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Pokemon GO: Best Great, Ultra & Master League Pokemon

Time to become the very best in Pokemon GO's GO Battle League!

With the recent news of the Pokemon GO Battle League, it’s finally time to make sure your PVP teams are the best that they can be. This competitive format is going to be all about having the right Pokemon. The leagues will rotate throughout battle seasons, so you gotta make sure you have the best Pokemon at each level to come out on top. Here are the best Great, Ultra & Master League Pokemon.

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Best Great, Ultra & Master League Pokemon in Pokemon GO

The Pokemon GO Battle League preseason is going to start off with the Great League, then move to Ultra and come back around to the Great League. This rotation is expected to happen every season, but not necessarily in that order.

Since they’re going to be starting out with the Great League, that’s where we’ll start in our analysis.

Best Pokemon in Great League

  • Registeel
    • Lock On doesn’t do much damage, but it charges Zap Cannon and Focus Blast ridiculously fast. Registeel is also bulky enough to act as a wall against your opponent.
  • Galarian Stunfusk
    • Stunfisk is a great option because of its typing, but it also hits a number of the best Flying Pokemon hard with Rock Slide. Mud Shot and Earthquake are great for taking on everyone else
  • Medicham (XL)
    • Medicham is kind of a jack of all trades with a wide variety of attacks like Counter, Ice Punch, and Psychic. Just make sure that you get enough XL Candy for Medicham or else this Pokemon won’t be able to live up to its full potential.
  • Swampert (Regular or Shadow)
    • Swampert is one of the best overall Pokemon in the game with relevance in all three leagues and being a solid Water attacker for raids. Use your shields wisely and Swampert can take out almost any Pokemon with Mud Shot, Hydro Cannon, and Earthquake.
  • Scrafty
    • Scrafty is one of the veterans of the Great League who has been relevant since it debuted in Pokemon GO. Spam Power-Up Punch early to give Counter and Foul Play added effectiveness later on in battles.
  • Bastiodon (XL)
    • Just like Medicham, Bastiodon needs XL candy to reach its full potential in PvP. Once that’s done, giving it Smack Down, Stone Edge, and Flamethrower will make Bastiodon a formidable tank.
  • Trevenant
    • The sole Ghost-type in the top 10 also has some powerful Ghost- and Grass-type attacks that can help break down shields. Shadow Claw, Seed Bomb, and Shadow Ball should do the trick here, but just be selective where you send it out since it’s not very tanky.
  • Pelipper
    • It’s time to round out this list with some Flying-type Pokemon. Pelipper has decent bulk and can hit hard with Wing Attack, Water Weather Ball, and Hurricane. Just be careful to avoid Bastiodon and Galarian Stunfusk’s Rock-type attacks.
  • Noctowl
    • Noctowl is a fantastic Pokemon in Great league and a massive problem for fellow top ‘mon, Trevenant. Wing Attack charges the powerful Sky Attack and Shadow Ball shreds Trevenant plus most others who don’t resist Ghost attacks.
  • Altaria
    • Altaria is the longest-lasting Pokemon on this list. It was been a major player in the Great League since the GO Battle League began. Dragon Breath, Sky Attack, and Moonblast combined with its partial Dragon typing let it take on many different types of opponents.

Best Pokemon in Ultra League

  • Altered Forme Giratina
    • Altered Forme Giratina favors defense and doesn’t have Shadow Ball like its Origin Forme counterpart. However, this defensive ‘mon outlasts other Pokemon with just Shadow Claw, Dragon Claw, and Shadow Sneak.
  • Cresselia
    • Cresselia keeps the tanky Gen 4 legendary train going with its bulk and diverse moveset. Of course, it has a Psychic-type Psycho Cut, but it also can change things up with the Grass-type Grass Knot and the Fairy-type Moonblast.
  • Registeel (XL)
    • Registeel is high on this list for the same reasons that it’s on the Great League list. Lock On is great for charging up your stronger moves and this thing is a nearly immovable wall.
  • Regirock
    • Regirock is essentially the Rock-type version of Registeel. Use Lock On to charge your stronger moves, then use a move that gets STAB (Stone Edge) and one to cover its Steel-type weakness (Focus Blast).
  • Gliscor (Regular or Shadow)
    • Gliscor undoubtedly has one of the funniest typings in the game with Ground/Flying, but it’s no joke in the Ultra League. This Pokemon has one job and that’s to destroy your shields with Wing Attack charging nonstop Night Slashes and the occasional Earthquake.
  • Cobalion
    • Steel-types always have a great time in Pokemon GO Battle League (ignoring Master League). Giving Cobalion Double Kick, Sacred Sword, and Stone Edge grants it all the tools need to act as a defensive wall and deal massive damage.
  • Steelix (Regular or Shadow)
    • Another tanky Steel-type is next up. Steelix charges up Psychic Fangs and Crunch extremely quickly with Dragon Tail and its natural defense allows it to take on a wide range of opponents with relative ease.
  • Swampert (Regular or Shadow)
    • Swampert is a special case that can be great if it has the right moves. Mud Shot and Earthquake are no-brainers for this Pokemon, but you’ll also want to get one with the Community Day move Hydro Cannon.
  • Pidgeot (XL)
    • Good old Pidgeot is one of the best Pokemon in the Ultra League. While much less bulky than most of the ‘mons on this list, Pidgeot uses Wing Attack, Feather Dance, and Brave Bird to deal massive damage. It also helps that Pidgeot doesn’t have major disadvantages against almost all of the other Pokemon on this list.
  • Trevenant (XL)
    • Look who made their way up to the Ultra League list from the Great League. The only difference this time around is that you need to use XL Candy to make Trevenant usable in the Ultra League.

