MeinMMO editor Patrick Freese is currently actively playing trainer battles in Pokémon GO. He is the type of player who only participates in a PvP round when it’s required by a research task. Otherwise, he skips it altogether. Why is this a good thing now?
Why is PvP boring for me? I actually grew up with competitive and eSports primarily on the PC. I played Counter-Strike, Warcraft, Quake, Unreal Tournament, and other competitive titles at LAN parties against friends from an early age. PvP, Player versus Player – just like it is written in the book, basically.
However, I didn’t find it very enjoyable in Pokémon GO. In the leagues, there are usually the typical meta Pokémon. So it’s the usual team that everyone fights with. The pros have already invested tons of stardust to give them the best possible CP and moves and dominate the battles. Usually, these are also terribly rare Pokémon that you need for this. Therefore, the system did not appeal to me.
Until a few days ago, anyway. Last Friday, November 13, I sat down, read up on the subject, and assembled a team. I am currently at Rank 9, just before Rank 10. And although it is often frustrating when the game acts up, the battles are fun.
What makes PvP so good right now?
The idea that sparked it: My colleague Noah inspired me with the idea that there were good chances in PvP right now. He wrote in our editorial chat that it’s easier than ever to reach Rank 10 in Pokémon GO. You need significantly fewer victories than before.
And here I sensed my chance as a PvP noob. Is it possible for me, who has only played a handful of hours since the PvP started in Pokémon GO (2018), to reach Rank 10?
Everyone probably has the winning team: The Mini Cup in Pokémon GO is currently running until the evening of November 16, 2020. Only Pokémon that can evolve but have not yet evolved may participate. In addition, they cannot have more than 500 CP. I then looked up who the favorites are:
- Bronzel
- Kapuno
- Vulpix
- Driftlon
- Waumboll
- Dratini
A look at my collection showed me: I have almost all of them! My first team consisted of Driftlon, Kapuno and Dratini. With Dratini, I quickly baited out the opponents’ shields and then used powerful charge attacks from Kapuno and Driftlon to wipe out the opposing Bronzel, which are currently quite popular. Later I managed to get some strong Bronzel and Waumboll through trades. Now I have a dynamic team.
Generally, the Pokémon included are ones that everyone could get from Community Days or in the wild. Thus, not only the rarest specimens need to be pushed, but really Pokémon for everyone. I liked that and it motivated me to get started.
Quick motivation: It’s particularly fast to climb up the ranks of PvP right now. How and why you can easily reach Level 10 in the Pokémon GO rankings is what we show here.
And the system works. After a few victories, I have already reached the next rank. This motivates me to keep climbing. So over the weekend I played my free games and was already halfway through Rank 9. Now I am highly motivated to win the last few matches to reach Rank 10.
I have to say, the Mini Cup and the faster ranking up were such welcome changes for me that the trainer battles suddenly became fun. On my way up the rankings, I have already seen the most colorful teams, and it’s a welcome change.
Are you also currently playing more trainer battles in Pokémon GO than usual, or has everything stayed the same for you?
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