Here’s everything you need to know about Challengers in the World Championships 2022 event in Pokemon GO including how to beat them and what Pokemon they use!
Battling is a major part of Pokemon GO and the new World Championships event is making it the main focus.
Not only do the new wild Pokemon spawns include Pokemon you can evolve into powerful battling ‘Mon, but there are also plenty of Research Tasks for players to complete that involve battling.
And there are even more battles to be had, thanks to Challengers appearing at PokeStops during the World Championships event. Here’s everything you need to know about them!
What Are Challengers in Pokemon GO?
Challengers are NPC Pokemon trainers that you can encounter during the World Championships event.
There are 6 different kinds of Challengers, each with a different battle team of Pokemon. It is random which one you will encounter so you better be on your toes!
There are plenty of new Raid Bosses during the Pokemon World Championships event so be sure to visit Gyms while you search for Challengers to battle!
How to Battle Challengers in Pokemon GO
Battling Challengers is required to get the hidden reward for completing the World Championships Timed Research.
To battle a Challenger, you will need to go up to a PokeStop where a Challenger is and spin it. After you have spun the PokeStop, the Challenger will ask to battle you.
What’s more, one of the limited-time World Championships Field Research Tasks also asks players to battle a Challenger.
Completing the Field Research Task that asks you to battle a Challenger gives you an encounter with the new costumed Pikachu too!
Although, this is just one of the many ways to get a World Championships 2022 Pikachu in Pokemon GO.
All Challenger Battle Teams
Every Challenger has a team of 3 Pokemon that they will use to battle you. While their Pokemon aren’t as powerful as the Team GO Rocket leaders, beating Challengers can still be tough.
You can narrow down which Pokemon a Challenger will use by their name, although there are always a couple of options for each position in their battle team.
If you beat them, you will get a reward like Stardust or Pokeballs instead of an encounter. However, some of their powerful Pokemon can be caught in the Team Building: Great League Research.
These are all of the Challengers and which Pokemon they will use in battle:
| Challenger | Pokemon 1 | Pokemon 2 | Pokemon 3 |
| Novice Challenger | Trevenant or Sableye | Azumarill or Alolan Ninetales | Galarian Stunfisk or Obstagoon |
| Confident Challenger | Swampert, Scrafty, Diggersby or Walrein | Walrein, Nidoqueen or Mandibuzz | Deoxys (Defense) or Cresselia |
| Slick Challenger | Walrein or Azumarill | Medicham | Registeel or Trevenant |
| Eager Challenger | Nidoqueen or Medicham | Sableye | Swampert or Walrein |
| Ambitious Challenger | Swampert, Araquanid, or Obstagoon | Registeel, Walrein, or Nidoqueen | Talonflame, Sableye Greedent |
| Eccentric Challenger | Sabeleye or Sirfetch’d | Lickitung or Walrein | Talonflame or Registeel |
If you’re struggling to beat the Challengers, find out how to get this exclusive event Timed Research. Completing it rewards you with some powerful Pokemon you can use to defeat them!
Or, if you’ve already got the Research, read out Team Building: Great League Research guide so you can complete it easily.