DEXERTOThe Catch Cup has returned to the Pokemon Go Battle League with a Great League edition, so here are our Pokemon recommendations to build a team that will lead you straight to victory during season 22.
While the regular Great, Ultra, and Master League competitions are the main events in the Pokemon Go Battle League, Niantic regularly introduces limited-time cups to switch things up and offer a new challenge.
As part of the current Might and Mastery season, the Catch Cup: Great League Edition is returning to play, but only for one week.
If you’re struggling to figure out which Pokemon to take into battle, as only some can participate, here are our top recommendations.
Best team for the Pokemon Go Catch Cup: Great League Edition
One of the best teams you can use for the Catch Cup includes Carbink (or Bastiodon), Feraligatr, and Mandibuzz, as these are three of the strongest Pokemon that should give you coverage against most common opponents.
As with any league or cup, it’s impossible to say what a true “best” team looks like in the Catch Cup, as it really depends on the Pokemon your opponent sends out – and you won’t know that until the battle begins.
Still, there are a few Pokemon that can perform well in most situations, which we’ve listed below alongside their optimal movesets and weaknesses.
Best Catch Cup: Great League Edition Pokemon
Galarian Stunfisk
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Mud Shot
- Charged Moves: Rock Slide and Earthquake
- Resistances: Poison, Rock, Electric, Fairy, Flying, Bug, Steel, Normal, Psychic, and Dragon
- Weaknesses: Fire, Water, Ground, and Fighting
Galarian Stunfisk has always been a standout in the Great League meta, and now it gets a chance to shine in the Catch Cup, too.
Mud Shot is the best Fast Move to use with Galarian Stunfisk, as its fast energy gain will help you save up for some powerful Charged Moves: Rock Slide provides some extra coverage while Earthquake deals massive damage.
Empoleon (Shadow)
THE POKEMON COMPANY- Fast Move: Steel Wing
- Charged Moves: Hydro Cannon and Drill Peck
- Resistances: Steel, Poison, Ice, Water, Rock, Psychic, Normal, Flying, Fairy, Dragon, and Bug
- Weaknesses: Electric, Fighting, and Ground
This dual Water/Steel-type Pokemon has climbed the ranks in the League and sits in the top twelve thanks to its powerful Attack and formidable Defenses. It serves as a great counter to Pokemon like Clodsire, Gligar, and Mantine.
Steel Wing is a good Fast Move as it has a good balance between its damage and energy cost. As for the Charged Move, Hydro Cannon is the way to go due to its high damage and very low cost. Plus, it’s one of the best Water-type moves in the whole game.
Steel Wing and Hydro Cannon work well together and can benefit from STAB, which gives Empoleon 20% extra damage during fights. In case you can add a secondary Charged Move, Drill Peck is the perfect way to expand Empoleon’s coverage.
Clodsire
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Mud Shot
- Charged Moves: Earthquake and Stone Edge
- Resistances: Poison, Electric, Rock, Fighting, Fairy, and Bug
- Weaknesses: Ground, Ice, Psychic, and Water
Clodsire appeared out of nowhere and stole a high spot of our ranking basically because – in the current meta – it is good at everything.
This dual Poison/Ground creature works fine as a lead, switch, or closer thanks to its good Defense, but mostly its massive Stamina of 209.
The blob Clodsire might exert low damage with Mud Shot, but it still manages to reach its incredible Charged Moves fast. Earthquake is one of the best moves of all time and benefits from STAB, while Stone Edge works as a coverage nuke. Clodsire’s access to 5 different types of moves makes it very hard to target and take down.
Mantine
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Wing Attack
- Charged Moves: Aerial Ace and Ice Beam
- Resistances: Fighting, Bug, Steel, Fire, Water, and Ground
- Weaknesses: Electric and Rock
One of the best features about Mantine is that its dual Water/Flying type combination leaves this Pokemon with plenty of useful resistances and just two weaknesses – one of which is not used very often in this competition (Electric).
Additionally, the Johto manta ray has a decent Defense stat, so it can take hits pretty well.
As a lead, Mantine can reach its Charged Moves quickly thanks to Wing Attack, which also benefits from STAB. As for the Charged Move, instead of going for a Water-type move, it is better to use Aerial Ace for targeting Fighting and Grass types, and Ice Beam for Ground, Flying, and Dragon.
Feraligatr (Shadow)
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Shadow Claw
- Charged Moves: Hydro Cannon and Ice Beam
- Resistances: Steel, Fire, Water, and Ice
- Weaknesses: Grass and Electric
This happy crocodile works perfectly as a charger or closer, thanks to its stats and moves. Despite its weaknesses, it can resist very used Pokemon types such as Fighting and Fire, which is very handy.
Additionally, its Fast Move Shadow Claw helps Feraligatr reach its Charged Moves faster. This means players can then force the enemy to use its shields early on by using Hydro Cannon, leaving them defenseless for the rest of their team.
Keep Ice Beam as your secondary Charged Move – if you can afford it – as it is a strong coverage move.
Skarmory
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Steel Wing
- Charged Moves: Brave Bird & Sky Attack
- Resistances: Poison, Grass, Bug, Steel, Psychic, Normal, Ground, Flying, Fairy, and Dragon
- Weaknesses: Electric and Fire
Skarmory is fairly well-rounded, and its typing offers a very wide and useful coverage in battle, leaving it with only two weaknesses: Electric and Fire. Plus, its whole move pool benefits from STAB.
