Frequently Asked Questions

Sidekick: Great League Coach is an Android app for Pokémon GO players who battle in Great League. It reads your game screen on your phone to show IV Rank as you appraise a Pokémon, builds teams from your own Collection, and explains every GO Battle League battle in an after-battle report. There’s no account and no login, and screen images never leave your phone.

No. Sidekick is an independent app, not affiliated with Niantic, Nintendo, or The Pokémon Company.

No. Sidekick is Android only: it shows cards over the game, and iPhone doesn’t let apps do that.

Android phones with Android 10 or newer. Sidekick adjusts to different screen sizes. If something looks off on your phone, report it from the app.

Yes. Sidekick reads the game’s English text, so set Pokémon GO to English.

Great League and the cups of each GO Battle League season. Ultra League and Master League aren’t covered.

From PvPoke, the community’s open-source PvP simulator. Sidekick’s own systems use its rankings and battle mechanics to rate your Pokémon, build your teams, and analyze your battles.

Calcy IV and Poke Genie are best known for checking IVs. Sidekick is built just for Great League: besides IV Rank, it keeps your Collection, builds teams from it, and explains your GO Battle League battles in after-battle reports.

Sidekick only reads your screen. It never asks for your Pokémon GO or Google login, never taps or plays for you, and doesn’t modify the game. Screen images are processed on your phone and never stored or sent.

Sidekick can’t promise how Niantic treats third-party apps, so the final call is yours. What Sidekick does is simple: it reads what’s on your screen and shows information, like a guide on a second screen. It never logs in, taps, or changes anything in the game. How Sidekick Works has the full answer.

No. It never logs in and has no access to your account.

Tap the Sidekick button in the app, or use the Sidekick tile in Quick Settings. A notification shows while it’s on.

To read the game screen: Pokémon names, CP, appraisals, and what happens in battles. Everything is processed on your phone, and screen images are never stored or sent. Android asks each time you turn Sidekick on. Without it, the overlay stays off.

That’s how cards appear over the game. Without it, nothing shows over the game, but the app itself still works.

A notice while Sidekick is on, a reminder 5 hours before a cup starts, and new achievements. If you turn notifications off, you’ll miss the reminders.

IV Rank compares a Pokémon’s IVs with every other IV combination of the same species in Great League. Rank 1 is the combination that gives the best stats under 1,500 CP.

IVs (Attack, Defense, and HP) decide a Pokémon’s CP and stats. In Great League, the best combination is Rank 1: it gives the best stats under 1,500 CP.

Sidekick splits all possible IV Ranks into 6 tiers: Rank 1, then S to D. Rank 1 means 100% of a Pokémon’s maximum potential, and S means between 95% and 100%.

Some battles are decided by a very small margin, so a high IV Tier helps you win more often. With the overlay on, Sidekick shows you the IV Rank of every Pokémon you look at in the game.

Not always. Rank 1 has the best overall stats, but some matchups turn on a few points of Attack or Defense, so a lower rank can win certain fights. A high IV Tier is still the safest bet.

It learns them as you appraise them in the game with the overlay on. Save a Pokémon from the overlay to add it to your Collection.

Win Chance is Sidekick’s estimate of how often a team wins against the meta you face. It comes from simulated battles against the opponents in your recent battles and the Pokémon high in the PvPoke rankings.

Yes. By default it builds teams from the Pokémon in your Collection, so every team it suggests is one you can take into battle. You can also include Pokémon you’re missing to see what’s worth catching or building.

Sidekick saves your GO Battle League battles on its own while it’s on. Training battles and Team GO Rocket battles aren’t saved.

A letter grade for how you played a battle, win or lose. You’ll see it on each battle in Battles and in the after-battle report.

Sidekick needs to see a battle from start to finish. Battles it saw only in part stay in Battles for reference, without a full report.

No. Hints during a live battle would be unfair to your opponent and could break the game’s rules, so Sidekick doesn’t give them. During a battle it only takes notes, and your after-battle report comes when the battle ends.

On your phone. Screen images are processed on your phone and never stored or sent, and there’s no account. If Android backup is on, your Collection, settings, and battles can be copied to your own Google account. The Privacy Policy has the details.

Uninstall Sidekick or clear its storage in Android settings. If Android backup is on, a copy may stay in your Google account’s backup.

Android pauses screen capture when the phone locks. Tap Restart on the Sidekick button to continue.

Check that Sidekick is on (look for its notification) and that “Display over other apps” is allowed for Sidekick in Android settings.

Turn Sidekick off and on again. When Android asks what to share, choose “A single app”, then Pokémon GO. Sidekick sends a notification when it can’t see the game.

Game updates sometimes move the text Sidekick reads. Report it from the app so it can be fixed.

Open Sidekick and go to Settings → Improve the App. I read every message, and the best ideas become new features, sometimes over a weekend. Please don’t hold back: small ideas count too.

For a bug, describe what you did right before it happened. If you allow it, Sidekick attaches the text it read from the game, which helps me fix things faster.

Yes, in the app. When I answer your report or idea, you get a notification.