DEXERTOAs the name suggests, the Spring Cup: Great League Edition is a seasonal Pokemon Go Battle League tournament. For those participating, here are the rules, requirements, and best team recommendations.
The Pokemon Go Battle League features different competitions that can be based on themes, seasons, or others, offering trainers fresh challenges besides the standard Great, Ultra, and Master Leagues.
In this case, the Spring Cup: Great League Edition celebrates spring’s arrival with a tournament that lasts for two weeks. However, challengers must know that only Fairy, Grass, and Water-type Pokemon below 1,500 CP can participate in it.
So, if you’re struggling to rebuild your usual team composition, here are the top-performing Pokemon to use in Niantic‘s Battle League Spring Cup to help you rise to the top.
Best team for the Pokemon Go Spring Cup: Great League Edition
Currently, one of the best teams for the Spring Cup: Great League Edition includes Galarian Weezing, Lapras, and Ferrothorn, as these are three of the strongest eligible Pokemon, and together, they should give you decent coverage against most other Pokemon you’ll face off against.
As always, it’s impossible to say what a true ‘best’ team looks like, as it really depends on the Pokemon that your opponent sends into battle. For example, Abomasnow might be a top-ranking Pokemon in this cup, but a strong Tentacruel will pretty much always defeat it.
Having said that, you’ll find a roundup of some of the best Pokemon you can use in the Spring Cup below, alongside their optimal movesets and weaknesses.
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Best Spring Cup: Great Legue Edition Pokemon
Empoleon
THE POKEMON COMPANY- Fast Move: Steel Wing
- Charged Moves: Hydro Cannon and Drill Peck
- Resistances: Steel, Poison, Ice, Water, Rock, Psychic, Normal, Flying, Fairy, Dragon, and Bug
- Weaknesses: Electric, Fighting, and Ground
This dual Water/Steel-type Pokemon has climbed the ranks in the League and sits at the top thanks to its powerful Attack and formidable Defenses. It serves as a great counter to Pokemon like Abomasnow, Galarian Weezing, and Golisopod.
Steel Wing is a good Fast Move as it has a good balance between its damage and energy cost. As for the Charged Move, Hydro Cannon is the way to go due to its high damage and very low cost. Plus, it’s one of the best Water-type moves in the whole game.
Steel Wing and Hydro Cannon work well together and can benefit from STAB, which gives Empoleon 20% extra damage during fights. In case you can add a secondary Charged Move, Drill Peck is the perfect way to expand Empoleon’s coverage.
Mawile
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Fire Fang
- Charged Moves: Power-Up Punch and Play Rough
- Resistances: Dragon, Bug, Rock, Psychic, Poison, Normal, Ice, Grass, Flying, Fairy, and Dark
- Weaknesses: Fire and Ground
Even though Mawile has standard stats, it benefits from a long list of resistances that can help it stay alive for a longer time. Moreover, it has a very versatile move pool, which allows it to target different opponents.
Due to how many Grass-type Pokemon participate in the Spring Cup, the best Fast Move you can use is Fire Fang. This way, you’ll deal supereffective damage. For the Charged Move, Power-Up Punch has a very low energy cost, so you can spam it to bait the opponent’s shields. Plus, every time you use it, you increase Mawile’s Attack stat by 25%.
If you can afford a secondary Charged Move, go with Play Rough to expand your coverage with a very powerful Fairy-type move that also benefits from STAB.
Qwilfish
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Poison Sting
- Charged Moves: Aqua Tail and Ice Beam
- Resistances: Water, Steel, Poison, Ice, Fire, Fighting, Fairy, and Bug
- Weaknesses: Electric, Ground, and Psychic
Similar to other Pokemon, Qwilfish doesn’t stand out due to its stats, but it has a lot of type resistances that, in the long run, benefit a team when properly exploited.