Steel Wing is Skarmory’s preferred Fast Move, as it has better energy generation and is effective against Fairy, Ice, and Rock. Sky Attack should be your first option for a Charged Move as it deals good damage for a low amount of energy, and you can pair it with Brave Bird if you’re looking for a nuke.
Quagsire (Shadow)
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Mud Shot
- Charged Moves: Aqua Tail and Stone Edge
- Resistances: Electric, Poison, Rock, Steel, and Fire
- Weaknesses: Grass
Shadow Quagsire climbed the ranks once again and sits at the top 10 thanks to its good Attack and Defense stats, as well as a solid Stamina that can keep this dual Water/Ground-type Pokemon in the battle for a while.
The best use players can give Quagsire is as a lead or charger, thanks to two factors: it reaches its Charged Moves fast thanks to Mud Shot, and its typing can hit a wide variety of types.
The Charged Move Aqua Tail is very cheap and spammy, so it will help bite enemy shields. Then, once vulnerable, you can hit your opponent with the nuke Stone Edge.
Lanturn
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Spark
- Charged Moves: Surf and Thunderbolt
- Resistances: Fire, Flying, Ice, Steel, and Water
- Weaknesses: Grass and Ground
Lanturn is definitely one to watch in the Catch Cup, as its Water/Electric typing means it can easily take down fellow Water types while resisting them.
Spark as a Fast Move and Thunderbolt as a Charged Move will help when facing off against other Water-type opponents, while Surf will give you that extra coverage against other participants with different secondary types. Even better, all of these moves benefit from STAB.
Registeel
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Lock-On
- Charged Moves: Focus Blast and Zap Cannon
- Resistances: Poison, Normal, Flying, Rock, Bug, Steel, Grass, Psychic, Ice, Dragon, and Fairy
- Weaknesses: Fire, Ground, and Fighting
The Legendary Titan Registeel has access to the best energy-generating Fast Move in the game, an incredible amount of resistances, and key wins against some of the biggest names like Skarmory and Carbink.
That Fast Move we mentioned? It’s Lock-On, and you’ll need it. With this, you’ll be able to unleash the powerful Charged Moves Zap Cannon, with outstanding damage, and Focus Blast, which adds some useful Fighting-type coverage.
Bastiodon
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Smack Down
- Charged Moves: Stone Edge and Flamethrower
- Resistances: Dragon, Ice, Psychic, Fairy, Bug, Rock, Flying, Normal, and Poison
- Weaknesses: Ground, Fighting, and Water
Even when compared to Legendaries and other powerful Pokemon, Bastiodon still has one of the best Defense stats in Pokemon Go. Its Attack stat pales in comparison, but that doesn’t stop it from excelling in the Catch Cup: Great League Edition.
Smack Down as a Fast Move hits hard, while Stone Edge is a powerful Rock-type Charged Move that takes advantage of Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB), and Flamethrower can be used against other Steel-types.
Gligar (Shadow)
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Wing Attack
- Charged Moves: Aerial Ace and Dig
- Resistances: Electric, Fighting, Poison, Bug, and Ground
- Weaknesses: Ice and Water
Even though this small creature seems harmless, it is one of the best options for this Battle League tournament as it is very dynamic and can work perfectly as a lead, switch, charger, and even closer.
Its move Wing Attack allows it to gain energy fast, so it can access its Charged Moves. While Aerial Ace is a more general attack, Dig is super useful and deals a great amount of damage.
Carbink
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Rock Throw
- Charged Moves: Rock Slide and Moonblast
- Resistances: Bug, Dark, Dragon, Fire, Flying, and Normal
- Weaknesses: Grass, Ground, Steel, and Water
Carbink can be hard to get in the game, but adding this dual Rock/Fairy-type creature to your Catch Cup team is a must.
Carbink’s best Fast Move is Rock Throw. When it comes to Charged Moves, go with Rock Slide for a relatively cheap Rock-type attack and Moonblast for some huge (albeit expensive) Fairy-type damage. This entire moveset has STAB, which makes it extra powerful.
Pokemon Go Catch Cup rules & restrictions explained
The Catch Cup is one of the most unique tournaments in the Go Battle League, as you can only use Pokemon that were caught during the cup’s current season, which severely limits the team options. This means all creatures must have been captured after March 4, 2025.
But that’s not all, as the Pokemon who enter the Great League Edition must be at or below the 1,500 CP limit, and no Mythicals are allowed.
Catch Cup: Great League Edition start & end date
The latest Pokemon Go Battle League season will run from March 4, 2025, until June 3, 2025.
During the Might and Mastery season, the Catch Cup will run from May 20, 2025, until May 27, 2025, along with the Great League, and trainers will get x4 Stardust from win rewards.
The season’s Go Battle League will end with the return of Great, Ultra, and Master Leagues from May 27, 2025, until June 3, 2025, so you’ll have to wait until the next season’s schedule is up to see if the Catch Cup returns.
Those are the best Pokemon you can take to the Catch Cup: Great League Edition during this Pokemon Go season. For more content, check our guide with the Battle League schedule and rewards, as well as all the best attackers, defenders, and PvP champions.
