DEXERTOThe Catch Cup has returned to the Pokemon Go Battle League with a Great League edition, so here are our Pokemon recommendations to build a team that will lead you straight to victory during season 23.
While the regular Great, Ultra, and Master League competitions are the main events in the Pokemon Go Battle League, Niantic regularly introduces limited-time cups to switch things up and offer a new challenge.
As part of the current Delightful Days season, the Catch Cup: Great League Edition is returning to play, but only for one week.
If you’re struggling to figure out which Pokemon to take into battle, as only some can participate, here are our top recommendations.
Best team for the Pokemon Go Catch Cup: Great League Edition
One of the best teams you can use for the Catch Cup includes Scizor (Shadow), Cradily, and Azumarill, as these are three of the strongest Pokemon that should give you coverage against the most common opponents.
As with any league or cup, it’s impossible to say what a true “best” team looks like in the Catch Cup, as it really depends on the Pokemon your opponent sends out – and you won’t know that until the battle begins.
Still, there are a few Pokemon that can perform well in most situations, which we’ve listed below alongside their optimal movesets and weaknesses.
Best Catch Cup: Great League Edition Pokemon
Bastiodon
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Smack Down
- Charged Moves: Stone Edge and Flamethrower
- Type: Rock/Steel
- Resistances: Dragon, Ice, Psychic, Fairy, Bug, Rock, Flying, Normal, and Poison
- Weaknesses: Ground, Fighting, and Water
Even when compared to Legendaries and other powerful Pokemon, Bastiodon still has one of the best Defense stats in Pokemon Go. Its Attack stat pales in comparison, but that doesn’t stop it from excelling in the Catch Cup: Great League Edition.
Smack Down as a Fast Move hits hard, while Stone Edge is a powerful Rock-type Charged Move that takes advantage of Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB), and Flamethrower can be used against other Steel-types.
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Furret
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Sucker Punch
- Charged Moves: Swift and Trailblaze
- Type: Normal
- Resistances: Ghost
- Weaknesses: Fighting
The tiny Furret from Gen 2 might not seem like a threat to any Battle League opponent. However, its very high Stamina stat and single weakness can help it survive a very long time, serving as a good switcher.
Thanks to the addition of Swift and Trailblaze, Furret can now be a useful teammate. First, use Sucker Punch as your Fast Move to benefit from its very high damage and reduce the enemy’s HP.
Then, set Swift as your main Charged Move, as it is incredibly spammy and cheap. Use Trailblaze as your secondary Charged Move to boost your Attack stat by 25%, expand your coverage, and sweep every opponent.
Primeape
NIANTIC/DEXERTO- Fast Move: Karate Chop
- Charged Moves: Rage Fist and Close Combat
- Type: Fighting
- Resistances: Rock, Dark, and Bug
- Weaknesses: Fairy, Flying, and Psychic
Even though Primeape doesn’t have an outstanding bulk, it’s still a great Fighting-type choice. While being similar to fan favorite Machamp, Primeape offers wider coverage and lightning-fast moves.
Primeape works great as a lead or switch, as it has very spammy moves that can force the opponents to use their shields early on, leaving them open for a mighty Charged Attack.
Karate Chop is the standout of the Fast Moves, but there are plenty of great options for Charged Moves that will vary depending on what you need. The best part is that most of them are quite cheap without sacrificing the damage they can inflict.
Sableye (Shadow)
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Shadow Claw
- Charged Moves: Foul Play and Power Gem
- Type: Dark/Ghost
- Resistances: Psychic, Normal, Poison, and Fighting
- Weaknesses: Fairy
The tiny Sableye can be deceitful, as it looks kind of weak and not threatening at all. However, its good type combination leaves it with only one weakness. Plus, it has a pretty solid move pool trainers can play with.
Even though both Fast Moves benefit from STAB and deal the same damage, Shadow Claw is much better due to its coverage and higher energy generation.
For the Charged Move, Foul Play is the best way to go as it benefits from STAB, is cheap, has great coverage, and is spammy. This way, players can take down the opponent’s shields to then hit them full-on with Power Gem.
If you need a different type of coverage, you can always switch from Power Gem to Dazzling Gleam.
Lapras
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Psywave
- Charged Moves: Sparkling Aria and Ice Beam
- Type: Water/Ice
- Resistances: Ice and Water
- Weaknesses: Electric, Fighting, Grass, and Rock
Besides its great bulk, Lapras has an impressive move pool, with four Fast Moves and seven Charged Moves to pick from.
Even though focusing only on Water and Ice moves to benefit from STAB would be the logical thing to do, for the Fast Move, it is best to go with Psywave. It offers the most energy generation out of all the options, and it expands Lapras’s coverage.
Skull Bash, Blizzard, and Hydro Pump are quite expensive moves, and with a few other options available, they are just not worth it. Instead, use Sparkling Aria for a solid Charged Move with STAB. It costs the same as Surf but does five more damage.
As for the secondary Charged Move, Ice Beam will offer more coverage against Grass, Dragon, and Flying opponents while also benefiting from STAB.
Drapion (Shadow)
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Poison Sting
- Charged Moves: Aqua Tail and Crunch
- Type: Poison/Dark
- Resistances: Psychic, Poison, Grass, Ghost, and Dark
- Weaknesses: Ground
One of Drapion’s strengths is the fact that it only has one weakness – Ground – and no full-on Ground-type Pokemon is near the best performers for this season.
On the other hand, its move pool is vast and diverse, so it can offer wide coverage against plenty of opponents, which is why having all three moves be different types (Poison, Water, and Dark in this case) is a fantastic strategy.
