Also how do i upload the screen recording of the battle to here?

Hi i am not new to pokemon go i have played it for a while now but the one thing i have neglected is the PVP side of the game. But now i do really want to get into it and push up the ranks. Are there any tips or certain mons that should be used with a certain move-set? Thank you everyone

Been playing regular battle league for a while - I'm not great, about 1800 in Great and Ultra League. I'm looking for others that play though, would be nice to have people today discuss go battle with and throw games back and forth to try and get better. Does Pokemon go have any clans, groups, guilds, or that sort of thing ? Any groups willing to take in a noob go battler?

Hey all,

Just checking to see if you've experienced the same. I have no data here, but I've generally seen that the earlier in the day, the better the opponent. Battles at 5am are usually met with opponents much better than their ELO, and the later, the opposite. IE, this morning I encountered three opponents with ELO 1,600 that had all maxed legendary Pokémon with advanced tactics (counting moves, good switches for my charged attacks to hit their desired target.) Even though I'm a morning person, I avoid doing battles for this.

I happened to be up a bit later than usual last night and doing the battles, I found the opponents noticeably worse than before.

Anyone else seen this?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-HGCwjw1aClkZfvMW2DFgLRXL-Z4o82lr_65PVTAhiI/edit

There are two sheets separating Elite Fast and Charge move data. The first sheet list all pokémon that will evolve with an elite fast move & that moves PVP stats. The second sheet will include the same information for the evolutions with elite charge moves. DPS, DPE, EPS, and all move stats relevant to PVP came directly from Poke Genie and calculations for DPS & DPE account for STAB bonuses m.

I completed this on my phone for some reason and it took me entirely too long to organize, format, and input. Please excuse the rudimentary presentation.

I have way too many Eevees I feel that I have "saved" but now it just feel like I'm hoarding lol. Aside from Umbreon being good in GL and UL* PvP, what other Eeveelutions are worth it?

Glaceon is still in my roster as a budget raid attacker, and Sylveon looks like a budget fairy type attacker as well (and maaaaybe a pvp option) Other than that I don't see any of the other Eeveelutions having any play in PvE or PvP. Any suggestions/things to look out for?

I have 3 guaranteed lucky trades left and I'm deciding on trying to persue necrozma, palkia, or apex hoho

I have a 100% necrozma already which I'll make into dawn wings, I have a 15/14/13 necrozma (lucky) that I can make into duskmane or use another 1-2 luckies on another necrozma to try and get atleast 15/15/13 for duskmane. Or should I save the 3 for other mon's?

801008996632

Add and DM me

I did a couple battles so that I could get the hearts with my buddy. Chose low cp pokemon on my teams so the battles could be over with quickly. But each battle I went into my opponent would not attack unless I attacked, and I dont mean the person was just waiting to for me to attack before they did. But that they would only attack when I would tap on the screen, as if it was some sort of bot copying my inputs. This has only started happening for me this season, anybody else experiencing this?

I struggle with team building and don't know where to start

Hello! I’m new to Pokémon and Pokemon Go as of June this year. I’m really enjoying it and feel like I’m ready to explore the battle league. Does anyone have a good resource that they’ve used themselves to read up on how the battle league works? Or do you mind sharing any information? Do you have any tips like what Pokémon are good to use, which are weak, should I have a team, if 3 stars are better, etc.? I wanted to ask here before hitting google. 😁

Anyone else having serious bugs with GBL? Whenever I KO anyone or a pokemon switches in/out of battle, it lags for like 3-5 seconds. Serious issue for me, assuming it’s widespread?

Would you support unranked battles where we could use any mons we want, and Niantic wouldn't match you against someone based on skill/team and was TRULY RANDOM (I know algorithm belief is a touchy subject lol) I just wanna use terrible mons against other terrible mons :(

Trying to get to level 44, so I have to actually pretend to care about battling in this game. Anyways I have noticed only twice ever have I had someone surrender, despite many battles where my first pokemon wasn’t even close to dying.

Is there some kind of punishment for surrendering, or is it all bots. Kind of seems like bots when there’s exactly 7 seconds to find a match every time and after win streaks you end up against a team that exactly counters every member of your team.

Is it worth it to focus time and rare candies on a 9/15/13 Zygarade for a complete form (and possibly BBing it)?

