DEXERTOPokemon Go‘s Halloween Cup happens only once a year during October. So, to build the perfect team, here are the best Pokemon for the Halloween Cup: Great League Edition, as well as the rules to follow.
The Battle League is the most popular PvP mode in Niantic’s game, as it allows players to compete with other trainers from around the world. But, besides the usual Great, Ultra, and Master leagues, there are some other special tournaments like the Halloween Cup.
As part of the current Tales of Transformation season, the Halloween Cup: Great League Edition is being celebrated, but just for one week! Moreover, Pokemon at or below 1,500 CP can participate, but only a selected group of types.
Following those conditions, let’s take a look at the best Pokemon to dominate the competition’s current meta.
Best team for the Pokemon Go Halloween Cup: Great League Edition
One of the best team combinations for the Halloween Cup includes Clodsire, Shadow Nidoqueen, and Guzzlord, as they are some of the strongest Pokemon with wide coverage.
However, as with the rest of the Go Battle League, it’s hard to say what a ‘best team’ looks like because you’ll never know what Pokemon you’re going up against. You can have a very solid team, but a lot of it comes down to type combinations.
Still, there are a few that can perform well in most situations, which we’ve listed below alongside their optimal movesets and weaknesses.
Best Pokemon for the Halloween Cup: Great League Edition
Guzzlord
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Dragon Tail
- Charged Moves: Brutal Swing and Sludge Bomb
- Type: Dark/Dragon
- Resistances: Psychic, Water, Grass, Ghost, Fire, Electric, and Dark
- Weaknesses: Fairy, Bug, Dragon, Fighting, and Ice
The Ultra Beast known as Guzzlord is one of the spammiest creatures in all of the Battle League, and as if that were not enough, it has massive Stamina that will keep it alive for a very long time.
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Dragon Tail is a Fast Move that generates energy extremely quickly, so Guzzlord will be able to access its Charged Moves very soon.
The Charged Move Brutal Swing might not deal great damage, but it is incredibly spammy, so use it as much as you can. While Sludge Bomb deals underwhelming damage, keep it as your secondary Charged Move for extra coverage.
Galarian Moltres
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Sucker Punch
- Charged Moves: Fly and Brave Bird
- Type: Dark/Flying
- Resistances: Psychic, Ground, Grass, Ghost, and Dark
- Weaknesses: Electric, Fairy, Ice, and Rock
Galarian Moltres is one solid choice to target some League champions like Nioqueen, Forretress, and Galarian Corsola. Plus, its bulky Defense stat can help it lead any team.
Sucker Punch is a little faster and cheaper than the other Fast Move, so go with it and spam it all you can to waste the enemy shields and build up your Charged Moves.
Brave Bird is very expensive and has a self-debuff, but it deals outstanding damage and has STAB, while Fly is relatively cheap and has good DPE.
Forretress
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Bug Bite
- Charged Moves: Rock Tomb and Earthquake
- Type: Bug/Steel
- Resistances: Poison, Grass, Steel, Psychic, Normal, Ice, Fairy, Dragon, and Bug
- Weaknesses: Fire
Forretress is a solid choice for any team as it boasts numerous 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-type moves are usually not good at all in Pokemon Go, but Bug Bite can deal relatively decent damage with STAB while also charging up the Charged Moves.
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 saves you from your only weakness.
Kingambit
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Metal Sound
- Charged Moves: Foul Play and Iron Head
- Type: Dark/Steel
- Resistances: Psychic, Poison, Dark, Dragon, Flying, Ghost, Grass, Ice, Normal, Rock, and Steel
- Weaknesses: Fighting, Fire, and Ground
Kingambit is a reliable Pokemon to add to any team as it has a unique typing, balanced stats, and a good move pool.
As for those, Metal Sound is the Fast Move of choice, mainly due to its high energy generation and good damage. For the Charged Moves, use Foul Play (cheap attack with good coverage and STAB that helps bait shields) and Iron Head (to deal full-on damage and target Fairy types).
Dusknoir (Shadow)
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Astonish
- Charged Moves: Shadow Punch and Dynamic Punch
- Type: Ghost
- Resistances: Normal, Fighting, Poison, and Bug
- Weaknesses: Dark and Ghost
This Pokemon works best as the lead or charger of a team. Plus, it has the necessary Defense to stand its ground while dealing good damage.
Astonish is a very spammy move that will allow it to access its Charged Moves fast while also getting rid of the opponent’s shields. The key to Dusknoir making it into the League is mainly because of Shadow Punch, an excellent Ghost-type move, and Dynamic Punch, a Fighting-type attack that expands its coverage.
Dusclops (Shadow)
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 Scizor, Clodsire, Nidoqueen, and Forretress.
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.
Sableye (Shadow)
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Shadow Claw
- Charged Moves: Foul Play and Power Gem
- Type: Dark/Ghost
- Resistances: Psychic, Normal, Poison, and Fighting
- Weaknesses: Fairy
The tiny Sableye can be deceitful, as it looks kind of weak and not threatening at all. However, its good type combination leaves it with only one weakness. Plus, it has a pretty solid move pool trainers can play with.
Even though both Fast Moves benefit from STAB and deal the same damage, Shadow Claw is much better due to its coverage and higher energy generation.
For the Charged Move, Foul Play is the best way to go as it benefits from STAB, is cheap, has great coverage, and is spammy. This way, players can take down the opponent’s shields to then hit them full-on with Power Gem.
If you need a different type of coverage, you can always switch from Power Gem to Dazzling Gleam.
