokédex number from #252 to #386 will be allowed.
Master League: Mega Edition
- No CP limit.
- Mega-Evolved Pokémon are allowed.
Attack Changes
Wing Attack
- Trainer Battles: Energy generation increased
Poison Fang Poison
- Trainer Battles: Energy cost increased
Charm Fairy
- Trainer Battles: 16 power → 15 power
Attack availability updates
Litleo
Litleo will now be able to learn the Fast Attack Incinerate Fire
Pyroar
Pyroar will now be able to learn the Fast Attack Incinerate Fire
Sudowoodo
Sudowoodo will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Meteor Beam Rock
Aggron
Aggron will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Meteor Beam Rock
Tyrantrum
Tyrantrum will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Meteor Beam Rock
Aurorus
Aurorus will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Meteor Beam Rock
Dusknoir
Dusknoir will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Poltergeist Ghost
Golurk
Golurk will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Poltergeist Ghost
Gourgeist
Gourgeist will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Poltergeist Ghost
Rapidash (Galarian)
Galarian Rapidash will now be able to learn the Charged Attack High Horsepower Ground
Piloswine
Piloswine will now be able to learn the Charged Attack High Horsepower Ground
Mamoswine
Mamoswine will now be able to learn the Charged Attack High Horsepower Ground
Weezing (Galarian)
Galarian Weezing will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Brutal Swing Dark
Ampharos
Ampharos will now be able to learn the Charged Attack Brutal Swing Dark
Parting Words
Exciting times to be a battler. Firstly, the buff to Wing Attack could mean that Pokémon such as Wingull could make a return. Its nerf to Energy Ball Water saw it significantly drop off in popularity, however, with it now becoming spammier than ever, could it make a long-awaited come back?
Poison Fang is getting an energy increase, Nidoqueen will be the Pokémon that comes to many trainers’ minds when they see this. It has been said that this move is a bit too strong and Niantic have listened to tune it down a notch.
We are also finally seeing a (slight) nerf to Charm. If you’ve ever lost a game with 2 shields due to being charmed to death, you’ll be happy to know that this strong Fast Attack won’t be as powerful.
The new move changes could mean a slight meta shift. One of the most notable updates for me would be that Galarian Rapidash can soon learn the Charge Move High Horsepower which combined with the recently added Fast Move Fairy Wind, means that this Pokémon will now be able to hold its weight against previous Steel type counters which used to hard wall this pony.
Best of luck in Season 13, trainers.
See you out on the battlefield. GLHF!
