Pokémon Go players are exhausted by PvP mode

Pokémon Go players complain about the limited scope for team building in battles, especially when rewards are conditional on participating in Battle mode.

Battles in Pokémon Go are nowhere as complicated as in the main games. There’s more tapping on the screen and less planning, breeding, and strategy, especially with combat taking place in real time.

This doesn’t mean that the competitive scene in Pokémon Go is completely devoid of complexity. You always need a good mix of types and Pokémon with a good mix of attacks and types. Knowing when to use your Protective Shields and Charged Attacks is also essential.

Unfortunately, not everyone is happy with the battles in Pokémon Go. As in many competitive video games, some choices are better than others, and in the case of Pokémon Go and its hundreds of Pokémon, that number is desperately small.

Pokémon Go players are unhappy with the “narrow” PvP meta

A user on the Pokémon Go Reddit created a thread discussing their dislike of PvP in the game, especially since it is tied to Timed Research rewards and reaching higher levels. Other users shared this sentiment, airing their grievances with the combat mode.

Possible unpopular opinion: I hate PvP byu/h0117_39 inpokemongo

“The PvP is so terrible,” one user wrote, “The meta is so narrow that it’s practically a guarantee that you won’t succeed with your favorite Pokémon. You have to use the same group of 30 Pokémon that everyone else uses and it’s terrible.”

“PvP in PoGo is objectively bad and way too luck-based,” another user said, “The starting Pokémon on both sides determines the outcome of the match 50% of the time. I tank because all I care about are the rewards.”

“Yeah PvP is pretty bad. Not sure why they adopted and kept such a poor system. The good news is that you can basically ignore it without any major inconvenience!” one user commented, while another said, “I’m like you. I haven’t leveled up from 43 because of the mandatory PvP tasks even though I have enough XP to reach 50.”

The narrowness of the meta isn’t just a problem with Pokémon Go. The main Pokémon series has had tier lists for as long as the series has existed, with a handful of Pokémon outperforming others in battle.

If you’re just interested in single-player, then you never need to engage with the competitive scene, but Pokémon Go blocks content behind battles, much to the chagrin of players who don’t like the battle system.