Pokemon Go Great League: Best team to use, dates, more

With a new Great League season in full swing in Pokemon Go, players are eager to kick off in style and earn plenty of exciting Go Battle League rewards. So, here are the best PvP Pokemon and teams to help you beat the most challenging opponents in the Great League.

The Great League is the most competitive PvP format in the Go Battle League (GBL) of Pokemon Go, and with the World of Wonders season up and running, you must be eager to have a great headstart!

With many powerful Pokemon in the mix, you’ll need to build solid battling strategies and teams to win more battles.

But, as this format allows only species under 1500 CP, picking the best can be tough as there are many options to choose from.

So, here are our recommendations for the best species and team to use in the Pokemon Go Great League.

• Pokemon Go Great League dates
• Best Pokemon Go Great League species
• Best team for Pokemon Go Great League

Pokemon Go Great League dates

The Pokemon Go Great League will run from March 22, 2024, until April 5, 2024.

Before that, you can enjoy the Spring Cup: Great League Edition until March 22, 2024. Here are the rules for this special PvP format:

• Pokemon must be at or below 1,500 CP to be eligible.
• Only Water, Grass, and Fairy-type Pokemon are allowed.
• Mantine and Toxapex are banned from this format.

Best Pokemon Go Great League species

Here are the best species to use in Pokemon Go Great League:

Registeel

• Weaknesses: Fighting, Ground, Fire
• Resistances: Normal, Flying, Rock, Bug, Steel, Grass, Psychic, Ice, Dragon, Fairy, Poison
• Best moveset: Lock On and Focus Blast / Zap Cannon

As always, having a Legendary Pokemon in your team can make a huge difference, and Registeel is one of the classic Pokemon for the Pokemon Go Great League. In fact, it consistently stands as one the best Pokemon for this League, according to PvPoke rankings, due to its incredible bulk and moveset.

For Registeel’s moveset you’ll want Lock On as a Fast Move, so you can generate energy fast to deliver powerful Charged Moves. Either Focus Blast or Zap Cannon will deal massive damage to opponents.

Carbink

• Weaknesses: Steel, Grass, Ground, Water
• Resistances: Dragon, Bug, Dark, Fire, Flying, Normal
• Best moveset: Rock Throw and Rock Slide / Moonblast

Carbink is a powerful addition to the Pokemon Go Great League meta and it has one of the highest Defense stats in the game. It is comparable to the popular Bastiodon in bulk, but Carbink doesn’t have its weakness to Fighting-types. In addition, it is not double-weak to Ground-type attacks.

For Carbink’s moveset, Rock Throw is the go-to Fast Move and pairs very well with Rock Slide. Moonblast is a helpful coverage move that helps Carbink deal with Dragon, Fighting, and Dark-types.

Skarmory

• Weaknesses: Electric, Fire
• Resistances: Bug, Grass, Poison, Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Ground, Normal, Psychic, Steel
• Best moveset: Steel Wing and Sky Attack / Brave Bird

Steel Wing gives Skarmory the perfect balance of Fast Move damage and energy gain, turning this Gen 2 Pokemon into an unpredictable menace.

Sky Attack is the Charged Move of choice, dealing an impressive 75 damage at just 50 energy while also being able to bait shields. Brave Bird is an extremely powerful move, with a massive damage output of 130. More importantly, it costs just 5 more energy than Sky Attack.

That said, you should know that using Brave Bird sharply drops Skarmory’s Defense stat so, you should resort to using this move only when the opponent’s shields are down. In a nutshell, Skarmory is a high-risk high-reward Pokemon in the Great League that can eliminate Grass-types and work as a safe switch-in.

Galarian Stunfisk

• Weaknesses: Fighting, Ground, Fire, Water
• Resistances: Normal, Flying, Rock, Bug, Steel, Psychic, Dragon, Fairy, Poison, Electric
• Best moveset: Mud Shot and Earthquake / Rock Slide

Steel-type Pokemon have many resistances that come in handy in the Pokemon Go Great League. Just like Registeel, Galarian Stunfisk can take advantage of this while having powerful moves for coverage when needed.

