DEXERTOThe Great League is the ideal place to start in Pokemon Go‘s competitive mode, since it’s the most basic and accessible tier of them all. So, check out which Pokemon are perfect to build a winning team!
Each new Pokemon Go season shakes up the meta in the Go Battle League, forcing players to rebuild their teams and devise new strategies to climb the ranks for a spot at the top.
However, unlike the Ultra and Master Leagues, this one gives all trainers a fairer chance at glory, as only Pokemon under 1500 CP can compete. This means that while powerful creatures can participate, you won’t have Legendaries one-shotting you.
Check out the hottest picks that can help you dominate the current season and earn some great rewards along the way.
Best team for Pokemon Go Great League
Currently, the best team that trainers can use in the Great League includes Clodsire, Forretress, and Golisopod, as these are three of the strongest fighters, and they all offer good coverage against most of the major Great League opponents.
DEXERTO| POKEMON | FAST MOVE | CHARGED MOVES | TYPE | RESISTANCES | WEAKNESSES | ALTERNATIVES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Clodsire | Poison Sting | Earthquake & Sludge Bomb | Poison/Ground | Poison, Electric, Rock, Fighting, Fairy, and Bug | Ground, Ice, Psychic, and Water | Nidoqueen / Toxapex |
 Forretress | Bug Bite | Rock Tomb & Earthquake | Bug/Steel | Poison, Grass, Steel, Psychic, Normal, Ice, Fairy, Dragon, and Bug | Fire | Scizor / Escavalier |
 Golisopod | Fury Cutter | X-Scissor & Aqua Jet | Bug/Water | Fighting, Ground, Ice, Steel, Water | Electric, Flying, and Rock | Genesect / Vespiquen |
Clodsire appeared out of nowhere and became a top choice because 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 Fast Move pressure, but it still manages to reach its incredible Charged Moves. Earthquake is one of the best moves of all time, and Sludge helps it hit hard with a STAB move without needing too much energy. Clodsire’s access to 5 different types of moves makes it very hard to target and take down.
Forretress is a solid choice for any team as it boasts several useful resistances and it’s only weak to one type (Fire), which is not being played a lot during this season. Plus, it has a great Defense stat.
Bug Bite can deal heavy damage and benefits from STAB. For the Charged Move, use Rock Tomb to decrease your opponent’s Attack stat and bait their shields. Then you can finish them up with Earthquake, a solid Ground-type nuke that benefits from STAB and saves you from your only weakness.
Another Pokemon with excellent type coverage is Golisopod, which serves as a great all-rounder in the Great League and a good switch in case Forretress faints.
The Fast Move Fury Cutter has excellent stats and offers good coverage. As for the Charged Moves, you can spam X-Scissor at the beginning to bait the enemy shields, as it is cheap, and then finish them off with Aqua Jet, a strong attack that benefits from STAB. Plus, the full moveset benefits from STAB.
If you don’t have access to either of those three Pokemon or you come across an opponent that targets your team’s weaknesses, we have a long list of other powerful creatures that can help you dominate the Great League.
Best Pokemon for Pokemon Go Great League
Corviknight
NIANTIC/DEXERTO- Fast Move: Sand Attack
- Charged Moves: Sky Attack and Iron Head
- Type: Flying/Steel
- Resistances: Poison, Grass, Bug, Steel, Psychic, Normal, Ground, Flying, Fairy, and Dragon
- Weaknesses: Electric and Fire
Like most Steel-type Pokemon, one of Corviknight’s advantages is the many resistances it has. That, along with its very good Defense and Stamina stats, makes this a very difficult creature to take down.
Even though it’s the only Fast Move that doesn’t benefit from STAB, Sand Attack offers great coverage and has a very fast energy gain, which is why it is the ideal attack to use, as it will allow you to use your Charged Moves early.
As for Iron Head, it is the cheapest Charged Move, while Sky Attack deals pretty decent damage.
Samurott
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Fury Cutter
- Charged Moves: Hydro Cannon and Megahorn
- Type: Water
- Resistances: Water, Steel, Ice, and Fire
- Weaknesses: Electric and Grass
The Water-type starter from the Unova region – Samurott – made a comeback to the ranking thanks to its strong and balanced stats, plus its powerful move pool.