The optimal way to use this Pokemon in the Battle League is to use Poison Sting as its Fast Move due to its amazing energy generation. That way, you can quickly power up the Charged Move, Aqua Tail.
Aqua Tail is incredibly spammy, so Qwilfish can apply shield pressure on the opponent until it can access Ice Beam, the secondary Charged Move.
Leavanny
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Shadow Claw
- Charged Moves: Leaf Blade and X-Scissor
- Resistances: Ground, Grass, Water, Fighting, and Electric
- Weaknesses: Fire, Flying, Bug, Ice, Poison, and Rock
Leavanny might not be as bulky as other options from the list, but it has a good Attack stat and very spammy moves.
Even though it’s a dual Bug/Grass-type Pokemon, pick Shadow Claw as the Fast Move. This Ghost-type attack is superior to the other options, plus it has better coverage. However, it can only be obtained through a Community Day or an Elite Fast TM.
For the Charged Move, pick Leaf Blade, as it offers incredible damage for the lowest amount of energy, and it even hits harder thanks to the STAB. For the secondary Charged Move, go with X-Scissor. Its cost is similar to Leaf Blade’s, but it offers different coverage.
Venusaur (Shadow)
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Vine Whip
- Charged Moves: Frenzy Plant and Sludge Bomb
- Resistances: Grass, Water, Fighting, Fairy, and Electric
- Weaknesses: Fire, Flying, Ice, and Psychic
The mighty Grass-type Kanto Starter might be kind of a glass cannon due to the -20% Defense stat that every Shadow Pokemon has, but it resists the three types allowed in this competition: Fairy, Grass, and Water.
The key to using Venusaur is to access its strongest attacks quickly, so start with Vine Whip. This Fast Move generates energy incredibly fast, which means you’ll be able to power up the Charged Moves sooner.
Frenzy Plant is Venusaur’s key feature, as it benefits from an insane DPE. However, as a Legacy Move, you can only access it through a Community Day or an Elite Charged TM. To expand the coverage, use Sludge Bomb as your secondary Charged Move, as it can target fellow Grass-type enemies.
Amoonguss (Shadow)
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Astonish
- Charged Moves: Sludge Bomb and Foul Play
- Resistances: Grass, Water, Fighting, Fairy, and Electric
- Weaknesses: Fire, Flying, Ice, and Psychic
Amoonguss can be considered a well-rounded choice, similar to Venusaur, with the difference that it has access to Dark and Ghost-type attacks.
For the Fast Move, it is better to use Astonish over Feint Attack, as the first one deals double the damage for just a little more energy. For the Charged Move, go with Sludge Bomb for a strong and cheap attack that also benefits from STAB, and then add Foul Play as the secondary option for coverage.
Klefki
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Astonish
- Charged Moves: Foul Play and Play Rough
- Resistances: Dragon, Bug, Rock, Psychic, Poison, Normal, Ice, Grass, Flying, Fairy, and Dark
- Weaknesses: Fire and Ground
Despite its very small size and ridiculous design, Klefki can be a helpful teammate if used correctly, mainly because of its Defense stat and spammy moves.
As a Fast Move, Tackle is useless, as it has poor energy gain, making it very hard to access the Charged Moves. This means you’ll have to use Astonish.
For the Charged Moves, use Foul Play as your main one. The Dark-type attack is Klefki’s cheapest option and can help you bait the opponent’s shields. Add Play Rough as your secondary Charged Move for strong damage with STAB.
Abomasnow (Shadow)
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Powder Snow
- Charged Moves: Weather Ball (Ice) and Energy Ball
- Resistances: Electric, Grass, Water, and Ground
- Weaknesses: Fire, Flying, Poison, Rock, Bug, Steel, and Fighting
Abomasnow is already a good pick in the Great League meta, but in the Spring Cup, many of its biggest threats are banned, so it really gets a chance to shine as one of the top competitors. If you have a Shadow Abomasnow, even better.
