Niantic has been shifting the direction of Pokémon Go since the mobile game’s inception in 2016. They’ve added more layers to the game, such as PvP, Team Rocket, and more ways for a player to walk around and explore their community. In addition, there’s been a lot of speculation if the development team will consider adding a Battle Pass and what this could look like in the game. Is there any indication Pokémon Go will have a Battle Pass?
Will a Battle Pass come to Pokémon Go?
Niantic has not officially commented regarding the game receiving a Battle Pass or what this structure could look like to benefit its player base and expand the product. However, Pokéminers, the datamining team who are entirely focused on learning about the backend of the mobile, have shared that they discovered an item called the Battle Pass Ticket in their 0.245.0 breakdown, which was pushed to the Google Play Store late on August 3.
Beyond this and what the ticket could potentially look like, we have no further information about what this could be if it is ever pushed to the actual game and added for players to purchase. This is PokeMiners team data mining this information, so they won’t be able to tell us anything about how this works directly, but it does indicate Niantic may add this in the new future. This could likely appear at the start of the next season, on September 1, or it might be added closer to the beginning of 2023. Both are likely options.
How the battle pass will work is anyone’s guess. It might be similar to the one that operates in the Pokémon Go Battle League. Here, players have to win battles against other trainers to progress up through the ranks, earning rewards for each rank they reach. However, in that system, you can go down the rankings, which operates quite differently from a traditional battle pass you’d expect, such as one in Fortnite, where you earn a reward every time you level up.
Hopefully, if Niantic pushes this and makes it available to all Pokémon Go players, the battle pass will purely feature cosmetics for completing various daily challenges in the game, like catching Pokémon, walking a certain distance, or completing specific tasks. Many fans are eager to hear what the team has to say as there have been no recent news releases or updates from the developers themselves. However, fans are also worried purchasing this item could lean into the pay-to-win category, such as including items that give a player a clear advantage in adding Pokémon to their collection.
For now, we have little information about how this will work or if Niantic will even move forward with this. We guess that because it was pushed in a recent update, we’re leaning towards a yes, but we cannot say for sure until we have an official confirmation from the team. If it does release, the Battle Pass ticket will have an icon similar to the Raid Pass and Remote Raid Pass.
Also included in the PokeMiners 0.245.0 breakdown was the addition of Vivillon, a Ticket Gift Notification, a Remember Last Poké Ball used feature, five new Pikachu costumes, and the fast move Water Shuriken and charged move Meteor Beam making their way to the game.
