The Summer Cup: Great League Edition has returned to the Pokemon Go Battle League, so we’ve put together some best team recommendations to help you rise through the ranks.
Alongside the traditional Great League, Ultra League, and Master League, there are loads of unique cups available in Pokemon Go that shake up the rules to give you a fresh challenge and make you rethink your normal ‘best team’ lineups.
The first unique cup to arrive in Season 15 of the Pokemon Go Battle League is the Summer Cup. This special challenge celebrates the sunniest season by only allowing Bug, Electric, Fire, Grass, Normal, and Water-type Pokemon to compete.
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Best team for the Summer Cup: Great League Edition in Pokemon Go
One of the best teams you can use for the Summer Cup is Pidgeot, Pachirisu, and Lickitung. These are three of the strongest eligible competitors and together they provide good coverage options.
Of course, this ‘best team’ could always fail depending on the team your opponent uses – but you won’t know that until the battle has started, so this is a good starting point to see what works for you.
We’ve gone into more detail about some of the best Pokemon you can use in the Summer Cup below, including the best movesets for each one, as well as details of their resistances and weaknesses.
Best Pokemon for the Summer Cup: Great League Edition
Pidgeot
- Fast Move: Wing Attack
- Charged Move: Feather Dance and Brave Bird
- Resistances: Bug, Ghost, Grass, and Ground
- Weaknesses: Electric, Ice, and Rock
Pidgeot has become a standout choice right across the Go Battle League thanks to a brilliant moveset that includes a guaranteed Attack debuff to your opponents, and that’s no different here in the Summer Cup where it rises to the top of the rankings.
Wing Attack is Pidgeot’s best Fast Move in terms of energy generation, which will give you quick access to the Charged Moe Feather Dance to reduce your opponent’s Attack stat by two stages. Finally, unleash Brave Bird for some huge damage to finish the battle.
Lickitung (XL)
- Fast Move: Lick
- Charged Move: Body Slam and Power Whip
- Resistances: Ghost
- Weaknesses: Fighting
Lickitung is a big name in the Great League (and quite a few sub-1500 CP cups). As long as you’ve got access to the Legacy Move Body Slam and enough XL Candy to power it up close to the 1500 CP limit, it can be a massive asset in the Summer Cup too.
Lick is the only Fast Move that’s good for Lickitung, so make sure you have it. As we mentioned before, you’ll need access to the Charged Move Body Slam for its low cost and shield-baiting potential, while Power Whip offers extra Grass-type coverage.
Pachirisu (XL)
- Fast Move: Volt Switch
- Charged Moves: Thunder Punch and Thunderbolt
- Resistances: Electric, Flying, and Steel
- Weaknesses: Ground
Pachirisu makes a surprise appearance near the top of the Summer Cup meta, partly because Ground-type Pokemon are banned (and that’s the only thing it’s weak against). It’s tricky to get one powered up enough, so Togedemaru is a good alternative if you need it.
Volt Switch is the best Fast Move for Pachirisu, as it has the same energy generation as Spark but superior damage output. As for Charged Moves, Thunder Punch is great for shield baiting, while Thunderbolt can be your finisher.
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Vigoroth
- Fast Move: Counter
- Charged Move: Body Slam and Bulldoze
- Resistances: Ghost
- Weaknesses: Fighting
Vigoroth is another Pokemon that only has one weakness (Fighting-types) which is banned in the Summer Cup. With key wins against Lickitung, Walrein, Magnezone, and Swampert, it’s a great addition to your team and is cheap to evolve at only 25 Candy.
We’d recommend Counter for any Pokemon that has access to it, as it’s a top choice across the board, so definitely make sure Vigoroth knows this Fast Move. Then, for Charged Moves, go with the low-cost Body Slam paired with Bulldoze for extra coverage.
Tropius
- Fast Move: Air Slash
- Charged Moves: Leaf Blade and Aerial Ace
- Resistances: Fighting, Grass, Ground, and Water
- Weaknesses: Fire, Flying, Ice, Poison, and Rock
Tropius is another Great League favorite that fares very well in the Summer Cup with considerable bulk and great moves. It’s also in the unique position of being a Grass-type that can take out other Grass-types with Flying-type moves.
Air Slash is the best Fast Move here, giving Tropius quick enough energy generation to access its two preferred Charged Moves: the Grass-type Leaf Blade and the Flying-type Aerial Ace, both of which will give you good coverage.
Trevenant
- Fast Move: Shadow Claw
- Charged Moves: Seed Bomb and Shadow Ball
- Resistances: Electric, Fighting, Grass, Ground, Normal, and Water
- Weaknesses: Dark, Fire, Flying, Ghost, Ice
Trevenant isn’t quite as domineering as it was back when it first debuted in the Pokemon Go Battle League, but it still puts in a great performance in the Summer Cup with key wins over the likes of Swampert, Vigoroth, and Lanturn.
Shadow Claw is one of the best Fast Moves in the game, so make sure Trevenant has it. Combine that with the low-cost Seed Bomb and the devastating Shadow Ball as its Charged Moves, and you’ve got yourself a brilliant moveset.
Pokemon Go Summer Cup: Great League Edition rules & restrictions
The main rule of the Summer Cup: Great League Edition is that only Bug, Electric, Fire, Grass, Normal, and Water-type Pokemon are eligible to compete, and they must all be below the max 1,500 CP limit.
Although this does restrict the Pokemon you can use quite a bit, it’s good to know that dual types are allowed. For example, the Ghost/Grass-type Trevenant can still compete as its half Grass-type.
Pokemon Go Summer Cup: Great League Edition start & end date
The Summer Cup: Great League Edition begins on Thursday, June 1, 2023, at 1PM PT / 4PM ET / 9PM BST and ends on Thursday, June 8, 2023, at 1PM PT.
It will run alongside the traditional Great League – and you can see our best team recommendations for that here.