Pokémon Go is receiving a major, temporary shake-up, as Mega Evolved pocket creatures come to the game’s competitive PvP battle mode.
To celebrate Pokémon Go’s recent Mega Evolutions overhaul, Niantic has announced (opens in new tab) it’s rolling out a surprise Battle Day on Sunday, May 29. The day-long event will let Trainers take their Mega Evolved pokémon into the Go Battle League’s Master League, letting you pit your souped-up pocket creatures against others for a limited time.
During the event, the maximum number of battle sets you can play will be raised from five to 20, meaning you can take part in 100 total battles. You’ll be able to earn Stardust as a victory bonus and pick up the Gladian’s Pants avatar item for completing a set at any rank. Unfortunately, if you’ve already unlocked that item, you won’t be given anything else as compensation.
To celebrate the recent update to Mega Evolution in Pokémon GO, for one day only, Trainers will be able to use Mega-Evolved Pokémon in the GO Battle League’s Master League! 🥊Learn more here: https://t.co/omNDwC2uW0 pic.twitter.com/boO8iFsEz7May 23, 2022
Mega shake-up
Mega Evolved pokémon can usually only be used in co-op Raids, and have never before made their way to competitive PvP battles. Their inclusion is bound to shake up Pokémon Go’s metagame and throw some popular strategies off-kilter, but you’ll only have to deal with those changes for a single day.
Niantic overhauled Pokémon Go’s Mega Evolutions system only last month. You’re now able to Mega Evolve your pokémon for a one-time cost, rather than having to spend energy every time you want to boost the strength of your fully-evolved pocket monsters. They can gain experience, too, advancing to new Mega Levels each time you pump them full of extra energy.
The changes were intended to solve many of the frustrations that players had been facing for years. The new system makes the rewards of Mega Evolutions more worthwhile, and prevents players from having to slog through tedious raids.
Alongside announcing the PvP event, Niantic revealed the dates of this season’s community days in a separate blog post (opens in new tab). The next three months’ community events will take place on:
- Saturday, June 25
- Sunday, July 17
- Saturday, August 13
We can expect more details about their bonuses and promo content in the coming weeks.
Go Battle Day: Stardust Surprise will launch on May 29 and run from 12am to 11:59pm local time.