I have a rhyperior primarina and ursaluna that for a good abb. Any other suggestions? No legendaries please. And only actual good teams that can climb. Only really want feed back from legends as well. Thanks

Hey all, I have a 15/14/15 Shadow Ho-Oh, Been using it in ML the last couple seasons, I know the whole stigma around purification, but specifically from a PvP standpoint, would the purification be worth it, or no, save this guy as a shadow (I’ve not done it yet because I know how good the shadow is perceived as)

I'm currently using using Palkia-o SR (15/15/13), Dusk Mane (15/15/14) and Primarina (15/15/15). I want to keep using Palkia and DM, any suggestion for the Primarina replacement so I can start walking or planning to raid more that pokemon? Thanks

I just noticed this with the new Holiday Little Cup. I haven’t played Master League so I can’t confirm but every time a Pokémon Faints there’s a 2-3 second pause before switching to the next Pokémon. It seems like this also happens when a trainer intentionally switches mons

Is any one else noticing this? Is it by design or some sort of lag?

It’s happening so consistently that it feels like it’s by design

I know UL isn’t in the rotation rn but I wanted to ask for advice on Pokemon I should build and teams to try out. I feel I should mention I haven’t played PvP since prior to the meta switch so I don’t know what is and isn’t good. I also was never rlly good at PvP (walled at 2000 elo every season) so I am looking to get better and to hopefully make it to veteran one day but I realize that isn’t realistic as of now. I also only have 20K dust so I am in a bit of a pickle. Any suggestions?

The "Nifty Or Thrifty" article series takes a comprehensive look at the meta for PvP Cup formats: Holiday Cup in Little League, in this case. As is typical for the NoT series, I'll cover not only the top meta picks, but also some mons where you can save some dust with cheaper second move unlock costs or using as little XL Candy as possible. Because for those on a stardust budget — and/or folks trying to save up some dust for the future — it can be daunting trying to figure out where to spend or not spend it. We all want to field competitive teams, but where can we get the best bang for our buck and where should we perhaps channel our inner scrooge?

A quick reminder of what Holiday Cup (Little League Edition) is:

• Little League, 500 CP Limit.

• Only Electric, Flying, Ghost, Grass, Ice, and Normal type Pokémon are allowed.

As I try to usually do, I will start with those with the cheapest second move unlock cost and steam ahead until we finally arrive at the expensive Legendaries. Although in this meta, there is one thing I need to get out of the way first....

NO SECOND MOVE AVAILABLE

SMEARGLE

Incinerate/Lock-On/Karate Chop/Sucker Punch/Astonish/etc | Flying Press/Fly/Stone Edge/etc/etc

The possibilities are literally endless. People have done all kinds of crazy things to get some insane movesets on their Smeargles, as you can take a photo of something with Frustration and get almost any move in the game in that same move slot with the resulting, photobombing Smeargle. The one a lot of people seem to talk about for THIS meta is Incinerate/Flying Press, and while that is indeed terrifying, you know what? Smeargle can get even scarier. MUCH scarier. And some combinations don't even require Frustration hijinks... that last one can be had by photobombing the right Regirock, for example. The only thing that will keep it from completely taking over this Cup is that it has to be maxed out to approach 500 CP, and many cannot do that.

I'll be sure to highlight things that generally handle Smeargle as we go, for the majority of us that don't have one but want to be able to enjoy this meta anyway. Here we go with the rest of the review!

So Smeargle is banned... huzzah! Pleased to say you can just ignore anything about it from here on out.

10,000 Dust/25 Candy

PIKACHU LIBRE

Thunder Shock | Flying Press & Thunder Punch

The fact that it is SO good here shouldn't be... well, shocking. (Yesssss... your groans only make me stronger!) Flying Press remains a completely broken move (only 40 energy for 90 damage with no drawbacks) that is only kept in check by the fact that hardly anything has it... just Hawlucha, potentially Smeargle (more on that menace later), and ol' reward-for-reaching-Legend Libre. But as if that wasn't good enough, Libre just had Thunder Shock and Thunder Punch buffed too. Not only does it do all the stuff you'd expect of an Electric type (beating every Water type and nearly every Flying type in the Cup), but it also smacks around a ton of Fighting-weak Ice, Normal, and/or Rock types... you know, a massive chunk of the meta. Throw in bonus wins over the big Fire types and stuff like Annihilape, and dang, this is a good target for trades before the Cup arrives, don't you think? The good news is that you can rather easily get it at 500 CP or less in a trade, and even with "bad" IVs, it performs about the same. (Even with REALLY bad IVs!)

Still don't have one? There are other Pikachus you can use, though none reach quite that same level. ROCK STAR comes the closest, though it misses out on big things that Flying Press is needed to beat, like Abomasnow, Diggersby, Alolan Vulpix, and Amaura and Aurorus. And that's where Libre's advantages mostly lie: beating Ice and Normal and Rock types that Fighting damage should beat, as well as many opposing Electric types. Rock Star's Meteor Mash does have its own advantages though, allowing Rock Star to overcome most Ghosts and even most otherwise deadly Ground types, as well as, interestingly, a bunch of Grass types too. It has a bit more merit than those core meta sims would imply, with less than 10 wins separating it and Libre when you consider the entire 500+ Pokémon format.