Mud Shot is the best option for the Fast Move, thanks to its quick energy generation. For the Charged Move, there’s nothing more powerful than Earthquake, but Rock Slide can provide the aforementioned coverage that can make Galarian Stunfisk a force to be reckoned with.

Lanturn

• Weaknesses: Grass, Ground
• Resistances: Steel, Fire, Flying, Ice, Water
• Best moveset: Spark and Surf / Thunderbolt

Lanturn’s Water/Electric-type combination gives it great offensive coverage while only having two weaknesses. The quick energy gains of Spark and the low energy cost of Surf ensure that Lanturn doesn’t have to worry too much about Ground types.

Lanturn is a great counter to meta-relevant Pokemon like Azumarill, Skarmory, Noctowl, Pelipper, and Galarian Stunfisk, making it a good lead in Great League bouts.

Scrafty

• Weaknesses: Fighting, Flying, Fairy
• Resistances: Rock, Ghost, Dark, Psychic
• Best moveset: Counter and Foul Play / Power-Up Punch

Scrafty’s type combination is great to put opponents in a tight spot, especially if it’s leading your team. The Gen 5 Pokemon can give some of the other Pokemon on this list a hard time with powerful and relentless attacks.

The best moveset for Scrafty includes Counter as the Fast Move, which is pretty much standard for any Fighting-type Pokemon. Additionally, Power Up Punch is great for spamming damage with STAB or shield-baiting opponents. Foul Play, on the other hand, offers great damage, especially for dealing with powerful Ghost and Psychic-type Pokemon.

Medicham

• Weaknesses: Flying, Ghost, Fairy
• Resistances: Fighting, Rock
• Best moveset: Counter and Ice Punch / Psychic

The Meditate Pokemon Medicham has proven to be a top choice for the Great League as well as different cups with special restrictions. The dual Psychic and Fighting-type Pokemon can deal with powerful opponents with ease and works very well as either a lead or a switch, thanks to its spamming capabilities.

Once again, Counter should be Medicham’s Fast Move, while Psychic can work great as its Charged Move. You might want to add Ice Punch to Medicham’s arsenal to have a coverage attack that can be spammed in case of emergency.

Noctowl

• Weaknesses: Rock, Electric, Ice
• Resistances: Bug, Grass, Ghost, Ground
• Best moveset: Wing Attack and Sky Attack / Shadow Ball

Noctowl might not be anyone’s top choice for Great League battles, but it’s a very accessible Pokemon with a few aces up its sleeve. Thanks to its wide availability, players can power up Noctowl to make it a great contender. Its type combination can also make it an unpredictable foe.

Wing Attack should be your go-to Fast Move, thanks to its fast energy generation. Sky Attack can complement Noctowl’s arsenal with more STAB. However, Shadow Ball can be a game changer for dealing with Ghost-type Pokemon, so you should keep that in mind.

Pelipper

• Weaknesses: Rock, Electric
• Resistances: Fighting, Bug, Steel, Fire, Water
• Best moveset: Wing Attack and Weather Ball (Water) / Hurricane

Season after season, Pelipper remains a very reliable pick for the Pokemon Go Great League competition. Its type combination brings an interesting set of resistances players can take advantage of to put Pelipper as either a lead or a solid switch.

Wing Attack is once again the best option for the Fast Move since it provides quick energy generation. Hurricane is the perfect Charged Move to inflict massive damage with STAB, but including another Charged Move can be very useful. Hydro Pump can also inflict massive damage, but Weather Ball is better for shield baiting thanks to its speed.

Trevenant

• Weaknesses: Flying, Ghost, Fire, Ice, Dark
• Resistances: Ground, Water, Grass, Electric, Normal, Fighting
• Best moveset: Shadow Claw and Seed Bomb / Shadow Ball

Closing with a Ghost-type Pokemon is an interesting strategy, and Trevenant has a lot to offer in that role. The very sought-after Pokemon has useful resistances for the Great League and can surprise trainers thanks to its secondary Grass type.

