DEXERTOThe Catch Cup is back in the Pokemon Go Battle League with a brand-new Great League edition, and we’ve rounded up the best Pokemon you can use to build a winning team.
While the standard Great, Ultra, and Master League formats dominate most rotations, Niantic loves shaking things up with limited-time Cups that test players’ flexibility and team-building instincts.
As part of the Tales of Transformation season, the Catch Cup: Great League Edition makes a one-week return, giving trainers a short window to prepare – and even less time to catch eligible contenders.
If you’re unsure which Pokemon are worth bringing into battle, we’ve put together the top picks that can reliably carry your team through the chaos.
Best team for the Pokemon Go Catch Cup: Great League Edition
One of the best teams you can use in Pokemon Go’s Catch Cup for this year includes Morpeko, Shadow Dusknoir, and Corviknight. These are some of the strongest creatures in the meta, and together they will provide wide coverage against most opposing types.
Another team that players could try out includes Galarina Moltres, Clodsire, and Stunfisk.
As with any League or Cup, it’s impossible to say what a true “best” team looks like, 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 Moltres
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Sucker Punch
- Charged Moves: Ancient Power 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 Corviknight, Malamar, and Furret. Plus, its bulky Defense stat can help it lead any team.
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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 Ancient Power is relatively cheap and has a chance to increase the user’s Attack and Defense stats by 25%.
Sableye (XL)
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Shadow Claw
- Charged Moves: Foul Play and Dazzling Gleam
- 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 the nuke Dazzling Gleam.
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 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.
Jumpluff
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Fairy Wind
- Charged Moves: Aerial Ace and Energy Ball
- Type: Grass/Flying
- Resistances: Ground, Grass, Water, and Fighting
- Weaknesses: Ice, Fire, Flying, Poison, and Rock
Even though it has a sweet look, 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 Energy Ball.
Aerial Ace is pretty cheap and deals ok damage while covering Fighting, Bug, and Grass types. Energy Ball offers different coverage and deals massive damage at a very low cost.
Grumpig
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Psywave
- Charged Moves: Dynamic Punch and Shadow Ball
- Type: Psychic
- Resistances: Psychic and Fighting
- Weaknesses: Bug, Dark, and Ghost
Even though Grumpig doesn’t have others’ impressive bulk, this Pokemon is a great choice for the Catch Cup as it offers wide coverage and decent, solid stats.
While Charge Beam is a good fast-charge Fast Move, Psywave is way better, as it also benefits from STAB. Pair it with the Charged Move Dynamic Punch. It is cheap and can expand – even more – this Pokemon’s coverage.
As a secondary Charged Move, go for Shadow Ball. It is actually not expensive at all, and it is a Ghost-type nuke that will leave your Grumpig protected against several opponents.
Corviknight
NIANTIC/DEXERTO- Fast Move: Sand Attack
- Charged Moves: Sky Attack and Iron Head
- Type: Flying/Steel
- Resistances: Bug, Grass, Poison, Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Normal, Psychic, Steel, and Ground
- 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.
As for the Charged Moves, Sky Attack and Iron Head are both cheap and powerful moves that also benefit from STAB.
Togedemaru
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Thunder Shock
- Charged Moves: Wild Charge and Fell Stinger
- Type: Electric/Steel
- Resistances: Bug, Dragon, Electric, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Ice, Normal, Poison, Psychic, Rock, and Steel
- Weaknesses: Fighting, Fire, and Ground
Togedemaru gives an average performance in the main Leagues, but in the Catch Cup, it gets a proper chance to shine as one of the top contenders in the meta. With a massive 12 resistances and key wins over the likes of Malamar, Furret, and Corviknight, and more, it’s not hard to see why.
The combination of Thunder Shock as a Fast Move and Wild Charge as a Charged Move gives Togedemaru a brilliant Electric-type offense. However, the latter will decrease your Defense stat by 33.3%, so be careful.
You can back up the full Electric-type moveset with Fell Stinger, which can be used as shield bait while also increasing your Attack stat by 25%.
Drapion (Shadow)
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.
Machoke (Shadow)
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Karate Chop
- Charged Moves: Cross Chop and Dynamic Punch
- Type: Fighting
- Resistances: Bug, Dark, and Rock
- Weaknesses: Fairy, Flying, and Psychic
Machoke has very well-rounded stats and a strong move pool that allows it to exploit its full Fighting-type potential (with STAB) to stand strong against League favorites such as Furret, Corviknight, Drapion, and Malamar.
Karate Chop is its best Fast Move, as it has higher damage output and faster energy gain. As for the Charged Moves, Cross Chop is extremely cheap, spammy, and deals better damage than Brick Break. However, it requires an Elite TM, so consider that.
For the secondary Charged Move, go with Dynamic Punch. It costs the same as Submission, but deals more damage.
Pangoro
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Karate Chop
- Charged Moves: Close Combat and Night Slash
- Type: Fighting/Dark
- Resistances: Dark, Rock, Psychic, and Ghost
- Weaknesses: Fairy, Fighting, and Flying
Pangoro has very bad Defense and might use all your shields, but as a lead and with the right moves, it can give you an advantage in combat, as it is extremely fast and powerful.
Similar to Machop, Karate Chop will fast charge your Charged Moves. Night Slash is great because it’s so cheap that you can spam it to finally use Close Combat. Plus, the Dark-type move has a chance to increase your Attack by 50%.
Clodsire
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Poison Sting
- Charged Moves: Sludge Bomb 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 Sludge Bomb is cheap and strong. Plus, it benefits from STAB.
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.
Morpeko (Full Belly)
NIANTIC/DEXERTO- Fast Move: Thunder Shock
- Charged Moves: Aura Wheel and Psychic Fangs
- Type: Electric/Dark
- Resistances: Psychic, Steel, Ghost, Flying, Electric, and Dark
- Weaknesses: Bug, Fairy, Fighting, and Ground
Despite its tiny size and disappointing defense, Morpeko (Full Belly) is an outstanding Pokemon to use in this particular Cup, mostly due to its Aura Wheel move.
When in combat, the Fast Move Thunder Shock will allow Morpeko to quickly access its Charged Move Aura Wheel. It is not only extremely powerful and cheap, but it also increases the user’s Attack stat by 25% every time, making Morpeko an unstoppable machine.
Combine it with Psychic Fangs for more coverage, and you’ll secure a win in most of your encounters.
Malamar (Shadow)
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Psywave
- Charged Moves: Foul Play and Superpower
- Type: Dark/Psychic
- Resistances: Psychic
- Weaknesses: Bug and Fairy
Malamar’s stats are pretty balanced, which is why it can work fine either as a lead or a closer. As a Dark/Psychic-type creature, it is resistant to the almighty Grumpig, but players need to be careful about its Fairy weakness, as there are pretty strong Fairy types such as Clefable.
The Psywave, Foul Play, and Superpower combo has a fluid and dynamic matchup that allows Malamar to get STAB from both Psychic and Dark moves, respectively, while also expanding its coverage with a Fighting attack.
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 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.
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.
In this case, that means all creatures must have been captured after September 2, 2025, to participate. But that’s not all, as the Pokemon that enter the Great League Edition must be at or below the 1,500 CP limit, and no Mythicals or Legendaries are allowed.
Catch Cup: Great League Edition start & end date
The latest Battle League season is underway, running from September 2, 2025, until December 2, 2025. For the rest of its run, this edition of the Catch Cup will appear on:
- November 25 – December 2, along with the Ultra League* & Master League*
Moreover, all the tournaments will offer x4 Stardust from win rewards.
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.