"FLYING" Pikachu (there are several variants, but any of the ones with Fly as a charge attack count) is another interesting one here, particularly if it has high rank IVs which adds on stuff like Annihilape, Shadow A-Wak, and sometimes Smeargle to a winlist that already includes stuff not even Libre can beat, like Joltik, Litwick, and Grasses like Chikorita. But uh... you still lose things that Flying Press annihilates like Amaura/Aurorus, Aboma, Diggersby, Alolan Vulpix/Ninetales and such.

Things do fall off a bit after that, though. Regular Pikachu wants good IVs AND Legacy Surf, and still comes in mostly behind the others. It can work, but it's more of an uphill battle and at that point you're probably best off looking elsewhere. Like to big bro RAICHU, perhaps! At least it can also dish out some Fighting damage with Brick Break. Call it a poor man's Libre.

FLETCHLING

Quick Attack | Fly & Swift

Fun fact: Fletchling is NOT a Fire type like its two evolutions. It's a Normal Birb, so both Quick Attack and the recently buffed Swift actually get STAB damage! It's actually the best Flying type in this format period by a pretty wide margin... after all, most Flyers struggle with all the Pikachus I just talked about! Fletchling struggles there too obviously, but what it DOES do that otherr Flyers cannot is beat things like CharmTales, Skeledirge, Mandibuzz, Miltank, Diggersby, and Alolan Marowak that should appear frequently. It's a very nice option in this format.

TALONFLAME

Incinerateᴸ | Fly & Flame Charge

While it's ranked much lower, Talonflame is actually a close competitor to its pre-evolution. Being a Fire type with good Fire damage does have its advantages, such as taking out Joltik, Litwick, Alolan Sandslash, and Abomasnow that non-Fire Flyers (like Fletchling) can't really replicate. Realistically the bulk of the damage is going to be done with Incinerate, as Talonflame lacks the bulk to reach many charge moves, but Fly and Flame Charge offer the best overall coverage and affordable cost... the rest are kind of overkill anyway.

CHARIZARD

Fire Spin | Dragon Claw & Blast Burnᴸ

ALL that said, here comes a bit of a shock: Charizard might actually be the best of all. As with most Flyers other than Fletchling, it does generally lose to Miltank, Diggersby, and Mandibuzz, but it beats everything Talonflame can plus Skeledirge, Alolan Vulpix, Shadow Alolan Marowak, and Talon itself in the head to head, thanks in very large part to Dragon Claw, which is a much better weapon in this low HP League than it usually is elsewhere. And Fire Spin was also buffed in Season 20 with a bit more damage. Zard is pretty gnarly in this meta, folks! I don't recommend ShadowZard quite as much (it struggles with Litwick and does even worse than others versus Smeargle), but it's certainly viable too.

SKELEDIRGE

Incinerate | Disarming Voice & Shadow Ball

It's pretty great in this meta, doing big Fire things while also handling (most) other Fires thanks to Shadow Ball, stuff like Annihilape thanks to Disarming Voice, and occasional bonuses like Aurorus too. I like its versatility, though spoiler alert: Alolan Marowak that we cover later is generally a bit better all-around.

PYROAR & LITLEO

Incinerate | Flame Charge & Dark Pulse/Crunch

Pyroar and Litleo also bring the heat with Incinerate, which is just nasty in HP-capped Little League. Pyroar's Dark Pulse is better at picking off Skeledirge (and Ghosts in general), but that's about all that separates the pair. One big downside: while the Ghostly and Flying Fire types above can all handle the otherwise scary Incinerate/Flying Press Smeargle, Pyroar and Litleo — being part Normal and thus weak to Flying Press — don't survive. As this is very quietly but very importantly one of the top roles for Fire types in this meta, not handling Flying Press Smeargle is a notable knock against this otherwise powerful pair.

BIBAREL

Rollout | Surf & Hyper Fang

What better way to extinguish those Fires than with some Water? Conveniently, Bibarel's new Rollout smashes Fire types too, as well as bringing in utility versus all the Ice and Flying types in this meta. Put it all together, and I would say that Bib is criminally underrated going into Little Holiday Cup, nearly ranking outside the Top 100. Shadow Bibarel is just as good too, picking up Mandibuzz in 1- and 2shield, Diggersby with shields down, and Alolan Sandslash in 2shield, while trading away only Joltik in 0shield and Miltank in 1shield among things in the core meta. Either way, if you have a good one, this is a GREAT place to use it as one of the very best thrifty options, dirt cheap to build even right now from the ground up.

