Battle Factory Guide

The Battle Factory is the one facility where your own team doesn’t matter: you rent three Pokémon from a random selection, battle opponents who also use rentals, and can swap after each win. Factory Head Noland appears as the 21st battle for the silver Knowledge Symbol and the 42nd for the gold. It rewards knowing Pokémon and matchups, not breeding.

How the Battle Factory works

At the start of each round of seven battles you’re shown six rental Pokémon and pick three. You can check each rental’s moves and held item before choosing. Rentals come with fixed movesets, so you’re choosing sets, not just species.

After each win, you may swap one of your three Pokémon for one of the three your opponent just used. You don’t have to swap. The lobby monitors track how many times you’ve swapped, and that number matters more than it looks (see below).

Things to know:

• Your team is rebuilt each round. Every round starts with six fresh rentals.
• The rental pool gets stronger. At Level 50, round 1 uses the weakest group of Pokémon, rounds 2–3 a middle group, and round 4 on the strongest group, with a different moveset variant each round. Legendary Pokémon don’t show up before round 8. At Open Level the strongest group is used from round 1, and legendaries, Dragonite and Tyranitar arrive from round 5.
• Rentals get better IVs as your streak grows. Every stat gets the same IV: 3 in round 1, then 6, 9, 12, 15 and 21, and the maximum 31 from round 7.
• A hint before each battle. You’re told your next opponent’s battle style, worked out from the moves their Pokémon know: heavy on setup moves, status moves, recovery and protection, risky moves like Explosion and Counter, stat-lowering moves, odd moves like Transform and Metronome, or weather. “Free-spirited” means no clear pattern; “flexibly adaptable” means a mix of three or more. Use it to choose your lead.
• Single and Double Battles. Both are available, but Noland only appears in Single Battles, so you can only earn the symbols there.
• Species Clause is protected. Opponents are never generated with a species you already have, so any swap you’re offered is legal.

Swaps make your rentals stronger

The game counts every rental and swap you make in a streak; each round’s first pick of rentals counts as one. Once that total reaches 15, some of the six Pokémon offered at the start of a round come from the next round’s pool, with better movesets and IVs:

Rentals + swaps	Stronger Pokémon offered
Under 15	0
15–21	1
22–28	2
29–35	3
36–42	4
43 or more	5

Swapping often early on gives you better options later. It’s not a reason to swap badly, but it is a reason not to be stingy.

Factory Head Noland

Noland closes round 3 (battle 21) for silver and round 6 (battle 42) for gold. Unlike the other Brains, he doesn’t have a fixed team: his Pokémon are drawn from the same pool as any other Trainer in that round, so you can’t know them until you meet him.

What is fixed is their strength. Noland’s Pokémon always have IVs two rounds ahead of your streak: 15 in every stat for the silver fight and 31 for the gold. Go into battle 21 or 42 with the most balanced three you can put together. What he tends to bring, and how to prepare, will be on the Factory Head Noland page.

Strategy: which rentals to pick

Your first three picks

When you look at the six rentals, ask these questions in order:

1. Is it fully evolved and does it have usable STAB? A Pokémon with a strong attack of its own type beats one with a gimmick set.
2. Does it have coverage? Two attacking types are worth more than one. A set with four attacks is usually better than one with setup moves you won’t have time to use.
3. Does it hold a good item? Leftovers, Choice Band and type-boosting items make average Pokémon good. A Berry is fine; no useful item is a minus.
4. Do the three work together? Avoid three Pokémon weak to the same type. One physical attacker, one special attacker and one bulky Pokémon is a safe default.

Pass on rentals whose sets rely on several turns of setup, weather or partners. Factory battles are short and you can’t switch to a support Pokémon at no cost.

When to swap

Swapping is the skill that keeps a Factory streak alive.

• Swap when the opponent had a clear upgrade for your weakest Pokémon: same role, better set or better item.
• Swap to fix a shared weakness. If two of your three are weak to Ground, take the opponent’s Flying or Water type even if it’s not stronger.
• Swap in a lead. If your current lead keeps taking heavy damage on the switch, bring in something faster or bulkier.
• Swap to build your count. Early in a streak, a sideways swap that doesn’t hurt your team still pushes you toward the stronger rentals.

When not to swap

• Don’t swap just because it’s a bigger Pokémon. A big Pokémon with a weak set is a downgrade.
• Don’t swap away your only answer to a common threat, such as your only Ground-resistant Pokémon or your only special attacker.
• Don’t swap right before Noland unless it’s a clear upgrade; a team you know well is worth a lot at battle 21 and 42.

Common mistakes

1. Picking for species, not sets. A Snorlax with weak moves is worse than a mid-tier Pokémon with strong STAB and a good item.
2. Ignoring the battle-style hint. It’s free information about your opponent’s moves. Use it to choose your lead.
3. Swapping without a reason, or never swapping. Every swap trades a Pokémon you understand for one you don’t, but refusing to swap keeps you from the stronger rentals.
4. Starting the Factory with a long Battle Tower streak. Because of a bug, opponents’ IVs are based on your current Battle Tower streak, not your Factory streak. With a long active Tower streak, round 1 Factory opponents can have perfect IVs while your rentals have IVs of 3. Noland is the one exception.
5. Overrating setup moves. Swords Dance or Calm Mind sets look great but rarely get the turns they need here.

BP rewards

BP is paid per round. In Single Battles, Noland appears every three rounds and his rounds pay 10 BP extra.

Round (Singles)	1	2	3 (Noland)	4	5	6 (Noland)	7	8	9 (Noland)	10
BP	3	3	14	4	5	15	6	6	17	7

Double Battles pay 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6… with no Brain bonus. Both settle at 15 BP per round after round 25 (25 for Noland’s rounds). See the Battle Points guide for what to buy.

Read the Battle Factory rentals and swaps explainer for more detail on how the rental pool grows with your streak.

FAQ

Do I need a trained team for the Battle Factory?

No. Everything you battle with is rented, so it’s the best facility to start with if you don’t have bred or EV-trained Pokémon yet.

When does Noland appear?

He’s the 7th battle of your 3rd round (battle 21) for silver and the 7th battle of your 6th round (battle 42) for gold, all in one unbroken streak of Single Battles.

Should I always swap after a win?

No. Swap when it fixes a weakness or is a clear upgrade. But don’t avoid swapping altogether: your total number of rentals and swaps decides how many stronger Pokémon you’re offered later.