Pokémon trainers are out on the streets in their thousands, battling their pocket monsters against other Pokémon in arenas. But how does battle work in the current version of Pokémon Go? What’s there to keep in mind? What is an arena? And what is a team in Pokémon Go? We’ll explain it to you in our Pokémon Go guide.

Have you already joined the Pokémon trainers with Pokémon Go, or are you an old hand who has played through all the Pokémon games? Well, in the current version of Pokémon Go, all your knowledge won’t help you for now, because the battle in the Pokémon Go arena has very little to do with the tactical battles in many other pocket monster games. To be honest, the battle with your Pokémon is actually quite simple – but no tutorial in Pokémon Go will tell you that.

That’s why we’ll jump in here and explain when you can start competing in an arena, what an arena actually is, and how the battle in Pokémon Go works. We’ll also tell you how you can get Pokémon coins through arenas and how you can nurse weakened Pokémon back to health after a battle.

Pokémon Go: What is an arena?

Unlike a PokéStop, an arena stands out because of its conspicuous markings, as you can see in the picture. In the arena, Pokémon from different trainers fight against each other. If the arena belongs to a team (we’ll explain what a team is a little later), then it is marked either red, blue or yellow – the arena in the picture belongs to the red team. If an arena is neutral and therefore not occupied, it will be shown in white. Just select an arena near you and familiarize yourself with the view.

Pokémon Go: Access to the arena as of level 5

If you have not yet reached trainer level 5, you can select an arena, but you cannot interact with it. Professor Willow will also point this out to you when you select an arena. The fastest way to get to level 5 is to catch Pokémon, whether they are already in your Pokédex or not. Evolving Pokémon you’ve already caught will also earn you experience points, as will visiting a PokéStop. And hatching eggs with the incubator rains experience points – about 200 points for a 2-kilometer egg and 1,000 points for a 5-kilometer egg. Leveling in Pokémon Go works much faster than in Niantic’s other game Ingress – at least on the first levels. Later, in the level 20 range, it gets really tough, as our overview of the levels in Pokémon Go reveals. When you reach level 5, you can choose to join a team before you can fight in the arena.

Pokémon Go: The teams

The red team is called Team Daring and is led by Candela. The legendary Pokémon that belongs to the team is Lavados. Team Blue is Team Wisdom, whose bosses are Blanche and the legendary Pokémon Arktos. And Team Yellow is Team Intuition, led by Spark and the legendary Pokémon Zapdos. No team offers you a gameplay advantage, so just choose your favorite color or maybe the team your buddies belong too.

Update (Aug. 30): By the way, since Pokémon Go Update 1.5.0 for iOS and Pokémon Go Update 0.35.0 for Android, the team bosses serve a real purpose: they rate the combat strength of your pocket monsters, albeit in a very rudimentary way. Select one of your Pokémon, click on the button with the three dashes in the bottom right corner so that the menu pops up. Now select “Rating” and your team leader will tell you how good the Pokémon’s attack and defense values are. But if you want more precise details, then you should use Tolls like the IV-Rater from TheSilphRoad.

Pokémon Go: Which enemies are in the arena?

If you have chosen a team and arrive at an arena that is occupied by another team, you will see several pieces of information on the arena start screen. At the top, you’ll see the name of the arena and the level – the higher the level of the arena, the more Pokémon it can hold. The dots and crown under the arena name indicate how many Pokémon are inside. Below the name display you can see the prestige level of the arena. The same applies here as with the level: the higher the prestige level, the “better” the arena. What exactly the prestige level is, we explain below.

In the center of the Arena screen, you will see the Pokémon and its Trainer with the lowest Competition Points (WP). If you want to know what other Pokémon are in an arena, swipe the screen to the left and you’ll see the other pocket monsters and their competition points. At the bottom of the screen you will now see several icons: in our example you will see an X to leave the arena again and next to it two Pokéballs with lightning bolts – that’s where the battle is. It is important for you to know that you have to fight against every Pokémon in the arena to get credit for a victory and to be able to occupy the arena. For the battle you choose six Pokémon, which you can also change during the battle. So the chances are not bad for you! But even if you lose, you still get experience points and lower the arena prestige.