DIGGERSBY

Quick Attack | Fire Punch & Scorching Sands

Particularly with high rank IVs (which gains things like Libre in 1shield, Alolan Vulpix in 0shield, and Skeledirge in 2shield as compared to more average IVs), Diggs is a pretty good half-Normal in this meta too, holding down most major Fire and Electric types (as you would expect), plus things CharmTales and Miltank as bonuses. Its mixed moveset makes it threatening to nearly everything in the meta, though most Ice and Grass types can maneuver around Fire Punch long enough to escape with a win. They don't feel too good when it's over, though! 🔥

OBSTAGOON

Counter | Night Slash & Cross Chop

It's obviously diminished with the nerf to Counter, but there's not much here that has a full Fighting moveset, so yes, Goonie is still good enough. Its role is clear: beat up on (most) Ice and Normal types, and little else, though wins over Stunfisk and some Ghosts like Shadow Litwick are nice bonuses.

SENTRET

Quick Attack | Brick Break & Dig

For another Normal type with Fighting damage, PvPoke recommends DUBWOOL with Double Kick. However, I'm not overly impressed. Instead, I'm actually going to recommend rolling with Sentret and its Brick Break. While Dubwool can take down A-Slash and Sentret cannot, look at all that Sentret CAN beat that Dubwool struggles with: Amaura, Abomasnow, A-Vulpix, Stunfisk, Litwick and more. That said, Dubwool IS rather beastly if it gets a Wild Charge around shields (while Sentret is more pedestrian in 0shield), so this might come down to playstyle and team composition. But I like little Sentret quite a bit here, and heck, when else are you going to have a chance to use it? Go have some fun... after all, it's a game, right?

ELEKID

Thunder Shock | Brick Break & Thunder Punch

Speaking of Brick Break, check out Elekid! With that and the buffed Thunder Shock and Thunder Punch, it's an amazingly scrappy little guy in this meta. And yes, you MAY actually have one lying around at 500 CP or less; while it's never been in the wild and the vast majority have come only via hatching (which is way too high level), past special research during the Instinctive Hero event in May 2023, and again during the Triumph Together event just this past August. Check and see if you have an unexpected treasure in your collection! It handles all the stuff you'd expect of an Electric type AND a ton of Fighting-weak Ice, Normal, and/or Rock types, and conveniently most of the big Fire types too!

LEAVANNY

Shadow Clawᴸ | Leaf Blade & X-Scissor

There's a good chance you didn't bother building a Little League Leavanny during its Community Day. But if you did.... And if not, you can build one during the December Community Day rehash and at least run it for the second week of Little Holiday Cup when it comes back on December 31st.

COTTONEE

Charm/Razor Leaf | Seed Bomb & Grass Knot

Listen, Uncle JRE is going to be straight with you: Cottonee is not very good here. But I also recognize the reality that a ton of people run it in any all eligible Little League formats, so you WILL see it. Count on that, and just be careful not to get your Electric or Ground or Fighting or Dragon or Dark type locked in against a Cottonee in the back.

JIGGLYPUFF

Feint Attack | Swift & Disarming Voice

For mostly the same reasons as Cottonee, WIGGLYTUFF is also lackluster here, but Jigglypuff could be a surprising star. Disarming Voice is plenty of Fairy damage in this HP-capped meta, and Swift is obviously pretty great now too. Feint Attack is not all that great, but at least it can reach those charge moves much faster than Charm, and the combination of those moves and that intriguing, Ghost-resistant Normal/Fairy typing makes Jiggly dangerous to a surprising number of things in Little Holiday Cup. IGGLYBUFF is a slightly different flavor that works nicely too, but is MUCH more expensive to build.

ALTARIA

Dragon Breath | Sky Attack & Moonblastᴸ

I know people have build Little League Altarias in the past, but they've been relegated to the dust bin for quite a while now. This MAY be the time to try it out again as a decent generalist that also happens to beat the terrifying Incinerate Smeargle (even with the dreaded Flying Press too!)... but one which MUST avoid Ice. Nearly its entire core meta loss list is Ice types (and/or Fairies). Bring it in at the right moment and it still has enough left in the tank to dominate one more time.

50,000 Dust/50 Candy

ALOLAN MAROWAK

Fire Spin | Bone Club & Shadow Boneᴸ/Shadow Ball

Ranked all the way up at #3 in Little Holiday Cup (and also #4!), and you know what? I see little reason to argue with that. The majorly buffed Bone Club (with support from Shadow Bone, or Shadow Ball in a pinch) buries opposing Fire types, Fire Spin burns through Ice and Grass types and stuff like Joltik, and the combination takes down notable Normals like Miltank, Diggersby, and yes, most iterations of Smeargle that you can expect to see as well (like the Incinerate/Flying Press gold standard), without needing resisted Shadow Bone/Ball at all. That's all for the Shadow version, at least... notable that non-Shadow A-Wak lags a bit behind by losing to things like Joltik, Diggersby, and Talonflame. There is very little reason NOT to run A-Wak if you have one at the ready! ☠️

