Pokemon GO Mega Master League replaced hours before return, PvP players express disappointment

Hours before the Pokemon GO Mega Master League was supposed to go live in Season 21 of GBL, Niantic announced that the format would be replaced with the Master Premier Cup. This will apply to the entire period — 1 pm PT on February 25, 2025, until 1 pm PT on March 4, 2025 — leading to the end of the Dual Destiny season.

The announcement came via an X post as well as an in-game news announcement. It has led to reasonable disappointment among hardcore PvP players. For context, the Pokemon GO Mega Master League was last introduced in the game several seasons ago and players have been waiting for it for a long time.

Note: Certain aspects of this article are subjective and speculative.

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Why was the Pokemon GO Mega Master League replaced in Season 21?

The X post declared that the Mega Master League would be replaced with the Master Premier in the period lasting from February 25 to March 4, 2025. However, it failed to mention any reasons behind the change.

Based on replies from long-time players, it appears there is a bug related to Mega Evolutions that disrupts gameplay. According to the rules, players can use one Mega in their team. However, the glitch allowed some players to build teams consisting of three such creatures. This can be quite problematic, as Mega Evolutions in Pokemon GO are absurdly powerful.

Trainers discussing the Mega Evolution bug (Image via X)

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PvP players respond to Pokemon GO Mega Master League cancellation in Season 21

Pokemon GO PvP experts and novices alike expressed disappointment at the untimely cancellation of the Mega Master League. Responding to the current world #9 GBL battler, Tomahawk's comment, Veteran level trainer @bowly93 said:

"This is nuts, it’s the only time master league appeals to me"

@HomeSliceHenry, a GBL streamer with over 66k subscribers on YouTube, was excited about this unique format, and upon hearing the news of its cancellation, said:

"Thank you. I'm gonna go crash out now"

@NiiCess said they had spent time and resources to prepare for this format:

"Nevermind if you maxed out Pokemon to anticipate for this meta. Good stuff. Well played."

@Chiamikaa went through a similar experience over the course of the Dual Destiny season of GBL:

"I was so close to max leveling up a mega for this a couple hours ago and glad I didn't jfc. This season has had like 3+ different instances of wrong rules being posted and I've wasted hours of time and in game resources prepping teams that end up not being legal..."

While the Master Premier Cup is a well-liked format in general, the anticipation associated with Pokemon GO Mega Master League this time around is what seems to have led to this level of disappointment in the community. Niantic's general inefficiency in announcing changes and handling problems is also likely a big reason for the backlash.

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In other news, you can get 11 free Legendary encounters as compensation for the Road to Unova Timed Research glitch.