Pokemon Go Makes Huge Change to Trainer Battle System

Pokemon Go is making a huge change to its Trainer Battle system: certain moves have the potential [...]

By Christian Hoffer

Pokemon Go is making a huge change to its Trainer Battle system: certain moves have the potential to trigger stat boosts to Pokemon.

Earlier today, Pokemon Go announced that certain moves will now have a chance to trigger temporary stat boosts when used in Trainer Battles. When a Pokemon uses a certain Charge Move, it will possibly increase both its Attack and Defense stats.

Stat boosts and debuffs have been part of the Pokemon franchise since the game's earliest days. Many Pokemon moves can both do damage and grant a chance boosting a stat (or debuffing an opponent), so Pokemon Go really is attempting to make its battle system a bit closer to the main series games.

The moves that will have the potential to boost stats are Ancient Power, Ominous Wind, and Silver Wind. Notably, Ancient Power is the focus of this month's Community Day, as all Mamoswine that are evolved during the event will know the move. A good strategy might be to get a Mamoswine with Ancient Power and then unlock Avalanche as its second move. That way, a player can use Ancient Power until the stat boost hits and then switch to Avalanche to do maximum damage.

We'll note that the moves only benefit trainers during Trainer Battles and not during Raid and Gym Battles. This means that tossing a Mamoswine into a gym won't suddenly make it a defensive powerhouse as it continuously buffs itself during battles.

Pokemon Go promises that more changes are coming soon. Whether that means that more moves will get the potential to boost stats, or if other changes could be coming soon (like Status Conditions?!) remains to be seen.

0comments
Start the Conversation

of