How to play Pokemon Battlegrounds

Sign in, then pick a trainer

Open ranked.pokemonbattlegrounds.com. The public page says: “Sign in to play. Already have an account? Sign in with the same Discord or Google and you are back where you left off.” New players pick a trainer name (2–16 characters) and a trainer, then sign in. The same page says you can change them later. The privacy page says the game stores an account id, not an email or a password.

The sign-in grid lists 28 trainers. On 3 November 2026 the visible star marks were AZ 500, Ghetsis 250, Steven 140, Giovanni 80, N 45, and Mustard 10. Cynthia and Leon showed Champion, Diantha showed Master Ball, and Lance showed Ultra Ball. I do not treat the star as a currency. The page never says what the star buys.

Team, format, and the fight

The team screen is labeled “fully evolved, no legendaries.” Each Pokemon brings four moves from a larger pool. The public format list is 3v3 (bring 3), 6v6 (bring 6), Doubles (bring 6), Tag team (bring 3), and Pick 4 (bring 6, send 4). Team preview says “tap 4 · in the order they come out” for the pick step. I keep both lines: the format list and the tap-4 prompt. I do not collapse them into one team size.

Before a match, read the format label and the preview order rather than assuming that every mode uses the same roster size. The public help also distinguishes manual movement from the touch path: keyboard users can move with WASD, while a phone user drags on the arena. A browser refresh returns you to the sign-in flow, so keep the same Discord or Google identity when returning. The game page, terms, and privacy policy are the authority for account handling; this guide only summarizes their public text.

Move keys are 1, 2, 3, and 4. A filled button is cooling down. A glow means the move is ready and in range. Switch with the bench, or with Z, X, and C. Manual mode uses WASD or a drag on the arena. Dodge is Space, about once every 1.5 seconds. Mega is M, once per battle, and only on the Pokemon you chose. Greninja’s form on that screen is Battle Bond. 3v3 lasts 4 minutes. 6v6 lasts 7. The last quarter is sudden death, and a hit can climb to 4× damage. If the clock ends, the side with more health left wins.