In September 2020, many Pokémon GO players reported that the game’s GO Battle League had become almost unplayable after updating to version 0.187. Battles lagged, moves failed to register and matches felt unfair. Here is what happened and how Niantic responded.
The Problem
Season 4 of the GO Battle League began on Monday, 14 September 2020. Shortly afterwards, players on app versions 0.187.0 and 0.187.1 reported serious delays during battles. Charged attacks fired late, switching Pokémon was slow, and some players lost matches simply because the game failed to respond in time.
Niantic’s Response
Niantic acknowledged the problem on its official channels, saying it was investigating increased latency in Pokémon GO, particularly on version 0.187.0. The company noted that the issue could affect several parts of the game, including Raid Battles and the GO Battle League. Players were told that a fix would be included in an upcoming update.
Impact on GO Battle Night
The timing was awkward because a GO Battle Night event was scheduled for 24 September 2020, starting at 6 p.m. local time. During the event, players could complete up to 20 sets of five battles and earn bonus Stardust for wins, completed sets and rank-ups. Many worried the lag would ruin the event if it was not fixed in time.
Tips When the Game Is Lagging
- Make sure the app is updated to the latest version.
- Use a stable Wi-Fi or strong mobile data connection.
- Close other apps running in the background.
- Restart the game before starting a set of battles.
- Check Niantic’s official social media accounts for known issues before playing ranked matches.
About Pokémon GO
Pokémon GO is an augmented reality game developed by Niantic in partnership with The Pokémon Company. Players explore the real world to catch Pokémon, battle at Gyms, join Raids and compete in the GO Battle League. The game is free to play, with optional in-app purchases using PokéCoins for items such as Poké Balls, Incense, Lucky Eggs and extra storage.
