Together with PvP, the team leaders in Pokémon GO have been released. However, they are far too easy to defeat, says our author Noah.
This is the idea: The battles against team leaders in Pokémon GO are a brilliant feature. You can challenge NPCs from anywhere and compete in various leagues.
If you win against Spark, the toughest of all team leaders, you can be proud of yourself. The idea sounds good…
This is the problem: The implementation is horrible! The team leaders are far too easy to defeat. One should not be proud of oneself for defeating Spark, but rather question their skills in battle if they cannot do so.
Every player above level 30 has no problems taking down the team leaders.
I demand: Do something about it, Pokémon GO: The team leaders are way too easy!
The team leaders are so easy to defeat
That’s why the team leaders are so easy to defeat: There are several reasons why the team leaders should not pose a significant threat to any player:
- The Pokémon of the team leaders are too weak: When I battle Spark in the Master League, he chooses Voltenso as his first Pokémon. This is a Pokémon from Level 2 raids. Where’s the difficulty? The other team leaders also fight with Pokémon that are simply weak.
- The Pokémon of the team leaders are at low levels: Not only are the Pokémon generally weak, but they aren’t even at high levels. If I’m battling in the Master League with my strongest Pokémon, why is my opponent using Pokémon that are not even close to the same level?
- The team leaders do not use shields: I can intercept my opponent’s charge attack twice in battle with a shield. But why can’t the team leader do that? Even then, the difficulty is nonexistent. Niantic makes it even easier for us players.
- Always the same Pokémon: After two battles, every player knows which Pokémon the team leader uses and can easily counter them, especially thanks to our counter guide to the team leaders. You don’t even need strong Pokémon for this; just the right counters.
This is what I wish for from the team leaders: The team leaders should become harder to defeat. When I was able to test battles a few weeks ago, the team leaders were still significantly harder to defeat, and I even lost against them at times. I want that difficulty back.
- The team leaders should use different Pokémon: Having changing Pokémon for the team leaders would make the battles more challenging. If they show up with different Pokémon each time, you won’t know which counters to use, and you will be surprised by your opponent.
- Level up your Pokémon, team leaders: If the team leaders always choose the same Pokémon, at least let them be at a level close to mine. If I’m attacking with a level 40 Mewtwo, then the Zapdos opposite me should also be level 40. That would make the battle more interesting.
This is what Niantic neglects: I would find it cool if I could battle new Pokémon daily, or at least weekly.
The team leaders should also choose Pokémon that do not match their emblematic Pokémon. A Spark should not only use electric Pokémon but should also include ice or grass-type Pokémon to surprise me as an opponent.
Players mock team leaders
On Reddit, it has become a trend to defeat team leaders with the worst possible Pokémon. Only then do you truly see how weak the team leaders are. Niantic should see here that their feature is far too easy.
So easy is Blanche to defeat: The team leader of Team Wisdom, Blanche, is said to be the easiest team leader. However, not so easy that a player can defeat her with two starter Pokémon at level 1. The video on YouTube shows the feat:
So easy is Candela to defeat: This video now puts the icing on the cake. Candela, the leader of Team Valor, is said to be harder to defeat than Blanche. A trainer challenges her in the Master League. There, you can take your strongest Pokémon, but the trainer defeats Candela with three Pokémon under 700 CP.
This is what I think about PvP: These videos once again prove that the team leaders are far too easy to defeat. It cannot be that one can defeat a team leader in the Master League with Pokémon that do not even have 700 CP.
I would like the team leaders to become significantly harder. So that one can actually be proud when defeating a team leader. I have no problem with occasionally losing, but at this strength, the team leaders pose no challenge for me, and I lost interest after the third day.
What do you think about the team leaders? Would you like to see them stronger as well?
The first players have now solo defeated Tyranitar and Absol. We show you the videos for that.
