DEXERTOThe Summer Cup is back in the Pokemon Go Battle League for a special Great League Edition, which means you’ll need to rebuild your best team if you want to win. Here are our top picks!
Trainers know the Great, Ultra, and Master League competitions are the main events in the Pokemon Go Battle League. However, each season brings additional cups – with their own set of rules – that offer players new, interesting challenges.
As part of the current Tales of Transformation season, the Summer Cup: Great League Edition is returning to play. But remember, only Normal, Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, and Bug-type Pokemon at or below 1,500 CP can participate.
To help pick the right Pokemon to use in the Summer Cup: Great League Edition, we’ve put together some team recommendations as well as a list of the creatures that are predicted to rise to the top of the current meta.
Best team for the Pokemon Go Summer Cup: Great League Edition
One of the best teams you can use for the Summer Cup includes Cradily, Forretress, and Kingdra (Shadow), 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 Summer 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 Summer Cup: Great League Edition Pokemon
Toedscruel
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Mud-Slap
- Charged Moves: Seed Bomb and Wrap
- Type: Ground/Grass
- Resistances: Electric, Ground, and Rock
- Weaknesses: Ice, Bug, Fire, and Flying
Despite not being the best attacker on our list, Toedscruel is very useful in a team, as it can provide important debuffs to its opponents. Plus, it has a very varied move pool that makes it versatile.
Related
Mud Shot and Mud-Slap are not that far apart performance-wise, but the latter Fast Move can make Toedscruel very spammy – mainly when paired up with Wrap.
Trainers should take advantage of Wrap’s 100% chance of decreasing the opponent’s Defense stat by 20% to then hit them with Seed Bomb, which benefits from STAB.
Samurott (Shadow)
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Fury Cutter
- Charged Moves: Hydro Cannon and Megahorn
- Type: Water
- Resistances: Water, Steel, Ice, and Fire
- Weaknesses: Electric and Grass
The Water-type starter from the Unova region – Samurott – made a comeback to the ranking thanks to its strong and balanced stats, plus its powerful move pool.
While Waterfall is a decent Fast Move to use in the Cup, Fury Cutter is preferred thanks to its faster energy generation. This means using Fury Cutter will let you access your Charged Moves sooner.
As for those, Hydro Cannon is basically mandatory, as it is very cheap and has great DPE value. Because of its low cost, you can spam it to take down the opponent’s shields and then hit them with Megahorn, a very useful coverage nuke.
Victreebel (Shadow)
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Acid
- Charged Moves: Leaf Blade and Sludge Bomb
- Type: Grass/Poison
- Resistances: Grass, Electric, Fairy, Fighting, and Water
- Weaknesses: Fire, Flying, Ice, and Psychic
Victreebel is well remembered among players thanks to its constant appearances in the anime as James’ partner. And while it doesn’t have many chances to shine in the Go Battle League, the Summer Cup is the perfect scenario for this weird-looking creature.
This dual Grass/Poison creature can resist three of the six main types that participate in the tournament, so it already has a good advantage.
While Magical Leaf is its best Fast Move, it’s best to use Acid as it is faster and cheaper. For the Charged Moves, spam Leaf Blade to force your opponent to waste their shields early on. This move has a very low cost and high damage, so take advantage of that. Then, add Sludge Bomb as your secondary Charged Move to deal a killing blow.
Toxapex
Niantic- Fast Move: Poison Jab
- Charged Moves: Brine and Sludge Wave
- Type: Poison/Water
- Resistances: Water, Steel, Poison, Ice, Fire, Fighting, Fairy, and Bug
- Weaknesses: Electric, Ground, and Psychic
Toxapex might not seem like much, but this small creature boasts a ridiculously high Defense stat and a great type combination that gives it 8 resistances, including Water, Steel, and Bug types.
The STAB combo Poison Jab and Sludge Wave works smoothly, plus Sludge Wave has a massive damage of 110. Brine, on the other hand, doesn’t deal that much damage, but it is very cheap and benefits from STAB, too.
Diggersby (Shadow)
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Quick Attack
- Charged Moves: Fire Punch and Scorching Sands
- Type: Normal/Ground
- Resistances: Ghost, Electric, Rock, and Poison
- Weaknesses: Fighting, Grass, Ice, and Water
Even though Diggersby is not a great attacker, it is an extremely bulky Pokemon with a unique and useful type combination.
This season features very strong Electric types, so Diggersby is a great choice to break them. Plus, having access to Fire Punch helps this enormous rabbit fight Grass and Ice types, which are two of its weaknesses.
As if it were not enough, Scorching Sands is a wonderful Ground-type move that deals very high damage for low energy.
Gastrodon
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Mud-Slap
- Charged Moves: Body Slam and Water Pulse
- Type: Water/Ground
- Resistances: Steel, Rock, Poison, Fire, and Electric
- Weaknesses: Grass
Gastrodon is an incredibly powerful choice for the Summer Cup as it has only one weakness, and on the other hand, resists Fire and Electric attacks. Plus, it has very high Stamina to hold its ground.
Out of both Fast Moves, Mud-Slap is stronger, cheaper, and benefits from STAB. Body Slam is Gastrodon’s cheapest Charged Move, and due to how fast it is, it can be used to force the enemy shields while Water Pulse hits hard with a very fair (almost cheap) cost.
Togedemaru
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Thunder Shock
- Charged Moves: Wild Charge and Fell Stinger
- Type: Electric/Steel
- 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 main Leagues, but in the Summer 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 Empoleon, Crustle, Kingdra, Forretress, and more, 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. However, the latter will decrease your Defense stat by 33.3%, so be careful.