While Waterfall is a decent Fast Move to use in the Great League, Fury Cutter is preferred thanks to its faster energy generation. This means using Fury Cutter will let you access your Charged Moves sooner.
As for those, Hydro Cannon is basically mandatory, as it is very cheap and has great DPE value. Because of its low cost, you can spam it to take down the opponent’s shields and then hit them with Megahorn, a very useful coverage nuke.
Galarian Corsola
NIANTIC/DEXERTO- Fast Move: Astonish
- Charged Moves: Night Shade and Power Gem
- Type: Ghost
- Resistances: Normal, Fighting, Poison, and Bug
- Weaknesses: Dark and Ghost
Since its debut, Galarian Corsola has climbed the PvP ranks on the Great League thanks to its bulkiness and strong moveset, which benefits from STAB.
Tackle is a really bad option, so pick Astonish for your Fast Move, as it is the only Ghost-type attack and has great synergy with Night Shade.
Night Shade is a very cheap Charged Move with decent damage per energy, so go with it. Complement it with Power Gem, as it will expand your coverage, thanks to its affordability.
Mandibuzz
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Snarl
- Charged Moves: Dark Pulse and Aerial Ace
- Type: Dark/Flying
- Resistances: Ghost, Grass, Dark, Ground, and Psychic
- Weaknesses: Rock, Electric, Ice, and Fairy
Despite its lack of outstanding moves and having fewer resistances than other Great League recommendations, Mandibuzz does make up for that with a very high Defense stat and a solid Stamina stat.
Snarl has quicker energy generation than Air Slash, so we’d recommend using that Fast Move. Mandibuzz’s best Charged Move is Dark Pulse, as it deals good damage and benefits from STAB. In case you’re looking for more coverage, Aerial Ace is a good choice.
Jumpluff (Shadow)
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Fairy Wind
- Charged Moves: Aerial Ace and Acrobatics
- Type: Grass/Flying
- Resistances: Ground, Grass, Water, and Fighting
- Weaknesses: Ice, Fire, Flying, Poison, and Rock
Even with its Shadow debuff, Jumpluff still boasts an impressive Defense stat, making it one bulky fellow to have on your team.
Unlike most Battle League choices, Jumpluff doesn’t spam moves to charge its Charged Move, but instead, it uses Fairy Wind’s high energy generation to reach Aerial Ace and Acrobatics.
Aerial Ace is pretty cheap and deals ok damage while covering Fighting, Bug, and Grass types. Acrobatics has a decent balance between cost and damage, while offering different coverage.
Dusclops
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Hex
- Charged Move: Ice Punch and Shadow Punch
- Type: Ghost
- Resistances: Bug, Fighting, Normal, and Poison
- Weaknesses: Dark and Ghost
Dusclops is arguably one of the best Ghost-type options for this League tier, as it has access to an Ice-type Charged Move and key wins over the likes of Clodsire, Corviknight, and Annihilape.
Hex is the best Fast Move for energy generation (and it also gets STAB). As for Charged Moves, you’ll want the aforementioned Ice-type attack, Ice Punch, for dealing with Grass, Ground, Flying, and Dragon-type opponents.
As for your secondary Charged Move, Shadow Punch is a cheap STAB attack that’s great for spamming, too.
Primeape
NIANTIC/DEXERTO- Fast Move: Karate Chop
- Charged Moves: Rage Fist and Close Combat
- Type: Fighting
- Resistances: Rock, Dark, and Bug
- Weaknesses: Fairy, Flying, and Psychic
Even though Primeape doesn’t have an outstanding bulk, it’s still a great Fighting-type choice. While being similar to fan favorite Machamp, Primeape offers wider coverage and lightning-fast moves.
Primeape works great as a lead or switch, as it has very spammy moves that can force the opponents to use their shields early on, leaving them open for a mighty Charged Attack.