Best Pokemon in Master League

All Pokemon listed below are assumed to be XL at max level

  • Altered Forme Giratina
    • Part of the reason why Giratina rules the Master and Ultra Leagues is its unique typing. The only difference in Master League is that you should give Giratina Ancient Power to boost its stats. Its high defense and decent attacks make Giratina one of the most dangerous tanks in Pokemon GO.
  • Dragonite (Regular or Shadow)
    • Much like Giratina, one of Dragonite’s major advantages is its partial Dragon typing. The original Dragon has an overpowering moveset of Dragon Breath, Dragon Claw, and Superpower that lets it outlast almost any Pokemon.
  • Mewtwo (Regular or Shadow)
    • Mewtwo is one of the strongest Psychic-types and just one of the best Pokemon in the game. The charge moves Psystrike and Shadow Ball deal massive damage and Psycho Cut charges them quickly to easily tear through opposing shields.
  • Lugia (Regular or Shadow)
    • In case you haven’t noticed already, the Master League list is pretty much all Legendary Pokemon. Lugia continues this trend as one of the most Powerful Psychic-types. However, it doesn’t use any Psychic attacks with an optimal moveset of Dragon Tail, Sky Attack, and Aeroblast.
  • Solgaleo
    • As of right now, Solgaleo is the only part of the light trio that is worth using in Master League. Lunala is average at best and Necrozma isn’t in the game yet. Since you can only get one right now you’ll need a lot of Rare Candy and XL Rare Candy to make Solgaleo usable with Fire Spin, Psychic Fangs, and Iron Head.
  • Kyurem
    • Up until Kyurem got Glaciate, it was a pretty average Pokemon. Now, it’s undeniably one of the best options in the Master League. Pair up that Ice-type attack with Dragon Breath and Dragon Claw to get a terrifyingly fast attacker on your team.
  • Hero Form Zacian
    • A Fairy-type Pokemon is finally on the list. All the way from Galar, Hero Form Zacian is a solid tank with a good moveset of Quick Attack, Close Combat, and Play Rough that helps draw out enemy shields extremely quickly.
  • Aria Forme Meloetta
    • Think of this Pokemon like Snorlax. It’s massively bulky and gets STAB on Normal attacks. The biggest difference is that it’s also part Psychic, so it can learn Psyshock. Quick Attack and Dazzling Gleam round out the moveset with Hyper Beam being an alternative. However, Dazzling Gleam offers more coverage.
  • Groudon
    • Groudon is pretty simple in Master League. It has just three jobs, beat Zacian, beat Mewtwo, and beat anyone foolish enough to send out a Steel-type against this Pokemon. Mud Shot, Earthquake, and Fire Punch will seal the deal for Groudon.
  • Origin Forme Giratina
    • We have reached the end of the list with Origin Forme Giratina. This bulky Ghost/Dragon Pokemon is a pure Ghost attacker with Shadow Claw, Shadow Ball, and Ominous Wind at its disposal.

Those are all the best Pokemon for the Great, Ultra & Master Leagues in Pokemon GO. Keep in mind that these are subject to change as Pokemon learn new moves and as new creatures are introduced into the game. Battle hard and don’t forget to shield!

If you want to read up more on the Pokemon GO Battle League, then check out all the information here. For more on the game, be sure to search for Twinfinite.

Source: pvpoke


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Author
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Omar Banat
Omar is a UofM Duluth graduate who is obsessed with Smash Bros. Video games are life, but life is not video games. Playing Games Since: 1991, Favorite Genres: Puzzle, Platformer, Action-Adventure (mainly Metroidvanias)