Shadow Claw is the best option for Trevenant’s Fast Move in this case, but the quick Sucker Punch can work as well. For Trevenant’s Charged Move, the combination of Seed Bomb and Shadow Ball can be devastating. Both deal damage with STAB, but the former is great for spamming, and the latter is perfect for decimating opponents.

Swampert

• Weaknesses: Grass
• Resistances: Poison, Rock, Steel, Fire, Electric
• Best moveset: Mud Shot and Hydro Cannon / Earthquake

Of all the Pokemon starters, Swampert is the most reliable in Pokemon Go’s PvP mode. It’s important to note that although Swampert has only one weakness, it’s a double weakness (x4) that trainers can take advantage of. But as long as you’re not facing any Grass-type Pokemon, Swampert will be able to display its full power.

Mud Shot should be Swampert’s Fast Move, and Earthquake should cover the Charged Move slot. Both work great in a combination that allows you to hit fast and hard. If you want to add a quick move to your arsenal, you can teach Swampert Hydro Cannon with an Elite Charged TM.

Bastiodon

• Weaknesses: Fighting, Ground, Water
• Resistances: Normal, Flying, Rock, Bug, Psychic, Ice, Dragon, Fairy, Poison
• Best moveset: Smack Down and Stone Edge / Flamethrower

The Shield Pokemon Bastiodon is another great option to close the battle with a bang. The dual Steel and Rock-type Pokemon is an extremely bulky attacker that can take a beating while inflicting massive damage. Players need to be careful since it has a double weakness against both Fighting and Ground-type attacks.

Bastiodon’s Fast Move options aren’t actually very fast, but Smack Down deals great damage. Stone Edge is a must as this Charged Move can annihilate opponents thanks to its STAB. On the other hand, Flamethrower can be a great tool for coverage and damage.

Lickitung

• Weaknesses: Fighting
• Resistances: Ghost
• Best moveset: Lick and Body Slam / Power Whip

Another bulky Pokemon that remains a top choice for the Great League is Lickitung. Normal-type Pokemon with good HP and Defense Stats can put any trainer in trouble, whether you’re fighting in a Gym or Pokemon Go’s PvP mode.

Lick is a great Fast Move for any Pokemon that can learn it. The choice for Charged Move can be more difficult here since Lickitung has a few good options to choose from. Hyper Beam can be great for dealing a lot of damage, but Body Slam is faster, which is ideal for shield baiting. Additionally, Stomp is a good alternative that doesn’t require an Elite Charged TM.

Lickitung can also learn Power Whip, which provides coverage, so you have an interesting arsenal to choose from.

Altaria

• Weaknesses: Rock, Ice, Dragon, Fairy
• Resistances: Fighting, Bug, Fire, Water, Grass, Ground
• Best moveset: Dragon Breath and Sky Attack / Moonblast

Dragon-type Pokemon can also put opponents in tight spots, so Altaria can be a great asset for competitive matches. Trainers looking to add Altaria to their team should know that it has a double weakness against Ice-type attacks.

The best choice for Altaria’s Fast Move is Dragon Breath, but the choice for Charged Move is not that easy. Sky Attack deals decent damage with STAB, and Moonblast is great for coverage but requires an Elite Charged TM. Dazzling Gleam and Dragon Pulse are great as well in terms of damage, but Moonblast can also debuff opponents’ Stats for better results.

Best team for Pokemon Go Great League

Considering this list of Pokemon, the best team for the Pokemon Go Great League should include Registeel, Medicham, and Swampert.

Of course, including any of the Pokemon listed above will be great for your team composition. Keep in mind that there’s no ultimate team in Pokemon Go and every battle can go very differently depending on your opponent’s choices.

That’s all you need to know about the best Great League Pokemon Go species. For more Pokemon content, check out our other guides:

How to get Shaymin in Pokemon Go | How to get Rotom in Pokemon Go | Pokemon Go Egg chart | Pokemon Go Spotlight Hour schedule | How to catch Ditto in Pokemon Go | Active Pokemon Go friend codes | How to beat Giovanni in Pokemon Go | Best Eevee evolutions in Pokemon Go