How to start battling in Pokémon Go
How Do you actually play out the PVP battles in Pokémon Go?
Local and distance PVP battles against other players in Pokémon Go:
What makes the best Pokémon in a PVP Battle?
The best performances of Pokémon in combat are determined by three simple things:
The TOP Great & Ultra and Master League Pokémon sorted by total stats
The best Great League Pokémon by total stats
The best Ultra League Pokémon by total stats
The best Master League Pokémon by total stats
The best Pokémon for battles - sorted by coverage
Pokémon Go PVP FAQ:
Which rewards can you win in a trainer PVP battle?
Is there any limit for the number of PVP battles per day?
Which Pokémon are allowed, which are restricted?
How does it work against NPCs / AI / solo-mode?
What about possible Pokémon tournaments?

How to start battling in Pokémon Go

Pokemon GO Battle Leagues are *the* new PvP format which will see players take part in the new PVP Trainer Battles. The Pokemon GO trainer battles will take place in different leagues. Players have to choose one of the three leagues before taking part – but each league has a maximum Combat Power limit.

Great, Ultra and Master League explained:

• Great League: 1,500 CP limit per Pokemon

• Ultra League: 2,500 CP limit per Pokemon

• Master League: No CP limit per Pokemon

The Official Pokemon GO Twitter handle wrote:

" While Pokémon with high CP might be a big advantage in Master League battles, Trainers will have to think more strategically when battling in the Great and Ultra Leagues, where there are specific CP limitations. "

This means that players are actually encouraged to analyse which creatures they would choose to bring into PvP battles!

How Do you actually play out the PVP battles in Pokémon Go?

In the trainer PVP fights, two players with three Pokémon each compete - which is a big change from the typical Pokémon games, which normally allow both sides to have six Pokémon in their group. Players can adjust their battle group early and then select it after the battle begins. Then the players select the Pokémon to use for the fight and send it out to fight each other. Battles are not turn-based! Players can switch between their three Pokémon as they wish, although a decay timer prevents them from constantly switching between their groups.

• To fast attack, you tap the screen. Unlike gym battles/raids, there is no swiping to dodge. Tapping to fast attack juices up your charge attack.

• Now each Pokémon can have a second charge move permanently unlocked (using stardust/candy). These unlocked charge attacks will also work in raids/gym battles. The new move is picked at random from that Pokémon’s currently available moves at the time of unlock (read: you won’t get a community day exclusive move, or a legacy move, unless Niantic opts to bring them back into the move pool).

• When you fire a charge attack, a circle and timer appear on screen. The faster you tap that circle before the timer counts down, the more damage your charge attack can potentially do.

• When your opponent fires a charge attack, you’ll have the opportunity to use a “Protect Shield,” which greatly limits the damage it can do. The catch: you only get two protect shields per battle, so you’ll want to use them at the right time.

• Matches are timed so far! If the time expires and Pokémon are left, the win goes to the player with the most remaining Pokémon and/or the most health.

Local and distance PVP battles against other players in Pokémon Go:

Pokémon Go battles are restricted to players who are Pokémon Go level 10 or above. If you're just starting, it won't take too long to get there - and means you should have a range of creatures at your disposal to start battling. Once you have reached level 10, there are two ways to battle others in Pokémon Go.

There are two ways of battling against others:

1. Locally:

To battle another player in person, you have to be part of the same trainer league — which we’ll get to later. More importantly, you have to swap battle codes. These are separate from the trainer codes used to add people to your friends list. Instead, battle codes are unique QR codes that a player must scan in order to send a battle invitation to another. Battle codes are assigned to all players automatically and can be found in the battle menu. Open the 'Nearby' menu, which is at the bottom right corner of the map screen. This will give you a variety of Battle options. Trap the 'Challenge a Trainer' button and scan the QR code on another player's screen (also found in the same menu). You don't need to be Friends to battle locally.

2. Distance / battle your friends online:

First, you need to be Ultra or Best Friends (the two highest tiers of friendship) to battle another player at a distance. When you are ready, go to your Friends list, and find the player you want to battle. Press the Battle button, and they will receive a notification. If they accept, the battle begins. You cannot remotely battle against your Good and Great Friends.

What makes the best Pokémon in a PVP Battle?

There is one important thing to keep in mind when determining the best Pokémon for a PvP battle: IVs. Especially Pokémon's Attack IVs. You probably already know that every Pokémon has IVs that range from 0 to 15 for each of their attacks, defenses, and stamina, and these IVs - combined into a formula with their base values and level - affect how high or low these values are currently.

