The Holiday Cup: Great League Edition is returning for Season 13 of the Pokemon Go Battle League, so Trainers will need to know the best team to rise to the top of this festive competitive challenge.
Alongside the traditional trio of the Great League, Ultra League, and Master League, Niantic regularly introduces limited-time cups with unique rules to the Go Battle League to help switch things up and keep Trainers on their toes.
As expected, the Christmas-themed Holiday Cup is returning for the second half of December. Only Normal, Grass, Electric, Ice, Flying, and Ghost-type Pokemon are allowed to take part, which limits your team-building options.
Things are a little different this time around, as there will actually be two variations of the Holiday Cup: Up first is the Great League Edition with a 1500 CP limit, followed by the Ultra League Edition with a 2500 CP limit.
In this guide, we’ll be focusing on the Great League Edition to help you find the standout fighters in your collection and put together the best Holiday Cup team to take you straight to victory.
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Best team for the Holiday Cup in Pokemon Go
One of the best teams you can use for the Holiday Cup is Altaria, Togedemaru, and Obstagoon as they’re three of the strongest Pokemon allowed in this cup and will give you good coverage against a variety of opponents.
As always, it’s impossible to truly say what the ‘best’ Holiday Cup team looks like, as it really depends on the types of Pokemon that you end up facing off against – and you’ll never know that until you’re in the heat of battle.
Despite this caveat, there are some Pokemon who rise to the top of the Holiday Cup ranks and can perform well in most situations. Choose a selection of these, and you’ll have a pretty good chance of emerging victoriously.
Best Pokemon for the Holiday Cup
Altaria
- Fast Move: Dragon Breath
- Charged Moves: Sky Attack and Moonblast
- Resistances: Fighting, Water, Bug, Fire, Grass, and Ground
- Weaknesses: Ice, Fairy, Dragon, and Rock
Altaria stays at the top of the Holiday Cup this year, as most of its biggest threats aren’t eligible to enter. It also has big wins against the likes of Lanturn, Obstagoon, and Vigoroth. You’ll want one on your team, but also something to counter it for when your opponents have one.
Dragon Breath is one of the best Fast Moves in Pokemon Go, so definitely use that. As for Charged Moves, Sky Attack is relatively quick to generate and does decent damage, while the Fairy-type Moonblast will give you better coverage here than the traditional choice of Dragon Pulse.
Togedemaru
- Fast Move: Thunder Shock
- Charged Moves: Wild Charge and Gyro Ball
- Resistances: Bug, Dragon, Electric, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Ice, Normal, Poison, Psychic, Rock, and Steel
- Weaknesses: Fighting, Fire, and Ground
Togedemaru gives an average performance in the Great League, but here in the Holiday Cup, it gets a proper chance to shine as one of the top contenders in the meta. With a massive 12 resistances and key wins over the likes of Walrein, Froslass, Aurorus, and Altaria, it’s not hard to see why.
The combination of Thunder Shock as a Fast Move and Wild Charge as a Charged Move gives Togedemaru a brilliant Electric-type offense. Back this up with the Steel-type Gyro Ball for a well-rounded STAB moveset with plenty of coverage.
Alolan Graveler
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- Fast Move: Volt Switch
- Charged Moves: Stone Edge and Rock Blast
- Resistances: Electric, Fire, Flying, Normal, and Poison
- Weaknesses: Fighting, Grass, Ground, and Water
Alolan Graveler is usually held back in the Battle League by its weakness to four very common types, but only one of them (Grass) is permitted to enter the Holiday Cup, giving it a chance to shine with the ability to take down the likes of Altaria, Wigglytuff, and Froslass.
Volt Switch is the optimal Fast Move for Alolan Graveler, as it has great energy gains and decent damage output. Then, you’ll be able to access two powerful Charged Moves, Stone Edge and Rock Blast, which can bait shields and deal huge damage respectively.
Talonflame
- Fast Move: Incinerate
- Charged Moves: Flame Charge and Brave Bird
- Resistances: Electric, Fighting, Grass, Ground, Normal, and Water
- Weaknesses: Dark, Fire, Flying, Ghost, Ice
While mono Fire-types are banned in Pokemon Go’s Holiday Cup, being a dual Flying/Fire-type gives Talonflame a big advantage as it can not only compete, but also wipe out some of the biggest stars of the show including Alolan Ninetales, Altaria, Obstagoon, and Abomasnow.
Incinerate is Talonflame’s optimal Fast Move, so it’s definitely worth using an Elite TM to get it. As for Charged Moves, go with the low-cost Flame Charge which can be spammed and gives a guaranteed Attack buff, then follow it up with Brave Bird for huge damage.
Wigglytuff
- Fast Move: Charm
- Charged Moves: Ice Beam and Play Rough
- Resistances: Dragon, Bug, Dark, and Ghost
- Weaknesses: Steel and Poison
Wigglytuff is known for two things in the Pokemon Go Battle League: Being incredibly tanky and being the best Charm user when there’s a 1500 CP limit. So, as expected, it’s a real threat in the Holiday Cup, where it often wins simply by outlasting the competition.
Charm should always be Wigglytuff’s Fast Move regardless of the situation, as it deals some impressive STAB damage. When it comes to Charged Moves, go with Ice Beam for extra coverage and Play Rough as a solid secondary option.
Obstagoon
- Fast Move: Counter
- Charged Moves: Night Slash and Cross Chop
- Resistances: Dark, Ghost, and Psychic
- Weaknesses: Bug, Fairy, and Fighting
Obstagoon remains a powerhouse in the Holiday Cup this year, where it can overpower some big threats like Skarmory and Alolan Marowak. It’s also one of very few viable Pokemon that can actually take out Alolan Graveler, so it’s definitely worth considering.
The brilliant Counter is essential for Obstagoon, so make sure you have it. For Charged Moves, go with the Attack-boosting Night Slash and follow it up with Cross Chop, which gives you another powerful Fighting-type move to help counter the likes of Vigoroth and Alolan Sandslash.
Pokemon Go Holiday Cup start date & time
The Holiday Cup: Great League Edition will begin on Thursday, December 22, at 1PM PT / 4PM ET / 9PM GMT and stick around until Thursday, December 29, at 1PM PT.
It will then be replaced by the Holiday Cup: Ultra League Edition which will run until January 5, 2023.
You can check out the full schedule for Season 13 of the Go Battle League here.