Chase & Pikachu make their Pokémon Masters EX debut alongside new Let's Go for Number One! Time Trial Event, plus launch of the Battle Rally

As previewed earlier this week in the monthly developer letter, Chase & Pikachu from Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! will be making their Pokémon Masters EX in a new Poké Fair Scout alongside today's launch of the Let's Go for Number One! Time Trial event, and the introduction of the new Battle Rally game mode.

Time Trial Event: Let's Go for Number One!
This brand new Time Trial Event focuses on Chase and Elaine from Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee!, together with their titular partner Pokémon.

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Time trial events are a rare type of limited-time event in Pokémon Masters EX, having only previously been run 5 times since the original Race to Victory event in November 2020. These events challenge players to complete battles in a short amount of time, with players being ranked from Grade C to Grade S and awarded points according to how long they take to win a battle. Event Rewards are then earned by players for reaching certain point milestones.

The first battle for this event, Challenge Pasio's Trainers: Part 1, is available in game immediately. Challenge Pasio's Trainers: Part 2 will be added on February 3rd, at 10:00pm (PST).

Whereas some previous time trial events imposed limits on the number of attempts players might make per day, in this Time Trial event players will have no restrictions on the number of attempts of each event battle. As such, practice matches are not included in this particular time trial event.

A wide range of event missions will be available alongside this event. The first batch of 4 missions for this event is available in-game now, with more scheduled to open up over the coming days:

• Mission 5 will be available from January 31st, at 10:00pm (PST)
• Mission 6 will be available from February 1st, at 10:00pm (PST)
• Missions 7 will be available from February 2nd, at 10:00pm (PST)
• Missions 8-14 will be available from February 3rd, at 10:00pm (PST)
• Missions 15-16 will be available from February 4th, at 10:00pm (PST)
• Mission 17 will be available from February 5th, at 10:00pm (PST)

Players should also note the following when playing this event:

• To participate, players must have completed Main Story Chapter 1: The More the Merrier (Normal) in single-player.
• The sync pairs that appear as opponents in battle have different capabilities than those players can actually obtain.
• All mission completion rewards must be claimed within three days of the mission period ending.

Log-in Bonus
The Let's Go for Number One! event includes a log-in bonus over 14 days. Players can receive these bonuses up until February 16th, at 9:59pm (PST), so even if you're a couple of days late starting the event you'll still have the chance to receive all of the available gifts.

• Day 1: Skip Ticket x 20
• Day 2: Gems x 100
• Day 3: Gems x 100
• Day 4: Gems x 100
• Day 5: Skip Ticket x 20
• Day 6: Gems x 100
• Day 7: Gems x 100
• Day 8: Gems x 100
• Day 9: Skip Ticket x 20
• Day 10: Gems x 100
• Day 11: Gems x 100
• Day 12: Gems x 100
• Day 13: Gems x 100
• Day 14: Skip Ticket x 20

Event Gem Specials
In conjunction with the Let's Go for Number One! event, the following four Event Gem Specials will be available in the purchase gems tab of the in-game shop until February 19th, at 9:59pm (PST), offering discounted prices on paid gems.

• January event gem special 9: Gems x300
• January event gem special 10: Gems x1,800
• January event gem special 11: Gems x3,900
• January event gem special 12: Gems x7,000

Chase & Pikachu Poké Fair Scout
Chase & Pikachu make their Pokémon Masters debut in this limited-time Poké Fair Scout alongside the launch of the Let's Go for Number One! Time Trial event. This scout is available in-game now, and will run through to February 19th at 9:59pm (PST). As normal for Poké Fair Scouts, 5★ sync pairs have a 10% chance of appearing in this scout. This Poké Fair Scout also includes a daily discount, where players can perform a single scout for x100 paid gems. This daily discount can be used 1 time per day during the entire length of the scout.

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This fair-exclusive Electric-type Support Sync Pair are being released with an expanded sync grid, the ability to be raised to 6★ EX, and the ability to unlock a Sprint EX Role when raised to 6★ EX. Raising the pair to 6★ EX also unlocks a new outfit for Chase in yellow, white, and black, with red and brown highlights, evoking the title characters from the Let's Go games.

Chase & Pikachu come with a move that applies a brand new Field Effect, Kanto Circle (Special). If this is anything like the Circle effect applied by Nate (Champion) & Haxorus, we can expect this effect to powers up the special attack and sync moves of the player's team by 10%, as well as reducing the special attack and sync move damage received by their team by 5%. These values would be boosted when the team includes additional Sync Pairs with the KantoTheme skill, up to a maximum of 40% power-up and 14% damage reduction. In addition to this Circle effect, Chase & Pikachu have a selection of Passive Skills providing buffs to their whole team. One of these increases all allies' speed and evasiveness by 1 stat rank, and Chase & Pikachu's own Defense and Sp. Def by one stat rank, any time that Chase & Pikachu use a Trainer Move. Another Passive Skill provides healing to all allies whenever Chase & Pikachu are hit by an attack move.

Launch of the Battle Rally
Pokémon Masters is introducing new challenging battle content today with the launch of Battle Rally. In this content players will complete a series of up to 10 battles, gaining Rally Points with every win which can be used to power-up their sync pairs for the rest of the gauntlet with consumable items purchased from the Rally Shop between each battle.

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The opponents for each area will differ each time players challenge the Battle Rally. Each area will feature three separate battles, at Normal, Hard, and Very Hard difficulty, with opponents getting stronger as players progress through the areas. Each area will also have a specified Role Bonus, with players able to earn bonus points by using Sync Pairs matching the role. Occasionally, an area may be a "Lucky Area", allowing players to obtain a large number of Rally Points.

Players will not normally be able to check area info for upcoming areas, however certain items from the Rally Shop, including the See-noculars and See-all-scope, will reveal these, allowing players to plan ahead for the battles to come.

Players will receive a Battle Rally-specific item when challenging the Battle Rally, but this single item will not be enough to achieve victory, and players will need to purchase items from the Rally Shop to succeed at the increasingly difficult battles. Some items may be only available for specific areas, or available in some areas at reduced rates. The exact items available in the Rally Shop will change every time the Player completes an area.

At the same time, the rewards for defeating the Battle Rally will be based on the number of Rally Points players have remaining, meaning players will need to balance their greed for better rewards with the Rally Point purchases they need to make to have any chance to get rewards in the first place. On completing the Battle Rally, any leftover Rally Points will be converted to Battle Rally Medals, which can then be used in the new Rally tab in the Exchange menu to receive items such as Roll Cake Coin Vouchers.

To challenge the Battle Rally, players will need to have a Battle Rally Pass. Players will be able to obtain one pass each week from Battle Rally missions. Players will also receive a single Limited-Time Battle Rally Pass as a First-Time Present on accessing the Battle Rally for the first time. Limited-Time Passes will be used automatically ahead of regular Battle Rally Passes.

Battle Rally Log-In Bonus
In addition to the aforementioned First-Time Present, a log-in bonus of Limited-Time Battle Rally Pass x 3 is being offered alongside the launch of the Battle Rally. Players can receive this bonus up until February 13th, at 9:59pm (PST), so even if you're a couple of days late you'll still have the chance to receive this gift. These Limited-Time Battle Rally Passes expire on February 28th, at 9:59pm (PST).