You can back up the full Electric-type moveset with Fell Stinger, which can be used as shield bait while also increasing your Attack stat by 25%.
Stunfisk
NIANTIC/DEXERTO- Fast Move: Thunder Shock
- Charged Moves: Mud Bomb and Discharge
- Type: Ground/Electric
- Resistances: Electric, Flying, Poison, Rock, and Steel
- Weaknesses: Grass, Ground, Ice, and Water
Stunfisk is a very bulky Pokemon thanks to its decent Defense and high Stamina stats. Plus, its unique type combination allows it to stand strong against Steel and Water-type opponents.
Thunder Shock is a fast charge move that will grant you access to your Charged Moves sooner. With Mud Bomb, you can bait the enemy shields so you’re free to hit them full-on with Discharge afterward. Both have almost the same stats, so you can switch between them depending on your opponent’s typing.
Morpeko (Full Belly)
NIANTIC/DEXERTO- Fast Move: Thunder Shock
- Charged Moves: Aura Wheel and Psychic Fangs
- Type: Electric/Dark
- Resistances: Psychic, Steel, Ghost, Flying, Electric, and Dark
- Weaknesses: Bug, Fairy, Fighting, and Ground
Despite its tiny size and disappointing defense, Morpeko (Full Belly) is an outstanding Pokemon to use in this particular Cup, mostly due to its Aura Wheel move.
When in combat, the Fast Move Thunder Shock will allow Morpeko to quickly access its Charged Move Aura Wheel. It is not only extremely powerful and cheap, but it also increases the user’s Attack stat by 25% every time, making Morpeko an unstoppable machine.
Combine it with Psychic Fangs for more coverage, and you’ll secure a win in most of your encounters.
Drampa
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Dragon Breath
- Charged Moves: Swift and Dragon Pulse
- Type: Normal/Dragon
- Resistances: Ghost, Electric, Fire, Grass, and Water
- Weaknesses: Dragon, Fairy, Fighting, and Ice
Drampa is a bit of a fragile Pokemon. However, it has a very unique and useful type combination (giving it coverage against four of the main types used in the Summer Cup) and a speedy moveset that improves its performance.
Out of its two Fast Moves, Dragon Breath is exceptionally better. Plus, it benefits from STAB. As for the Charged Moves, spam Swift to get rid of your opponent’s shields and then use Dragon Pulse to finish it off.
Usually, it’s better to use Fly instead of Dragon Pulse to expand Drampa’s coverage and target Fighting types, but they are not being featured here.
Crustle
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Fury Cutter
- Charged Moves: X-Scissor and Rock Wrecker
- Type: Bug/Rock
- Resistances: Normal and Poison
- Weaknesses: Rock, Steel, and Water
Crustle has never been a PvP star in Pokemon Go, but the new meta and the addition of Rock Wrecker to its move pool allowed it to rise in the Summer Cup.
Fury Cutter is the optimal Fast Move for energy generation. Then, with a combination of X-Scissor (used to bait enemy shields) and Rock Wrecker (strong and very cheap) as Charged Moves, Crustle will be able to take down plenty of the Cup’s biggest players like Kingdra, Cradily, and Forretress with no problem at all.
Empoleon (Shadow)
THE POKEMON COMPANY- Fast Move: Metal Sound
- Charged Moves: Hydro Cannon and Drill Peck
- Type: Water/Steel
- 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 Cradily and Crustle.
Metal Sound is a good, fast charge move, which makes it very spammy. 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.
If you can afford a secondary Charged Move, Drill Peck can help you expand your coverage.
Kingdra (Shadow)
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Dragon Breath
- Charged Moves: Swift and Outrage
- Type: Water/Dragon
- Resistances: Fire, Water, and Steel
- Weaknesses: Dragon and Fairy
Kingdra has really well-balanced stats, a good move pool, but mainly has a great type combination that leaves it with few weaknesses (not used in the current meta) and can key resistances that are actually being exploited this season – Water and Steel.
Dragon Breath is the best Fast Move for Kingdra as it benefits from STAB, is fast, and strong. Pair it with Swift as the Charged Move to expand your coverage and bait enemy shields. Then, add the nuke Outrage as your secondary Charged Move to deal massive Dragon-type damage at a very low cost.
Forretress
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Bug Bite
- Charged Moves: Rock Tomb and Earthquake
- Type: Bug/Steel
- Resistances: Poison, Grass, Steel, Psychic, Normal, Ice, Fairy, Dragon, and Bug
- Weaknesses: Fire
Forretress is a solid choice for any team, as it boasts numerous useful resistances and is only weak to one type (Fire), which is not popular in this season. Additionally, it boasts a strong Defense stat.
Bug-type moves are not good at all in Pokemon Go, but Bug Bite can deal heavy damage and benefits from STAB.
For the Charged Move, use Rock Tomb to decrease your opponent’s Attack stat and bait their shields. Then you can finish them up with Earthquake, a solid Ground-type nuke that benefits from STAB and saves you from your only weakness.
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.
Pokemon Go Summer Cup rules & restrictions explained
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 be at or 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.
Summer Cup: Great League Edition start & end date
The latest Battle League season is underway, running from September 2, 2025, until December 2, 2025. For the rest of its run, the Summer Cup: Great League Edition will appear on:
- September 9 – September 16 (along with the Ultra League)
Those are the best Pokemon you can add to your Summer Cup: Great League Edition team during the current 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.