The Halloween Cup is returning to the Pokemon Go Battle League in 2022, and a unique set of rules and restrictions means that knowing the best team to take into battle is more important than ever.
Every season of the Go Battle League features a set of unique cups that run alongside the traditional Great League, Ultra League, and Master League. They’re designed to shake up the meta and give Trainers an extra challenge to enjoy.
As part of the current Season of Light, the Halloween Cup is making a return for spooky season. This limited-time cup only allows a few specific types to enter, so you’ll need to think twice about the Pokemon you choose.
Below, we’re going to dive into the best team you can use in Pokemon Go’s Halloween Cup, some alternative options that should help you on your path to victory, and the rules and restrictions you’ll need to follow.
Contents
- Best team for the Halloween Cup
- Best Pokemon for the Halloween Cup
- Halloween Cup rules & restrictions explained
- Halloween Cup start date & time
Best team for the Halloween Cup in Pokemon Go
For the best chance of success in the Great League Remix, we’d recommend a team consisting of Crustle, Azumarill, and Mandibuzz. These three will give you solid coverage and wins against some of the biggest opponents you’ll face.
As with any cup in the Pokemon Go Battle League, it’s almost impossible to say what the ‘best team’ truly is in the Halloween Cup, as it all depends on what your opponent will be using, and you won’t know that until the battle has started.
Still, there are a few standouts who rise to the top of the ranks with a good chance of success in most scenarios. Below, you’ll find five of the best Pokemon (as well as their optimal movesets) to help you win in the Halloween Cup.
Best Pokemon for the Halloween Cup
Toxapex
- Fast Move: Poison Jab
- Charged Moves: Brine and Sludge Wave
- Resistances: Bug, Fairy, Fighting, Fire, Ice, Poison, Steel, and Water
- Weaknesses: Electric, Ground, and Psychic
This year’s Halloween Cup has a brand new champion: Toxapex! With wins against most of the biggest names in the meta, you’ll want one on your team as well as a counter to defeat it in case you come across one (and you probably will).
Poison Jab is the best Fast Move for Toxapex. Brine is the cheapest Charged Move for baiting shields, while Sludge Wave can dish out some huge damage – and both of them come with STAB damage.
Mandibuzz
- Fast Move: Snarl
- Charged Moves: Foul Play and Aerial Ace
- Resistances: Dark, Ghost, Grass, Ground, and Psychic
- Weaknesses: Electric, Fairy, Ice, and Rock
Mandibuzz is already a champion in the Great League Remix, and it puts in an incredible performance in the Halloween Cup, too, being able to take down the likes of Alolan Marowak, Jellicent, and Beedrill.
Go with Snarl as a Fast Move as it has faster energy generation than Air Slash, allowing Mandibuzz to access its brilliant Charged Moves: Foul Play, which deals good damage and has neutral coverage, and Aerial Ace, which benefits from STAB.
Crustle
- Fast Move: Fury Cutter
- Charged Moves: X-Scissor and Rock Slide
- Resistances: Normal and Poison
- Weaknesses: Rock, Steel, and Water
Crustle has never been a PvP star in Pokemon Go, but in the Halloween Cup, all of Crustle’s biggest threats – Rock, Steel, and Water – are banned from the Halloween Cup (although you’ll still need to watch out for dual-types), which allows it to rise to the top ranks and go pretty much unchallenged.
Fury Cutter is the optimal Fast Move for energy generation. Then, with a combination of X-Scissor and Rock Slide as Charged Moves, Crustle will be able to take down plenty of the cup’s biggest players like Mandibuzz, Alolan Marowak, and Golbat with no problem at all.
Azumarill
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- Fast Move: Bubble
- Charged Moves: Play Rough and Ice Beam
- Resistances: Bug, Fighting, Water, Ice, Fire, Dark, and Dragon
- Weaknesses: Electric, Grass, and Poison
The Halloween Cup meta in 2020 was built around Azumarill, and it still plays a big role in 2022. It’s the best Fairy-type you can use in the Halloween Cup, thanks to a great moveset and a whole lot of bulk that allows it to take down Dark-types easily and outlast most other opponents.
Bubble is the best Fast Move to use, with a good balance between damage and energy generation. Play Rough is the Charged Move you need here, as it benefits from STAB and will target Dark and Bug-type opponents. Azumarill doesn’t really need a secondary Charged Move in this cup.
Nidoqueen
- Fast Move: Poison Jab
- Charged Moves: Poison Fang and Earth Power
- Resistances: Bug, Electric, Fairy, Fighting, Poison, and Rock
- Weaknesses: Ground, Ice, Psychic, and Water
Nidoqueen is another Pokemon that puts in a decent effort in the Great League, but really gets a chance to shine in the Halloween Cup. With key wins against Mandibuzz, Obstagoon, Alolan Marowak, and Golbat, it can be a very real threat on any Trainer’s team.
You’ll want Poison Jab as Nidoqueen’s Fast Move, as it benefits from STAB and high energy generation. Then, for Charged Moves, go with the low-cost Poison Fang as your primary option and Earth Power as a solid secondary option if you can afford it.
Golbat
- Fast Move: Wing Attack
- Charged Moves: Poison Fang and Shadow Ball
- Resistances: Bug, Fairy, Fighting, Grass, Ground, and Poison
- Weaknesses: Electric, Ice, Psychic, and Rock
It may not have made much of a dent in the Halloween Cup before, but Golbat is definitely one to watch in 2022’s edition. It’s fairly easy to get, so many Pokemon Go Trainers will already have one in their collection, and has resistances to three of the allowed types: Bug, Fairy, and Poison.
Wing Attack is the optimal Fast Move for Golbat thanks to some great energy generation and added STAB damage. Poison Fang is a great Charged Move to quickly take down your opponent’s shields, while Shadow Ball is the perfect follow-up to dish out some incredible damage.
Mawile
- Fast Move: Fire Fang
- Charged Moves: Power-Up Punch and Play Rough
- Resistances: Bug, Dark, Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Ice, Normal, Poison, Psychic, and Rock
- Weaknesses: Fire and Ground
Mawile is another Pokemon that holds onto its place in the Halloween Cup meta this year. It has an insane amount of type resistances, and can take down almost every Bug, Fairy, and Dark-type opponent in the Halloween Cup, leaving Azumarill and Poison-types as the only major threat.
Fire Fang has faster energy generation than Bite, so go with that as a Fast Move. Charged Moves are where Mawile really shines, as Power-Up Punch can be spammed to take down shields while Play Rough benefits from STAB and gives a strong counter to Dark-types.
Pokemon Go Halloween Cup rules & restrictions explained
The Halloween Cup is a unique challenge in the Go Battle League, as only Bug, Dark, Fairy, Ghost, and Poison-type Pokemon can take part. They must also be below the 1,500 CP limit to qualify.
While the rules state that only these specific types can take part in the Halloween Cup, this restriction is a little bit flexible, as dual types like the Water/Fairy-type Azumarill can still enter.
Pokemon Go Halloween Cup start date & time
The Pokemon Go Battle League’s Halloween Cup will kick off on Thursday, October 20, 2022, at 1PM PT / 4PM ET / 9PM BST and run until Thursday, November 3, 2022, at 1PM PT.
That means you’ll have two weeks to take part in this spooky Go Battle League cup, form your perfect team, and work your way to the top!
You can check out the current schedule for the Go Battle League right here.