By the way: If the arena belongs to your own team, you can start training fights. Instead of the icon with the two Pokéballs, a boxing glove is then displayed on the right. In training battles, you will also compete against all Pokémon in the arena. No matter if you win or lose: You earn experience points and increase the prestige of the arena.

Pokémon Go: Battle alone and with multiple trainers

Important to know: If you’re fighting in an opponent’s arena, you’ll fight with your six Pokémon with the highest competition points – or the six Pokémon you’ve chosen yourself. If you start a Training Battle, you will only fight with one Pokémon!

Assuming you have started a battle, you are facing the opponent Pokémon in a virtual arena. There are three interaction options that are important for the battle. If you tap the screen, your Pokémon will attack with its default ability. Swipe left or right and your Pokémon will dodge your opponent’s attacks. Below your Pokémon’s life bar, you’ll see boxes. These recharge with each successful standard attack and are your indicator of your Pokémon’s special attack. A special attack costs one charged box – depending on the Pokémon and attack, it can be several boxes or even just a single bar. Press a little longer on the screen and your Pokémon triggers it – of course, it does more damage than a piddly standard attack.

Dodge is most worthwhile, according to player experience, when in battle yellow lightning marks an attack of the enemy. However, we have to say that the server lag sometimes ensures that you will be hit anyway. Practice dodging, because it can save your Pokémon’s life, especially against stronger enemies! Then dodge to the side when the lightning was just displayed. A successful attempt is displayed with the text “Dodged” on your Pokémon. Attack once or twice, depending on the speed of your standard attack, and then wait for the next lightning bolt to dodge again. You should especially dodge the special attacks, which are the most powerful.

By the way, at the bottom right of the screen you will see two icons. The running male lets you cancel the fight. The arrows let you change the Pokémon. The different Pokémon species use the “rock, scissors, paper” principle in battle. Although the battles in Pokémon Go are not a tactical challenge, each pocket monster has its weaknesses and strengths. Trainers with brains choose their Pokémon accordingly:

• Normal Pokémon have no strengths, but are weak against Battle Pokémon.
• Fire Pokémon are strong against plants, ice, bugs and steel. Ground, Water, and Stone Pokémon are strong against them.
• Water Pokémon are strong against Fire, Soil, and Stone. Electric and Plant Pokémon are strong against them.
• Electric Pokémon are strong against water and flight. Ground Pokémon are strong against them.
• Plant Pokémon are strong against water, soil, and stone. Fire, Ice, Poison, Flight, and Beetle Pokémon, however, make them look old.
• Battle Pokémon are strong against normals, ice, stone, unlight, and steel. Flying, Psycho, and Fairy Pokémon, on the other hand, are their weakness.
• Poison Pokémon are strong against plants and fairies. Ground and Psycho Pokémon are strong against them.
• Ground Pokémon are strong against Fire, Electric, Poison, Stone, and Steel. Water, Plant, and Ice Pokémon, on the other hand, hurt them.
• Flying Pokémon are strong against plants, battle, and bugs. Electric, Ice and Stone Pokémon are better not to fight them.
• Psycho Pokémon are strong against Fighting and Poison, but get stuck fighting Beetle, Spirit, and Unlight Pokémon.
• Beetle Pokémon are strong against Plants, Psycho, and Unlight, but not against Fire, Flying, and Stone Pokémon.
• Spirit Pokémon are strong against Psycho, but weak against Unlight Pokémon.
• Dragon Pokémon are strong against other Dragons, but not Ice and Fairy Pokémon.

Unlight Pokémon are strong against Psycho and Spirit. Battle, Beetle, and Fairy Pokémon make them look old.

