Pokemon Go best Love Cup: Great League Edition team | Go Battle League: Dual Destiny season 21
NIANTIC/DEXERTOThe Love Cup is returning to the Pokemon Go Battle League, so we’ve put together our best team recommendations to help you charm your way to victory.
Aside from the regular Great, Ultra, and Master League competitions, Niantic regularly introduces new and remixed Cups to the Pokemon Go Battle League to switch things up and give trainers a fresh challenge.
As part of the current Dual Destiny season, the Love Cup: Great League Edition is returning once again. This limited-time event only allows pink and red-colored Pokemon to compete, forcing trainers to really think twice about the team they’re using.
If you’re struggling to figure out which Pokemon to take into battle for the Love Cup, we’ve put together our best team recommendations to help you out, as well as details about the rules and restrictions.
Best team for the Pokemon Go Love Cup: Great League Edition
One of the best teams you can take into the Love Cup is Lickilicky, Galarian Slowbro, and Hisuian Electrode, as these are three of the strongest Pokemon that should give you coverage against most common opponents.
As with any league or cup, it’s impossible to say what a true ‘best’ team looks like in the Love 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 Love Cup: Great League Edition Pokemon
Talonflame
Niantic- Fast Move: Incinerate
- Charged Moves: Fly and Brave Bird
- Resistances: Electric, Fighting, Grass, Ground, Normal, and Water
- Weaknesses: Dark, Fire, Flying, Ghost, Ice
If you’re lacking a Skeledirge or Magmar, another Fire-type Pokemon that would be a great addition to your team in the Love Cup is Talonflame, with key wins over the likes of Clefable, Scrafty, and Medicham. It’s also very cheap to unlock a second move and doesn’t require XL Candy.
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Incinerate is the best Fast Move here, so you’ll need a Community Day-exclusive Talonflame or an Elite TM to learn it. As for Charged Moves, go with Fly to bait shields then follow it up with Brave Bird for huge damage.
Lickitung (XL)
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Lick
- Charged Move: Body Slam and Power Whip
- Resistances: Ghost
- Weaknesses: Fighting
Lickitung can be quite a threat in the Great League, so it’s no surprise to see it here in the Love Cup. You’ll need XL Candy and a Legacy Move – or an Elite Charged TM – to make it viable, but if you have access to both of those, it’s almost unstoppable.
Lick is the only Fast Move that’s worth using here, so make sure you have it. Body Slam is the Legacy Charged Move we mentioned before, offering decent damage for a low cost. Follow that up with Power Whip for coverage against Water and Ground types.
Magmar (Shadow)
NIANTIC/DEXERTO- Fast Move: Karate Chop
- Charged Move: Fire Punch and Scorching Sands
- Resistances: Steel, Ice, Grass, Fire, Fairy, and Bug
- Weaknesses: Ground, Rock, and Water
Shadow Magmar might be a glass cannon, but it can work nicely as a charger or even closer due to its good Attack stat.
Karate Chop is a good move that offers coverage and fast charge, so Magmar will access its Charges Moves sooner. Fire Punch is its cheapest Fire-type move and can help bait enemy shields. Once those are out of the way, you can hit your opponent full-on. Keep Scorching Sands for more coverage.
Skeledirge
Niantic / The Pokemon Go- Fast Move: Incinerate
- Charged Moves: Disarming Voice and Shadow Ball
- Resistances: Bug, Fighting, Normal, Fairy, Fire, Grass, Ice, Poison, and Steel
- Weaknesses: Dark, Ghost, Ground, Rock, and Water
Skeledirge is the strongest current Fire-type trainers can take into the Love Cup and its secondary Ghost typing only helps it further.
Incinerate is a very good Fast Move and pairing it with Shadow Ball – an outstanding nuke – will make for a nasty combination.
Thanks to its in-game lore, it also comes with the surprising addition of Disarming Voice which can be great for type coverage and baiting opponents. While Talonflame and Magmar hold their own in this league, this Gen 9 starter clears them with ease.
Druddigon
NIANTIC/DEXERTO- Fast Move: Dragon Tail
- Charged Moves: Dragon Claw and Night Slash
- Resistances: Water, Grass, Fire, and Electric
- Weaknesses: Dragon, Fairy, and Ice
Druddigon is a solid choice for the Love Cup since it has key resistances against Talonflame, Hisuian Electrode, and Alomola, among others.
The Fast Move Dragon Tail benefits from STAB and offers better damage output and energy generation than Bite.
Out of the three Charged Moves Druddigon has, both Dragon Claw and Night Slash are cheap and deal similar damage. Go with the first one to benefit from STAB and keep the other as coverage.
Solrock
NIANTIC/DEXERTO- Fast Move: Psywave
- Charged Moves: Rock Slide and Solar Beam
- Resistances: Psychic, Poison, Normal, Flying, and Fire
- Weaknesses: Bug, Dark, Ghost, Grass, Ground, Steel, and Water
Rock types are not common on the Love Cup, but despite Solrock’s many weaknesses, it can still be useful against Fire-type Pokemon.