Powder Snow has fast energy generation, so choose that as Abomasnow’s Fast Move – you’ll then have quicker access to the low-cost Weather Ball (Ice) to bait shields and Energy Ball for some impressive STAB damage and extra coverage.
Tentacruel
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Poison Jab
- Charged Moves: Acid Spray and Sludge Wave
- Resistances: Bug, Fairy, Fighting, Fire, Ice, Poison, Steel, and Water
- Weaknesses: Electric, Ground, and Psychic
Tentacruel doesn’t get many chances to shine in the Go Battle League, but it turns out the Great League of the Spring Cup is the perfect scenario for it, with key wins against Galarian Weezing, Abomasnow, Golisopod, and Lapras.
Poison Jab is the best Fast Move for Tentacruel to have in its moveset, as it has great damage and energy generation. Acid Spray is the cheapest Charged Move, which gives it an option for baiting shields and debuffing the opponent’s Defense stat by 33.3%
On the other hand, Sludge Wave is a powerful STAB attack to have as a secondary option, as it can deal some huge damage.
Lapras
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Psywave
- Charged Moves: Sparkling Aria and Ice Beam
- 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.
Ferrothorn
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Bullet Seed
- Charged Moves: Power Whip and Flash Cannon
- Resistances: Dragon, Electric, Fairy, Grass, Normal, Poison, Psychic, Rock, Steel, and Water
- Weaknesses: Fighting and Fire
As well as being bulky, Ferrothorn has one of the best typings for the Spring Cup. Being part Steel-type means it has hardly any weaknesses, while being part Grass-type means it has a key advantage over the Water, Fairy, and Electric-type creatures that participate in the tournament.
With high energy generation, Bullet Seed is the best Fast Move choice here since its 2020 buff. As do for the Charged Move, Power Whip deals good damage for a fair energy cost. Plus, it benefits from STAB damage.
For those who can afford a secondary Charged Move, use Flash Cannon for a Steel-type nuke to obliterate any remaining opponents.
Galarian Weezing
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Fairy Wind
- Charged Moves: Sludge and Overheat
- Resistances: Fighting, Dragon, Bug, Grass, Fairy, and Dark
- Weaknesses: Ground, Psychic, and Steel
Galarian Weezing not only sports a unique dual Poison/Fairy type combination but also has access to a versatile move pool that includes Dark and Fire attacks. This way, it can target Fighting, Dragon, Dark, Psychic, Ghost, Grass, Ice, Bug, and even Steel, which Galarian Weezing is weak against.
Fairy Wind is a great Fast Move to use, mainly due to its incredibly high energy generation, which will allow players to reach their Charged Moves sooner in the battle.
Pair it with the Charged Move Sludge to benefit from even more STAB damage while baiting your opponent’s shields. Add Overheat as your secondary Charged Move to target the Grass types, such as Ferrothorn, Abomasnow, Amoonguss, and Venusaur.
Pokemon Go Spring Cup rules & restrictions explained
The Spring Cup is one of the most unique challenges in the Pokemon Go Battle League, as only Fairy, Grass, and Water-type Pokemon are allowed to enter. Plus, they must also be below the 1,500 CP limit to qualify.
While this does heavily limit the Pokemon you can use, it’s worth remembering that dual-types that are at least half Fairy, Grass, or Water-type are eligible to enter.
This time around – and even though they have the allowed types – Jumpluff, Roserade, and Toxapex are banned from the competition.
Spring Cup: Great League Edition start & end date
The latest Pokemon Go Battle League season will run from March 4, 2025, until June 3, 2025.
During that time, the Spring Cup will run from April 8, 2025, until April 15, 2025, along with the Ultra League. Then, it will stay from April 15, 2025, until April 22, 2025, but this time around with the Master League.
This means you’ll have two weeks to dominate this Go Battle League cup and work your way to the top.
Those are the best Pokemon you can add to your Spring 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.