ALOLAN SANDSLASH

Powder Snow | Ice Punch & Drill Run

With the buff to Ice Punch, A-Slash more clearly gets the nod over ALOLAN SANDSHREW now more than ever. And yes, you can build it without Legacy Shadow Claw... with the number of Ghost-resistant Normal types around, Powder Snow is generally better in this meta anyway, with wins Claw cannot match like Mandibuzz, Diggerby, and Miltank. Shadow A-Slash is very similar but perhaps slightly better, with no major differences in 1shield, an extra win over Diggersby with shields down, and most impressively, added wins versus Stunfisk, Libre, Shadow A-Vulpix, and Amaura in 2v2 shielding.

ALOLAN NINETALES

Charm/Powder Snow | Weather Ball (Ice) & Psyshock

For CharmTales, Shadow is better, with extra wins non-Shadow cannot match like Libre, Miltank, and Amaura. If you insist, though, you CAN run Powder Snow and also do pretty well as a Shadow, trading away things like Libre and CharmTales itself to instead beat stuff like Stunfisk and Diggersby. Which suits YOUR team better, dear reader?

ALOLAN VULPIX is, honestly, rather disappointing, however. You certainly can run it, but I'm having a hard time thinking of what it can do that other Ice options aren't just better at....

SNORUNT

Powder Snow | Icy Wind & Shadow Ball

One base evolutionary Ice that does work well is little chilly Snorunt. Powder Snow and Icy Wind are a good start, and then Shadow Ballpushes things over the edge with wins over several Ice types (Amaura and Alolan Sandslash, Ninetales, and Vulpix). High rank IVs bring in Joltik and Abomasnow too. Neat!

SPHEAL/SEALEO

Water Gun | Body Slam & Water Pulse

As we somewhat saw with Bibarel, Water damage can be powerful in this meta, so yes, Spheal and Sealeo seem best not with the standard Powder Snow, but humble Water Gun instead, rolling from there into widely neutral Body Slam and MORE Water damage with Water Pulse. Spheal has slightly more bulk and a slightly better record (+ Amaura), but Sealeo works just fine too... you can play whichever one you have ready for Little League and barely notice a difference. And if you just can't bear the thought of having NO Ice coverage, sure, you can run Aurora Beam, but it is slightly worse overall and doesn't gain you what you'd think... it's just not a very good move.

WALREIN

Waterfall/Powder Snowᴸ | Icicle Spearᴸ & Water Pulse/Earthquake

Well similar to Water Gun above, it's finally arrived: the meta where Waterfall Walrein is legit! Yes, Powder Snow is still fine too (for non-Shadow Wally, at least), as long as you still tote around Water damage output via Water Pulse. But as you can tell by going even to the extreme of eliminating Ice damage entirely — normally an insane idea when you consider how good Powder Snow and Icicle Spear are — Water damage is really good here. I feel like I said that already? Anyway, I'd probably still try and keep Spear in the mix somewhere, but it's nice to have options... and the option to build Wally for this meta without needing ANY Legacy moves at all if you want to.

I also recommend running contrary to the normal Powder Snow and instead using Leafage if you run ABOMASNOW, just because it makes it quite unique here and gives it a niche... but honestly, I'm having trouble recommending Aboma at all. You can expect to see it here, though... similar to stuff like Cottonee, while it may not be highly recommended in this meta, it's a staple in Little League already that people WILL pull off the shelf.

Similarly, I normally DO recommend SWINUB in Little League, but it's a bit worse than I hoped to see in this particular meta. I think it has enough niche use to consider over Aboma, at least, but it probably requires some thoughful team composition to be as useful as it normally seems to be in formats like this.

JOLTIK

Sucker Punch | Cross Poison & Bug Buzz/Discharge

A bit of a weird one, as Joltik operates much more as a Swiss Army knife than its more straightforward big bro Galvantula. Sucker Punch and Cross Poison make this little guy truly unique in this meta, threatening and beating many Ghosts (even ones scary for Bugs like A-Wak and Skeledirge) as well as relevant Fairies like Alolan Ninetales and Grasses like Hisuian Electrode, and by resisting all of its moves, Pikachu Libre as a very nice bonus. Then it's just decision time on the closer: Discharge to try and blow away stuff like Talonflame, Litwick, and Aurorus, or Bug Buzz to add on things like Stunfisk and Diggersby?

HISUIAN ELECTRODE

Thunder Shock | Swift & Wild Charge

As I just mentioned it (I think for the first time?), yeah, let's highlight how good H-Trode is here. The buff to Swift (and Thunder Shock) is huge, giving it a ton of wins it could never achieve with pre-move-buff stats like Amaura and Aurorus (thanks to better baiting), Alolan Ninetales (and Vulpix), Abomasnow, Miltank, and Libre. And of course, it does the Electric job well, though its Grass type is just as much a curse (weakness to the Ice/Water types that most Electrics should pretty well dominate, for example) as it is a blessing (resisting Water, making Ground damage neutral).