Drapion
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Poison Sting
- Charged Moves: Aqua Tail and Crunch
- Type: Poison/Dark
- Resistances: Psychic, Poison, Grass, Ghost, and Dark
- Weaknesses: Ground
One of Drapion’s strengths is the fact that it only has one weakness – Ground – and no full-on Ground-type Pokemon is near the best performers for this season.
On the other hand, its move pool is vast and diverse, so it can offer wide coverage against plenty of opponents, which is why having all three moves be different types (Poison, Water, and Dark in this case) is a fantastic strategy.
Poison Sting is cheap and fast, Aqua Tail helps with coverage, and Crunch is a powerful move that benefits from STAB.
Scizor (Shadow)
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Bullet Punch
- Charged Moves: Night Slash and Trailblaze
- Type: Bug/Steel
- Resistances: Grass, Poison, Bug, Dragon, Fairy, Ice, Normal, Psychic, and Steel
- Weaknesses: Fire
Gen 2’s Scizor is a spammy and fast Pokemon that can exert pressure on the opponent. However, it’s a bit of a glass cannon, so use it as a lead or switch when you still have shields to protect it with.
Bullet Punch deals more damage than Fury Cutter, so it’s better to go with it. For the Charged Moves, use Night Slash to bait the opponent’s shields and increase your Attack stat by 50%. Then add Trailblaze to target Rock and Water-type enemies while increasing your Attack stat by 25%.
Runerigus
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Shadow Claw
- Charged Moves: Rock Tomb and Brutal Swing
- Type: Ground/Ghost
- Resistances: Poison, Normal, Fighting, Electric, Rock, and Bug
- Weaknesses: Dark, Ghost, Grass, Ice, and Water
The very strange-looking Runerigus is a great choice, thanks to its particular dual Ground/Ghost type combination and high Defense stat.
To play this Pokemon correctly, you should teach it the Fast Move Shadow Claw. It benefits from STAB and has a good balance between damage and energy generation.
Even though it doesn’t benefit from STAB, pair Shadow Claw with Brutal Swing. It expands coverage, but mainly can help you bait enemy shields to leave them defenseless early on. For the secondary Charged Move, go with Rock Tomb to decrease the target’s Attack stat by 20%.
Klefki
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Astonish
- Charged Moves: Foul Play and Play Rough
- Type: Steel/Fairy
- Resistances: Dragon, Bug, Rock, Psychic, Poison, Normal, Ice, Grass, Flying, Fairy, and Dark
- Weaknesses: Fire and Ground
Despite its very small size and ridiculous design, Klefki can be a helpful teammate if used correctly, mainly because of its Defense stat and spammy moves.
As a Fast Move, Tackle is useless, as it has poor energy gain, making it very hard to access the Charged Moves. This means you’ll have to use Astonish.
For the Charged Moves, use Foul Play as your main one. The Dark-type attack is Klefki’s cheapest option and can help you bait the opponent’s shields. Add Play Rough as your secondary Charged Move for strong damage with STAB.
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 Battle 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.
Nidoqueen
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Mud Slap
- Charged Move: Stone Edge and Poison Fang
- Type: Poison/Ground
- Resistances: Bug, Electric, Fairy, Fighting, Poison, and Rock
- Weaknesses: Ground, Ice, Psychic, and Water
Nidoqueen is a brilliant contender for the Hallowen Cup, with key wins against Clodsire, Forretress, and Jellicent. Regular Nidoqueen has a slight edge here, but Shadow Nidoqueen isn’t far behind in the rankings – and works great in different team compositions.
Mud Slap is one of the best-balanced Fast Moves Nidoqueen has, so go with it. Plus, it benefits from STAB. Poison Fang should be your primary Charged Move, with low cost, decent STAB damage, and the ability to decrease the target’s Defense stat by 20%.
Add Stone Edge as your secondary Charged Move to expand your coverage with a massive nuke.
Carbink
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Rock Throw
- Charged Moves: Rock Slide and Moonblast
- Type: Rock/Fairy
- 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 Halloween Cup team team is a must in the current meta.
This Pokemon’s Fast Move by default is Rock Throw, as it deals heavy damage and benefits from STAB. When it comes to Charged Moves, go with Rock Slide for a well-rounded Rock-type attack and Moonblast for some huge (albeit expensive) Fairy-type damage. This entire moveset has STAB, which makes it extra powerful.
Clodsire
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Poison Sting
- Charged Moves: Stone Edge and Earthquake
- Type: Poison/Ground
- Resistances: Poison, Electric, Rock, Fighting, Fairy, and Bug
- Weaknesses: Ground, Ice, Psychic, and Water
It might not look like it, but this huge blob is basically good at everything. It has good Defense, massive Stamina, and a versatile movepool – Clodsire’s access to 5 different types of moves makes it very hard to target and take down.
Clodsire might exert low Fast Move pressure with Poison Sting, but its fast charge helps reach its incredible Charged Moves sooner.
As for the Charged Moves, Earthquake is one of the best attacks of all time and benefits from STAB, while Stone Edge is a nuke that expands the Pokemon’s coverage.
Pokemon Go Halloween Cup rules & restrictions explained
The Halloween Cup is one of the most unique challenges in the Go Battle League, as the Pokemon must be at or below 1,500 CP to enter.
Moreover, only Poison, Bug, Ghost, Dark, and Fairy-type creatures are allowed to take part in the competition.
Halloween Cup: Great League Edition start & end date
The latest Pokemon Go Battle League season will run from September 2, 2025, until December 2, 2025.
During those three months, the Halloween Cup will run from October 28, 2025, until November 4, 2025, along with the regular Great League.
This means you’ll have just one week to dominate this Go Battle League cup and work your way to the top.
Those are the best Pokemon you can add to your Halloween Cup: Great League Edition 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.