Solrock has a decent movepool and its attacks have good synergy between them. The Fast Move Psywave offers a fast charge, so you’ll reach Rock Slide early on. You can keep Solar Beam for coverage against some of Solrock’s counters.
Alomomola
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Waterfall
- Charged Moves: Psychic and Hydro Pump
- Resistances: Fire, Ice, Steel, and Water
- Weaknesses: Electric and Grass
The love heart-inspired fish Alomomola is a threat to most of the big players thanks to its impressive bulk. Plus, there aren’t many eligible Pokemon that can counter it – although you’ll need to watch out for Hisuian Electrode, Druddigon, and Clefable.
Choose Waterfall as Alomomola’s Fast Move, as it inflicts decent damage and benefits from STAB. When it comes to Charged Moves, prioritize the low-cost Psychic for extra coverage and shield-baiting, with Hydro Pump as a secondary option for more STAB-assisted damage.
Clefable
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Fairy Wind
- Charged Moves: Swift and Moonblast
- Resistances: Dragon, Fighting, Dark, and Bug
- Weaknesses: Poison and Steel
The key to winning Battle League encounters – or at least getting an advantage – is to access your Charged Moves fast so you can force your opponent to use their shields early on.
Clefable’s Fast Move Fairy Wind is very fast and it benefits from STAB, so you can boost your Charged Moves quickly. Moonblast is a nuke with 130 damage, though it is quite costly and has a chance of lowering your Attack stat, while Swift is cheap and faster, and can expand your coverage.
Hisuian Electrode
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Thunder Shock
- Charged Moves: Wild Charge and Swift
- Resistances: Electric, Grass, Steel, and Water
- Weaknesses: Bug, Fire, Ice, and Poison
Hisuian Electrode hasn’t made too many waves in the Pokemon Go Battle League since its debut at the start of 2022, but now it gets a chance to show off its power in the Love Cup, where it’s a standout competitor.
Thunder Shock gets STAB and has decent energy generation, so choose that as your Fast Move. Pair this with Wild Charge and Swift as Charged Moves, and you’ve got a powerful moveset that can cover most opponents.
Galarian Slowbro
NIANTIC/DEXERTO- Fast Move: Poison Jab
- Charged Moves: Surf and Brutal Swing
- Resistances: Fighting, Poison, Grass, and Fairy
- Weaknesses: Dark, Ghost, and Ground
Galarian Slowbro reached the top of the list thanks to its good Stamina and decent Attack stats. Plus, the extremely varied movepool it has.
While its Fast Move Confusion hits harder, it’s better to go with Poison Jab as it has better energy gain. Brutal Swing is Galarian Slowpoke’s cheapest Charged Move, it can bait enemy shields and offers coverage against Ghost and Psychic-type Pokemon.
You can use Surf to expand your coverage to Ground-type opponents.
Miltank
NIANTIC/DEXERTO- Fast Move: Rollout
- Charged Moves: Body Slam and Thunderbolt
- Resistances: Ghost
- Weaknesses: Fighting
Miltank used to be useless in the Battle League until it got access to Rollout, a pretty good Fast Move that provides fast energy generation to access Charged Moves earlier.
For the Charged Moves use Body Slam, as it benefits from STAB and is the cheapest choice. Pair it with Thunderbolt – or Ice Beam – to expand Miltank’s coverage depending on your opponent.
Lickilicky
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Rollout
- Charged Moves: Body Slam and Earthquake
- Resistances: Ghost
- Weaknesses: Fighting
The bulky Lickilicky is a very solid choice for the Love Cup, as it only has one weakness and its move pool allows it to hit a wide range of types with Normal, Shadow, and Rock attacks.
Rollout is a move that offers fast charge, so Lickilicky can access both Charged Moves faster. Body Slam can be used as shield bait, while Earthquake works as a coverage nuke to target league favorites Talonflame and Galarian Slowbro.
Pokemon Go Love Cup rules & restrictions explained
The Love Cup is one of the most unique challenges in the Pokemon Go Battle League, as only red or pink Pokemon are allowed to enter. Plus, they must also be below the 1,500 CP limit to qualify.
While the rules state only red or pink Pokemon can take part in the Love Cup, this rule is a little bit flexible. For example, Charizard can take part despite only the flame on its tail being the color red, while Solrock only has red in its eyes.
Love Cup: Great League Edition start & end date
The latest Pokemon Go Battle League season will run from December 3, 2024, until March 4, 2025.
During its run, the Love Cup will run from Tuesday, February 4, 2025, at 6:00 PM until Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at 6:00 PM AST. This means you’ll have two weeks to master this Go Battle League cup and work your way to the top.
Those are the best Pokemon you can add to your Love Cup: Great League Edition team 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.