Poison Sting is cheap and fast, Aqua Tail helps with coverage, and Crunch is a powerful move that benefits from STAB.
Quagsire (Shadow)
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Mud Shot
- Charged Moves: Aqua Tail and Stone Edge
- Type: Water/Ground
- Resistances: Electric, Poison, Rock, Steel, and Fire
- Weaknesses: Grass
Shadow Quagsire climbed the ranks once again and sits at the top thanks to its good Attack and Defense stats, as well as a solid Stamina that can keep this dual Water/Ground-type Pokemon in the battle for a while.
The best use players can give Quagsire is as a lead or charger, thanks to two factors: it reaches its Charged Moves fast thanks to Mud Shot, and its typing can hit a wide variety of types.
The Charged Move Aqua Tail is very cheap and spammy, so it will help bite enemy shields. Then, once vulnerable, you can hit your opponent with the nuke Stone Edge.
Dedenne
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Thunder Shock
- Charged Moves: Parabolic Charge and Play Rough
- Type: Electric/Fairy
- Resistances: Dragon, Bug, Dark, Electric, Fighting, and Flying
- Weaknesses: Ground and Poison
Its unique type combination makes Dedenne an interesting Pokemon to use in the Battle League, mainly because it leaves this tiny mouse with a good set of resistances and just two weaknesses – which are not very commonly used.
As for its moveset, Thunder Shock is Dedenne’s best Fast Move. Even though it has low damage output, it offers very high energy generation, which is very useful. For the Charged Moves, go with Parabolic Charge for good DPE and a 25% Defense stat buff. Use Play Rough as your secondary option to expand your coverage.
Jellicent
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Hex
- Charged Moves: Surf and Shadow Ball
- Type: Water/Ghost
- Resistances: Normal, Fighting, Water, Steel, Poison, Ice, Fire, and Bug
- Weaknesses: Dark, Electric, Ghost, and Grass
This gigantic jellyfish offers trainers an incredible bulk, along with a vast list of resistances that will keep it alive during an encounter.
Both of Jellicent’s Fast Moves are great options that benefit from STAB. While Bubble offers stronger Water-type coverage, Hex has slightly faster energy generation, as well as Ghost-type coverage.
To balance Hex, go with Surf as your Charged Move. It is not only really cheap, but it also deals great damage and benefits from STAB. As your secondary option, use the nuke Shadow Ball. If you need a different type of coverage, you can switch Shadow Ball for Ice Beam.
Azumarill
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Bubble
- Charged Moves: Play Rough and Ice Beam
- Type: Water/Fairy
- Resistances: Bug, Fighting, Water, Ice, Fire, Dark, and Dragon
- Weaknesses: Electric, Grass, and Poison
Azumarill is, without a doubt, one of the best Fairy-type Pokemon ever. This is mainly due to its solid moveset, great coverage, and massive bulk that allows it to take down 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, as it’s cheap and powerful. Plus, it benefits from STAB and will target Dark and Poison-type opponents. For some extra coverage, use Ice Beam.
Cradily
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Acid
- Charged Moves: Grass Knot and Rock Tomb
- Type: Rock/Grass
- Resistances: Electric and Normal
- Weaknesses: Bug, Fighting, Ice, and Steel
The surprise star of this cup is Cradily, which has never really had any viability in the Pokemon Go Battle League before but is currently ranking high. This is most likely thanks to a very strong moveset and bulkiness.
While Bullet Seed and Infestation have fast energy generation, Acid is pretty decent and can help Cradily mainly against Grass-type opponents. Meanwhile, Rock Tomb is effective against Fire types and decreases the target’s Attack stat by 20%, and Grass Knot can take care of Water enemies. Plus, both benefit from STAB.
Scizor (Shadow)
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Bullet Punch
- Charged Moves: Night Slash and Trailblaze
- Type: Bug/Steel
- Resistances: Grass, Poison, Bug, Dragon, Fairy, Ice, Normal, Psychic, and Steel
- Weaknesses: Fire
Gen 2’s Scizor is a spammy and fast Pokemon with tons of resistances that can exert pressure on the opponent. However, it’s a bit of a glass cannon, so use it as a lead or switch when you still have shields to protect it with.
Bullet Punch deals more damage than Fury Cutter, so that’s an easy choice. For the Charged Moves, use Night Slash to bait the opponent’s shields and increase your Attack stat by 50%. Use Trailblaze to target Rock and Water-type enemies while increasing your Attack stat by 25%.
Pokemon Go Catch Cup rules & restrictions explained
The Catch Cup is one of the most unique tournaments in the Go Battle League, as you can only use Pokemon that were caught during the cup’s current season, which severely limits the team options. This means all creatures must have been captured after June 3, 2025.
But that’s not all, as the Pokemon who enter the Great League Edition must be at or below the 1,500 CP limit, and no Mythicals are allowed.
Catch Cup: Great League Edition start & end date
The latest Pokemon Go Battle League season will run from June 3, 2025, until September 2, 2025.
During the Delightful Days season, the Catch Cup will run from August 19, 2025, until August 26, 2025, along with the Master League, and trainers will get x4 Stardust from win rewards.
The season’s Go Battle League will end with the return of Great, Ultra, and Master Leagues from August 26, 2025, until September 2, 2025, so you’ll have to wait until the next season’s schedule is up to see if the Catch Cup returns.
Those are the best Pokemon you can take to the Catch Cup: Great League Edition during this Pokemon Go season. For more content, check our guide with the Battle League schedule and rewards, as well as all the best attackers, defenders, and PvP champions.