Factory Head Noland
Track your streakPart of the Battle Factory Guide
Noland has no fixed team. The Battle Factory’s Frontier Brain uses three random rental Pokémon, picked fresh every time you meet him, from the same pool as the other Trainers in that round. He appears as battle 21 for the silver Knowledge Symbol and battle 42 for the gold, and you get no information about his team before the fight.
When you face Noland
- Silver Knowledge Symbol: battle 21, the 7th battle of round 3.
- Gold Knowledge Symbol: battle 42, the 7th battle of round 6.
- After that he appears every 21 battles (63, 84 and so on).
- Single Battles only. He never appears in the Factory’s Double Battles.
His rounds pay 10 BP extra: 14 BP for silver and 15 BP for gold.
What he can bring
His three Pokémon come from the same pool the Factory uses for that round. What changes is which part of the pool, and how strong the IVs are:
| When | Level 50 | Open Level |
|---|---|---|
| Battle 21 (silver) | Middle group (Group 2), second moveset variant | Strongest group (Group 3), third variant, no Dragonite, Tyranitar or legendaries |
| Battle 42 (gold) | Strongest group (Group 3), third variant, no Dragonite, Tyranitar or legendaries | Anything from the strongest group |
| Battle 63 onwards | Anything from the strongest group that appears at Level 50 | Anything from the strongest group |
IVs: every stat on Noland’s Pokémon has an IV of 15 in the silver fight and 31 (the maximum) in the gold fight. That’s two rounds ahead of your own rentals, so his Pokémon are a little stronger than what you’ve been fighting.
Unlike the normal Factory Trainers, you don’t get a battle-style hint before facing him.
How to prepare
Since you can’t counter a specific team, prepare for the round’s pool as a whole.
Go in balanced. The best team for battle 21 or 42 has a physical attacker, a special attacker and a bulky Pokémon, with as few shared weaknesses as possible. A team built to beat the last opponent may have a hole Noland’s random draw happens to hit.
Know the pool. At Level 50 silver, his Pokémon come from the same middle group as your round 3 rentals, so you’ll already have seen most of his possible picks. For gold and Open Level, expect fully evolved Pokémon with their strongest sets.
Swap with purpose before him. The battles before Noland are your last chance to swap. Take a clear upgrade or fix a shared weakness, but don’t swap away a Pokémon you know well for a sideways move.
Lead with your most flexible Pokémon. With no hint about his lead, start with something that has wide coverage and can switch out safely.
Remember the higher IVs. Damage you’d expect to be a knockout against a round 3 Trainer may leave his Pokémon standing. Play a little more carefully than usual.
Common mistakes against Noland
- Expecting a hint. Don’t plan your lead around the battle-style message; it isn’t shown for him.
- Overreacting to the previous battle. Swapping to beat the 6th Trainer can leave you weak to whatever Noland brings.
- Underestimating the gold fight. His Pokémon have maximum IVs, and at Open Level they can include legendaries.
The Battle Factory guide covers rental picks, swaps and how the pool grows with your streak.
On a run right now? Keep count of your streak and see how far you are from each symbol.
Track your streakBack to the Battle Factory Guide.