The problem is that CP does not really reflect attack, defense and stamina equally! Niantics approach is that the attack weighs heavily in the formula to find out what CP a Pokémon has, but the attack doesn't really have more impact on the combat than the other two statistics. This means that if you have a Pokémon with very low Attack IVs, you can actually work out some more statistics for it - although you have to keep in mind that of course this is only relevant in the Grand and Mid League; there is no upper limit in the Master League, so you want Pokémon to be at the highest level with perfect Ivs.

The best performances of Pokémon in combat are determined by three simple things:

• The type of Pokémon - this affects the Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB) of its own attacks and its defense coverage (how many different types of attacks it fends off).

• Pokémon's current statistics - not to be confused with basic statistics or CP (a representative number that doesn't affect anything in the actual fight). The most important statistics are the current attack, defense, and stamina of the fighting Pokémon, as determined by its current level and the IVs (hidden values that act like Pokémon genes).

• The Pokémon's moves - both their offensive coverage (how many different enemy types they are either effective, super effective, or double effective) and their actual DPS. In other words: You want the Pokémon with the highest possible total attack, defense, and stamina; a Pokémon with good typing for defensive coverage and useful STAB; and a Pokémon with strong moves that provide good offensive coverage against a variety of enemy types.

Here’s an example video:

The TOP Great & Ultra and Master League Pokémon sorted by total stats

Listed according to the max. possible total of Attack, Defense and Stamina while staying below the 1,500 CP cap, with perfect 15/15/15 IVs. Pokémon with an asterisk (*) by their name are not yet available yet.

This content is from reddit user Trudisheff's public spreadsheet

The best Great League Pokémon by total stats

Rank	Pokémon Name	Level	Att.	Def.	Sta.	CP	Total Stats
1	Chansey	40	59	113	396	1255	568
2	Blissey	19	83	107	297	1497	487
3	Wobbuffet	40	59	95	313	1026	467
4	Bastiodon*	38	84	234	132	1496	450
5	Shuckle	40	25	324	79	405	428
6	Deoxys (Defense Forme)	23	101	221	97	1494	419
7	Wailord	23	121	65	231	1498	417
8	Wailmer	40	119	65	230	1468	414
9	Umbreon	24.5	93	168	152	1496	413
10	Azumarill	36	97	128	184	1497	409
11	Munchlax*	27.5	106	92	210	1486	408
12	Probopass*	25	100	193	113	1485	406
13	Wigglytuff	27	118	72	215	1486	405
14	Registeel	21	96	183	125	1468	404
15	Cresselia	18	94	154	155	1469	403
16	Dusclops	35.5	106	190	103	1489	399
17	Drifblim	22	122	73	204	1497	399
18	Steelix	21.5	100	177	121	1483	398
19	Lanturn	25	107	101	189	1489	397
20	Jumpluff	34	100	149	148	1496	397
21	Uxie*	20.5	103	172	118	1478	393
22	Lickitung	40	97	120	175	1411	392
23	Dunsparce	32	108	106	178	1496	392
24	Tropius	27	104	123	165	1497	392
25	Snorlax	16	109	98	184	1474	391
26	Regirock	16.5	105	175	111	1472	391
27	Regice	16.5	105	175	111	1472	391
28	Swalot	26.5	106	119	165	1497	390
29	Lapras	19.5	106	111	172	1471	389
30	Lugia	14	103	162	124	1481	389

The best Ultra League Pokémon by total stats

Rank	Pokémon Name	Level	Att.	Def.	Sta.	CP	Total Stats
1	Blissey	33	107	137	383	2482	627
2	Chansey	40	59	113	396	1255	568
3	Cresselia	31	123	201	202	2490	526
4	Registeel	40	124	237	162	2447	523
5	Deoxys (Defense Forme)*	40	125	272	120	2274	517
6	Wailord	40	150	80	286	2280	516
7	Regirock	28	137	229	144	2498	510
8	Regice	28	137	229	144	2498	510
9	Uxie*	39	134	223	153	2488	510
10	Snorlax	27	142	127	239	2488	508
11	Steelix	40	128	226	154	2414	508
12	Lapras	36	138	145	224	2490	507
13	Lugia	23.5	134	210	161	2486	505
14	Drifblim	40	154	92	258	2382	504
15	Giratina (Altered Forme)	25.5	136	161	201	2462	498
16	Relicanth	39	138	171	188	2492	497
17	Deoxys (Attack Forme)*	37.5	332	47	117	2487	496
18	Lickilicky	40	139	154	203	2467	496
19	Umbreon	40	111	201	182	2137	494
20	Hariyama	31.5	165	95	234	2485	494
21	Suicune	29	140	179	172	2472	491
22	Cloyster	38.5	157	211	118	2493	486
23	Walrein	34	148	144	194	2492	486
24	Vaporeon	28	155	124	206	2492	485
25	Articuno	28.5	147	179	158	2485	484
26	Kangaskhan	37.5	152	139	192	2494	483
27	Tentacruel	40	143	177	162	2422	482
28	Slowbro	38.5	150	152	180	2490	482
29	Slowking	38.5	150	152	180	2490	482
30	Aggron	29	153	195	134	2486