TOGEDEMARU

Thunder Shock | Fell Stinger & Wild Charge

Nothing fancy here, just capitalizing on the buffed Thunder Shock again. Fell Stinger bait-n-buffs are important to take out things like Pibre and Alolan Ninetales/Vulpix, but Toge is pretty well positioned in this meta anyway thanks to the OHKO that often comes with Wild Charge at this level, as well as the many helpful resistances (Ice, Rock, and Normal especially) that come with its Steel subtyping. The downside? Vulnerabilities to Fighting (Flying Press, anyone?) and Fire that will be omnipresent in Little Holiday Cup.

TADBULB

Thunder Shock | Parabolic Charge & Discharge

Ever less fancy here, as we're talking straight Electric typing and moves. But what Tad has that most other Electrics do not is bulk. it also has (again) buffed Thunder Shock leading into fine charge moves, and that takes it a good long way. I don't know that I'd burn a lot of resources on one, but if you happen to have one close to 500 CP already, it could be fun here and is likely WAY off most peoples' radar.

LANTURN

Water Gun | Surf & Thunderbolt

And speaking of bulk... yes, you can run Lanturn here. It's diminished, but still just fine. Do focus on its wet side, though... Water Gun is probably the way to go here.

DUCKLETT

Water Gun/Wing Attack | Aerial Ace & Bubble Beam/Brave Bird

I know, the know... the mere mention of this one has some of you breaking out in hives. I am sorry to report that Ducklett may be primed to terrorize yet another Little League meta... but this time, by showing its wet side. That's right... while you CAN still run Wing Attack and do okay, the wins it gets that way (mostly Grasses like Aboma and Chikorita) seem to me to have far less value than what Water Gun can do (beating stuff like A-Slash, A-Pix, Aurorus, Amaura, and even Smeargle instead). The caveat is that some wins are at least partially reliant on Bubble Beam, things like CharmTales, Amaura, and Annihilape... but the other stuff above (yes, including Smeargle still) can be had just by spamming Aerial Ace with no bait games required. The Duck Of Doom WILL strike again, so be prepared.

PELIPPER

Wing Attack | Weather Ball (Water) & Hurricane

Here, however, things still work out best with Wing Attack, as there's plenty of good Water spam already with Weather Ball. Overall though, it's a worse Ducklett, if I'm being perfectly honest. That may be just fine for some teams, though!

FARFETCH'D

Fury Cutter | Leaf Blade & Aerial Ace

And real quick while we're on birbs, Farfetch'd isn't a world beater, but it does look like fun in Little Holiday Cup, if you've always been itching to try it out. Just throwing the idea out there... and using it to transition to analyzing a few more Normal types! Now you know my secret. 🤫

DUNSPARCE

Rollout | Drill Run & Rock Slide

Yeah yeah yeah... it'll lose to stuff with Fighting damage (read as: Flying Press and maybe Annihilape). We got it. That doesn't take away from all the good that Dundun can do! 👀 Seriously, take Fighting stuff away and its entire core meta loss list is Rock-resistant Diggersby, the Shadow versions of A-Wak and CharmTales (no shame in either of those), and dedicated Grass type (and unlikely to actually be used very much) Chikorita. That's it... that's the list, people. It destroys other Ice, Fire, Bug, Flying, Ghost, and even most Normal types. See if you have one ready... Dundun is a fantastic generalist here as long as you can avoid getting it locked in versus Fighting damage.

LICKILICKY

Rollout | Body Slamᴸ & Shadow Ball/Earthquake

Less impressive, but still quite good. Shadow Ball has the speed and effectiveness to blast through Skeledirge, Amaura, and A-Slash, while Earthquake instead buries Joltik, Stunfisk, and Miltank.

And no, LICKITUNG isn't as good as you remember, either. Sorrynotsorry... I hate that thing almost as much as Chansey. shudder (Good time to remind folks... DO NOT RUN CHANSEY!!)

URSARING

Shadow Claw | Swift & Close Combat

I don't have a lot to say here... it just works, with Swift being the final piece to finally make Ursaring PvP-relevant. Shadow Claw makes it a great Ghostbuster, it outlasts Libre, shreds Ice types with Close Combat, blows out Fire types as a bonus. It's solid, just flimsy. That's a bit of a paradox, ain't it? 🤔

SPINDA

Sucker Punch | Icy Wind & Rock Tomb

As it's only even been available in research (and raids), and thus needs to be traded to drop below 10-10-10 IVs, #1 rank IVs with 0 Attack is basically just theotetical, which is a shame because it would be AMAZING here. As is, we probably have to "settle" for something like this, which misses out on only A-Slash and Amaura (and only sometimes!) and is still just fine. I like it... the buff to Sucker Punch has only made it more interesting, and it was always at least spicy in Little League. Might be more like full-on meta now!