• Steel Pokémon are strong against Ice, Stone, and Fairy, but not against Fire, Battle, and Ground Pokémon.
• Fairy Pokémon are strong against Battle, Dragon, and Unlight; Poison and Steel Pokémon are superior to them.
• You can find out which genera each Pokémon belongs to from the Pokédex. A Pokémon’s Competition Points give you an idea of how strong it is. This doesn’t mean you have to steer clear of arenas with strong Pokémon. If you’re traveling with a friend, you can enter the arena together and fight the enemy Pokémon together that way. The important thing is that you press the “Go” button relatively simultaneously to start the battle. If everything works, then you play together against the opponents. This, of course, increases the chances of your victory!

Pokémon Go: Defending an arena and Pokémon training

When you defeat the Pokémon of an enemy arena, the arena becomes neutral and you can fill it with one of your own Pokémon for your team. And if you pass by an arena that belongs to your team and there’s still a spot open, you can fill it with one of your Pocket Monsters. But why should you do that? Because when you place a Pokémon in an arena, it is no longer in your collection for the time being and will not return until the arena is taken over by an opposing team.

As long as Pokémon are fighting in your arena, the prestige of the arena can improve. And you’ll earn Pokécoins for each Pokémon you park in an arena. Pokécoins, on the other hand, can be used to make purchases in the store. Every 20 hours you open the store. In the upper right corner, you will see a shield icon with a number inside. The number tells you how many of your Pokémon are defending an arena. For each defending Pokémon, you’ll get 10 Pokécoins when you click on the shield and a decent amount of stardust, which you’ll need for power-ups and evolving your monsters.

Pokémon Go: Heal and revive Pokémon

Pokémon that return to you after defending an arena – this happens automatically, by the way – are injured. You need potions to bring them back to health. You can get the potions at PokéStops. If you send a Pokémon into a battle and it gets knocked out, you’ll need revitalizers. These are also available in PokéStops. Press on the Pokéball and then on the right on Items, select either Potion or Revive, and then the next screen will show you which Pokémon you can heal or revive.

Pokémon Go: Prestige explained

Prestige determines the level of an arena. 4,000 points are needed to reach level 3, 8,000 points for level 4, 12,000 points for level 5. The highest level an arena can reach is level 10. When you assign a Pokémon to an arena, the prestige value of the arena increases by 2,000 points. As mentioned earlier, the level determines how many Pokémon can be placed in it – however, you can only place one of your pocket monsters per arena. If you win or lose in an opponent’s arena, the arena loses prestige and thus ranks sooner or later. If you win or lose in one of your team’s arenas, the arena will gain prestige points, regardless of how you did.

Pokémon GO

Pokémon Go is the mobile spin-off of Nintendo’s popular Pokémon game series for Android and iOS. It is a so-called “location-based game”, i.e. a game that uses the player’s immediate surroundings. It is based on the principle of augmented reality.

Pokémon Map: Between landmarks and sights

Pokémon Go uses a Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine the player’s location and displays it on a map that also represents the playing field. The map is based on OpenStreetMap maps. The game is played mostly outdoors and uses landmarks, landmarks and other notable or eye-catching objects in the world to position either PokéStops or arenas there for you to battle for supremacy. Join either Team Intuition (Team Yellow, Zapdos), Team Wisdom (Team Blue, Arktos), or Team Daring (Team Red, Lavados). Under their flag you can then fight for the arenas, which are placed at hotspots like churches or similar. Pokémon can appear anywhere, though.

Pocket monsters visible on the Pokémon Go Map are randomly loaded into the game’s virtual map by the game server. If several players are playing in the same location, each player can see and catch the Pokémon independently of the others.

Pokémon Go Updates, News, Raids and More

The developers at Niantic regularly provide Pokémon Go with new updates or special raids that should only be tackled in a group of several people. The Pokémon Go Raids are therefore very popular, as they also offer the prospect of particularly rare Pokémon. For example, in the past, legendary Pokémon could always be caught on special occasions (Pokémon Go events). For particularly eager mobile or smartphone Pokémon trainers, there is also an external IV calculator, such as the online tool from Pokemon.gameinfo.io or on Pokefans.net, to check the values of your Pokémon.

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