Karate Chop is the standout of the Fast Moves, but there are plenty of great options for Charged Moves that will vary depending on what you need. The best part is that most of them are quite cheap without sacrificing the damage they can inflict.
Jellicent
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Hex
- Charged Moves: Surf and Shadow Ball
- Type: Water/Ghost
- Resistances: Normal, Fighting, Water, Steel, Poison, Ice, Fire, and Bug
- Weaknesses: Dark, Electric, Ghost, and Grass
This gigantic jellyfish offers trainers an incredible bulk, along with a vast list of resistances that will keep it alive during an encounter.
Both of Jellicent’s Fast Moves are great options that benefit from STAB. While Bubble offers stronger Water-type coverage, Hex has slightly faster energy generation, as well as Ghost-type coverage.
To balance Hex, go with Surf as your Charged Move. It is not only really cheap, but it deals great damage and benefits from STAB. As your secondary option, use the nuke Shadow Ball. If you need a different type of coverage, you can switch Shadow Ball for Ice Beam.
Gligar
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Fury Cutter
- Charged Moves: Aerial Ace and Dig
- Type: Ground/Flying
- 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 the battle league as it is very dynamic and can work perfectly as a lead, switch, charger, and even closer.
Wing Attack used to be its preferred Fast Move, but since the Max Out season (where it was nerfed), Fury Cutter has taken over.
As for the Charged Moves, both are relatively cheap and benefit from STAB. Aerial Ace is a more general attack, while Dig is super useful and deals a great amount of damage.
Lapras
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Psywave
- Charged Moves: Sparkling Aria and Ice Beam
- Type: Water/Ice
- Resistances: Ice and Water
- Weaknesses: Electric, Fighting, Grass, and Rock
Besides its great bulk, Lapras has an impressive move pool, with four Fast Moves and seven Charged Moves to pick from.
Even though focusing only on Water and Ice moves to benefit from STAB would be the logical thing to do, for the Fast Move, it is best to go with Psywave. It offers the most energy generation out of all the options, and it expands Lapras’s coverage.
Skull Bash, Blizzard, and Hydro Pump are quite expensive moves, and with a few other options available, they are just not worth it. Instead, use Sparkling Aria for a solid Charged Move with STAB. It costs the same as Surf but does five more damage.
As for the secondary Charged Move, Ice Beam will offer more coverage against Grass, Dragon, and Flying opponents while also benefiting from STAB.
Giratina (Shadow Altered Forme)
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Shadow Claw
- Charged Moves: Dragon Claw and Shadow Sneak
- Type: Ghost/Dragon
- Resistances: Normal, Fighting, Bug, Electric, Fire, Grass, Poison, and Water
- Weaknesses: Dark, Dragon, Fairy, Ghost, and Ice
The bulky and devastating Giratina (Altered Forme) is the ultimate choice in the Great League since it recently got its Shadow version. It does have quite a few powerful counters, but if you can avoid them, it will have no problem taking down the majority of the Go Pokedex.
Shadow Claw has a good balance of damage and energy gain, so opt for that as your Fast Move. Dragon Claw is the superior Charged Move, as it has STAB and can be spammed, while Shadow Sneak is a little slower but as effective.
Diggersby
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Quick Attack
- Charged Moves: Fire Punch and Scorching Sands
- Type: Normal/Ground
- Resistances: Ghost, Electric, Rock, and Poison
- Weaknesses: Fighting, Grass, Ice, and Water
Even though Diggersby is not a great attacker, it is an extremely bulky Pokemon with a unique and useful type combination.
This season features very strong Poison types, so Diggersby is a great choice to break them. Plus, having access to Fire Punch helps this enormous rabbit fight Grass and Ice types, which are two of its weaknesses.
As if it were not enough, Scorching Sands is a wonderful Ground-type move that deals very high damage for low energy.
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Pokemon Go Great League start & end date
The latest Battle League season is underway, running from June 3, 2025, until September 2, 2025. For the rest of its run, the Great League will appear on:
- August 12 – August 19 (along with the Ultra and Master Leagues)
- August 26 – September 2 (along with the Ultra and Master Leagues)
Those are the best Pokemon you can add to your Great League team 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.