GIRAFARIG

Double Kick | Psychic Fangs & Trailblaze

Geoffamafig ranked SUPER low... like outside the Top 250 kind of low. But that's because it's showing with Confusion... and you really want to be running Double Kick instead. And it can actually perform a bit better than even that shows, as Psychic Fangs alone can add on unlisted wins Skeledirge and Stunfisk too! Look at how my boy Farigamarif has grown! Brings a tear to my eye.

ANNIHILAPE

Counter | Rage Fistᴸ & Close Combat

Now we really CAN call it "Little" Anni! 😁 Anyway, Counter may have been nerfed, but it's still more than good enough in Little League, pummeling a ton of Ice, Rock, and Normal types (including FP Smeargle and stuff like Litwick too thanks to Rage Fist, which is the only charge move you even need 99% of the time. This is particularly true of Shadow Anni, which actually beats stuff like PowderTales and Chikorita only if it does NOT reach for something like Close Combat and sticks with strictly Rage Fist instead. But yeah... in a meta where most other Fighters aren't allowed in, Annihilape gets to roam free and sow some terror.

DUSKULL

Astonish | Night Shade & Returnᴸ/Ominous Wind

Remember how Dusclops used to only ever be viable in Limited metas if purified to get Return as a non-Ghost beatstick closing move? That's Duskull now, as it needs a non-Ghost move like Return to beat things like Miltank. Anyway, if you run Shadow, substitute with Ominous Wind, I guess, to at least have a shot at the self-buff. For what it's worth, while purified Duskie can outlast Miltank and Chikorita and Amaura, Shadow beats down Talonflame and A-Pix instead.

HAUNTER

Shadow Claw | Ice Punch & Shadow Punch

Shadow Ball is not only overkill in this meta, but also just too expensive. The improved Shadow Punch is plenty, and pairs very nicely with Ice Punch for maximum destructive capability. Thanks in large part to Ice Punch, Haunter crosses off things Duskull (and indeed, most Ghosts in general) cannot like Diggersby, Mandibuzz, Abomasnow and the A-Pixes. On the downside, it lacks the bulk of Duskull and therefore loses to other Ghosts like A-Wak and Litwick, as well as Miltank and, despite resisting Fairy damage, CharmTales as well. But still, it does a lot of good in blindingly fast fashion. Somebody is gonna wreck face with Haunter, I am sure of it.

LURANTIS

Fury Cutter | Leaf Blade & Superpower

Finishing up this section with a fun one many may miss otherwise. Lurantis comes with some awesome moves, spamming Leaf Blade in a meta where not much resists it, and Superpower to turn the tables on most Ice types. Many Grasses struggle to make an impact in this meta, but when they do, as Lurantis does, the resistances to Electric and Ground come in handy with wins like Diggersby, Stunfisk, and Pikachu Libre. FOMANTIS works too, and though it lacks Superpower, it instead buffs itself with Trailblaze and therefore still has much the same winlist anyway, missing out on PowderTales but gaining Joltik instead. I lean towards Lurantis but I gotta say, I didn't expect Fomantis to look that good.

75,000 Dust/75 Candy

Alright, you know how this goes by now. Space is tight and TIME is tight, so we're going rapid fire for the more expensive picks. Most of them have been mentioned throughout anyway. Here we go!

• AMAURA and AURORUS are both pretty great, smashing through most other Ices, Electrics, Ghosts, Flyers, Fires, Grounds and all the stuff in between. Mostly their only fear in this meta is things with Rollout, really good Ground moves (like A-Slash and its Drill Run), and Fighting damage. Beyond that, they have a LOT of room to romp.

• MILTANK is nearly as theatening as fellow Rollout spewing Dunsparce. Dundun wins the head to head and also adds on A-Slash, but ice Beam gives Millie some unique reach and it really comes down to which one you have on hand to use. Both are quite excellent in Little Holiday Cup.

• There's nothing particularly special about EEVEE, but it's a fine generalist, especially if you have a costumed and/or shiny one to show off! And with the buff to Swift, you don't need to reach for any Legacy moves anymore either!

• Like the Ghost Of Christmas Past, VIGOROTH could pop up again here to get you feeling nostalgic... or just angry. It probably wants Brick Break over Rock Slide, but otherwise it's mostly the same spammy creep you remember in THIS meta, at least.

