The /Draw Command (and Other Helpful Reminders)

Hello everyone! With the rise of newer PvP players since the release of the PvP chests, I wanted to go over some simple, but effective ways to continue PvP'ing with friends/family but not risk being involved in Illegitimate Rank Boosting! (click on the link to read about what is considered rank boosting) 

This is by far the most important feature that we will talk about. This feature isn't widely known, but today we're going to change that! It is best practice to avoid queueing at the same time as someone you know such as a close friend, family member, or anyone else you may share a network connection with. However, if you do happen to encounter them, do not surrender or continue the battle. By doing this, you could be rank boosting! With the /draw command there's no harm and most importantly no foul! 

Using this command is simple:

Type /draw into the chat:

This brings up a dialogue box for your opponent:

They click 'yes' and the match ends without a winner. Thus this isn't rank boosting.

This next one isn't exactly a feature but it is something plenty of guilds have in place in order to avoid queueing with guildmates. Anyone can utilize the same system in order to avoid matching with a family member or someone with a shared network connection. Suppose Billy and Bob are brothers living in the same household and they wish to partake in ranked PvP. Billy sends a private message to Bob with just a 'q'. This informs Bob that Billy is in the queue and is waiting for an opponent. When Billy matches with an opponent, he sends Bob a 'b'. Now Bob knows Billy is in a battle and he can now queue without worrying about matching with Billy. 

You can use private messages like in my example, or in guild chat like many guilds do. 

This is another feature that may be overlooked. You are certainly free to send battle requests to your family and friends without worrying about rank boosting! Make sure you aren't in a Pokémon Center, and click on the person's character, in chat, or in your friend/guild list. From there you can send them a request for either a regular battle using your own Pokémon or a random battle so you can practice! It is important to note that because these are friendly battles, there wont be any gains such as PvP coins or PvP chests, but you will have bragging rights!

I hope this visual guide helps to explain how you can enjoy ranked (and unranked) PvP while avoiding being accidentally involved in Illegitimate Rank Boosting!

Edited August 25, 2025Aug 25 by Acaiberry