CAPE TOWN – Software company Niantic that created Pokémon Go has announced that it will be adding a new feature to the game that will allow users to battle each other.
After revealing the feature last week on Twitter, the company then had a press event in San Francisco where it explained exactly how the new battle system will work.
We are excited to announce that Trainers can soon battle with one another in Pokémon GO! Are you ready to #GOBattle? https://t.co/yllcAd0K1q
— Niantic, Inc. (@NianticLabs) December 4, 2018
The trainer battle feature is set to launch next month and will allow players to get into action for around four-minute between each other using three Pokémon each.
Players will also get the opportunity to switch between the three mid-battle. It will also include a handful of new mechanics such as Protect Shield, a second charge move, charging up and putting Pokemon in and out of battle.
In order to win a Trainer battle one of the players needs to defeat all opponent’s Pokemon.
If the match is not decided before the battle limit ends, a tiebreaker mechanism will determine the winner.
Although only one player can claim victory, both players will get rewards to train their Pokemon for playing together.
Participating in Trainer Battles will result in increasing Friendship Level for both players and fighting against Team Leaders will give you a chance to receive a special item reward such as hard to find evolution items.
Other rewards are also possible but are not yet known at the moment.
Similar to trading, gym battles, and the many other social and outdoor aspects of the game, trainer battles will require you to physically be in the same location as another person.
At the conference, Niantic stated that the feature launches sometime before the end of the year and it will start with players who are at the max level of 40.
The company promised that it will bring more server infrastructure online to handle the load and battles will be brought to lower-level players soon.