• Everything I said earlier about Tadbulb and Electrics in general? PACHIRISU does all that too, and it's a hoot to use in Little League for the many of us that will likely NEVER get one maxed out for Great League use.

• MAREEP is surprisingly okay in this meta as well, particularly as a Shadow. Absolutely nothing outstanding when you look at it, but Thunder Shock + Body Slam can still do good things in this League.

• Original Recipe STUNFISK doesn't like the cold of all the Ice types around, but does plenty else really well. Fires and Flyers and Electrics especially want nothing to do with it.

• Man, you cannot let yourself get into battle with anything that slings Ice, but GLISCOR with new Sand Attack could do some nifty things in this meta for anyone brave (or crazy!) enough to try.

• Less crazy is the idea of running GOLETT. Mud Slap to bury Fires and Electrics, Shadow Punch and Brick Break to strike back at Ghosts and Normals and even a number of Ice types, and a typing that resists Fighting damage and therefore takes down Annihilape and Flying Press users too. What's NOT to like? This is just a full-on meta pick here, folks.

• It's been namedropped a lot, and yes, LITWICK is quite good in regular or Shadow form. Run it with Astonish and double Fire charge moves (Flame Charge to buff yourself and Mystical Fire to weaken the opposition, letting you choose what's most advantageous in any given battle).

• I don't know how much I trust it, but I would be remiss to NOT point out interesting AERODACTYL looks here... on paper, at least. Anyone willing to test it out for science?

...AND THAT'S IT!

Whew, we're done! And before the format arrives this time! Hope this is a help, and best of luck in this funky format, folks.

Until next time (likely Fusion Flare Reshiram!), you can always find me on Twitter (and currently BlueSky) for near-daily PvP analysis nuggets, or Patreon. And please, feel free to comment here with your own thoughts or questions and I'll try to get back to you!

Thank you for reading, especially those of you who took the time to read it ALL! I sincerely hope this helps you master Little Holiday Cup, and in the most affordable way possible. Best of luck, and catch you next time... and Happy Holidays, Pokéfriends!

How badly am I screwed if I use a 15/14/13 duskmane (over a 15/15/12), and a 15/15/12 palkia-O?

I think the 15/15/12 for duskmane is slightly better but the 15/14/13 is shiny so... :')

Hi all! I enjoy battle league and I’m not competitive, but decent. Last season I got to 2300 ELO with my ultra league team and was very proud. I thought getting to Ace again this season would be easy, but no. This season I can’t even break 1950! I have ranged between 1850 and 1950 for days now, up and down. It's discouraging and frustrating. Am I just suddenly terrible? Either I have lost my skills, I’m having bad luck, or my team is outdated?

Ultra league I’m using Clefable (fairy wind, swift, moonblast), Shadow Feraligatr (shadow claw, ice beam, hydro cannon), and Shadow Golurk (mud slap, dynamic punch, shadow punch).

I have a lot of other pokes to pick from that I could use that already have 2500 CP and 2 moves... Drifblim, Ampharos, Venusaur, Typhlosion, Swampert, Jellicent, Lickilicky, and Dragalgae.

I’m considering trying Malamar, Lickylicky, and Shadow Feraligatr. I think this team seems good, but, I don't have enough XL candies for my Malamar so it is only in the 2200s CP, not sure it's even viable.

I'm a long time player with lots of mons and dust, but only started playing GBL with any seriousness 3 seasons ago. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I have a shadow Mankey that ranked #33 for the ultra league shadow Primeape, it also ranks #14 for purified Primeape in ultra league.

Regular Primeape is #2 in the ultra league, I usually don’t purify but should I?

Which one should I power up for master league? I'll be running origin dialga, mewtwo and origin palkia.

I want to practice battling in a show 6 bring 3 style of play lmk jf you want to battle

Hi i would like some recommendations for building a team for the upcoming little holiday cup These are my current pokemon 1.Alolan sandshrew shadow 2.cottonee 3.ducklett 4.golett 5.fletchling 6.vigoroth 7.snivy +i have some rare candy and stardust so i can build something new

Apparently for the first time ever they're not utterly worthless pieces of trash, but now they have different types with better talent in this meta and they grouped them all together instead of separating them. Because of course they did. We got Flying, Libre, Rock, Pop, Scarf, Horizons and other things we can't ID with the Pokedex.

Again, it really makes a difference in this cup. How do I go about identifying these?

Hey guys, have had terrible Necrozma IV luck, however have a 15/15/13, is this worth fusing and powering up as a Dusk Mane for PvP? Does it hit everything it needs to IV wise? Thank you!

Y’all turned the meta into a rock, paper, scissors match. The main leagues feel like limited cups lol idk who to blame this on but I HATE IT! Youtubers trying to pump out content most likely. Jhoto starters are this seasons favorite lol i haven’t seen clodsire this whole season 🫡