After years of waiting, one of the most anticipated features is finally coming to Pokémon GO: player vs player battles! Niantic has given the details on the upcoming game option, three years in the making.

The developers revealed more information about the mode during a press event in San Francisco, where they explained how it’ll work. The feature is expected to launch later this month.

How It Works

You and a rival will select three Pokémon each. You will then have about four minutes to duke it out between each other. A small cool down timer will prevent you from swapping out Pokémon to frequently. Participants can limit how powerful the Pokémon are by selecting a list of Leagues for the battle. Great, Ultra, and Master league options are available.

By fighting against other players, you’ll earn up to three rewards daily. Battles will also help progress through medals and train your Pokémon to become stronger. Niantic was sure to mention that battling can even result in a Sinnoh Stone, one of the rarest in-game items at this time. Player’s wanting to battle without restriction can utilize their practice mode.

Like with the other social aspects of the game, you will need to be physically near the person you wish to battle. This is enforced by requiring players to physically scan a code from each other before choosing a league and sending an invite. Niantic stressed that digital copies or photos will not work.

The battles operate largely in the same manner as raids and gym battles, with the player tapping the screen for their main attack, charging an attack meter. Of course, type effectiveness matters.

The feature is expected to launch before the end of the year. It’ll start with level 40 players, slowly working its way to lower levels while they handle the server load, a common practice with new features.

Good luck, trainers!