The best Master League Pokémon by total stats

Rank	Pokémon Name	Level	Att.	Def.	Sta.	CP	Total Stats
1	Blissey	40	113	145	403	2757	661
2	Slaking	40	241	143	236	4431	620
3	Lugia	40	164	256	197	3703	617
4	Regigigas*	40	238	177	185	4337	600
5	Arceus*	40	199	199	198	3982	596
6	Melmetal	40	194	180	220	3875	594
7	Kyogre	40	225	192	173	4115	590
8	Groudon	40	225	192	173	4115	590
9	Ho-Oh	40	200	204	180	3863	584
10	Giratina (Altered Forme)	40	159	189	236	3379	584
11	Giratina (Origin Forme)*	40	189	159	236	3683	584
12	Mewtwo	40	248	155	180	4178	583
13	Garchomp*	40	218	164	200	3962	582
14	Dialga*	40	229	178	173	4029	580
15	Snorlax	40	162	145	272	3225	579
16	Tyranitar	40	210	175	189	3834	574
17	Rhyperior	40	202	162	210	3733	574
18	Palkia*	40	233	181	160	3981	574
19	Regirock	40	153	256	162	3122	571
20	Regice	40	153	256	162	3122	571
21	Chansey	40	59	113	396	1255	568
22	Metagross	40	214	192	162	3791	568
23	Heatran	40	210	180	177	3754	567
24	Dragonite	40	219	168	177	3792	564
25	Latios	40	223	179	162	3812	564
26	Cresselia	40	131	215	217	2857	563
27	Rayquaza	40	236	146	180	3835	562
28	Latias	40	192	206	162	3510	560
29	Salamence	40	230	144	182	3749	556
30	Entei	40	197	146	210	3473	553

The best Pokémon for battles - sorted by coverage

This list has been compiled by reddit user “alpha1812”:

• Ghost and Fighting - The best combination, with no Pokémon able to resist both options. Mewtwo with Shadow Ball and Focus Blast will be one of the strongest Pokémon in the Master League meta.

• Fairy and Ghost, or Fairy and Dark - Only resisted by the Pyroar or Mawile evolution lines, which are off-meta themselves. Legacy Alakazam can learn Dazzling Gleam and Shadow Ball, whilst other good picks include Gardevoir, Mew, and Banette.

• Electric and Ice - Only resisted by the Magnezone line and two Rotom forms, which are both off-meta again. Mewtwo is again a strong choice, with Ice Beam and Thunderbolt (what's known as BoltBeam in the mainline Pokéon community) learnable. Even higher in our stats list is Kyogre, which can learn Blizzard and Thunder.

• Fire and Dragon - Resisted only by the Water-Fairy-Type Azumarill line, which is off-meta. The hopefully-coming-soon Garchomp can learn Fire Blast and Outrage, as can other top-30 Master League Pokémon Salamence. Lower-rated Charizard and Mew are other alternatives.

• Rock and Ground - Resisted only by the Grass-Ground Breloom and Torterra evolution lines, which are off-meta. Can be learned by the high-ranking Master League Pokémon Rhyperior, whilst Hippowdown is a decent bet in lower leagues, if you can get one at the right level.

For more information, please consider checking this fantastic spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ 1QDk6pGO6hbh3GrdeJp_0bx-xVMiG0zYAfpWZUV7ZaME/edit

Pokémon Go PVP FAQ:

• Which rewards can you win in a trainer PVP battle?

Well, first of all, both trainers receive a prize after a battle, which usually consists of sweets, stardust, and rare items like a Sinnoh stone. In a way, they're both winners. But in another, more precise sense, only one of them is really the better Pokémon coach. Their only additional prize is the chance to rejoice. Fighting against friends also increases the level of friendship between the two, funnily enough.

• Is there any limit for the number of PVP battles per day?

No, although you can only receive rewards from coach fights up to three times a day.

• Which Pokémon are allowed, which are restricted?

You can use all Pokémon, including legends, except Ditto and Shedinja.

• How does it work against NPCs / AI / solo-mode?

Yes, if you want to take your team to a higher level before taking on your friends or other locals, the solo training mode is just right for you. The team leaders - Blanche, Candela and Spark - put themselves at the players' disposal for battle, so they can train as often as they want without having to find someone else to play with. These are known as Team Leader Battles and are available indefinitely. (However, you can only receive one award per day from them.)

• What about possible Pokémon tournaments?

No, although Niantic said that it encourages players to host their own unofficial tournaments. Right now, you have to rely on your local colleagues to determine who is the best of them all.