DEXERTOThe Summer Cup is back in the Pokemon Go Battle League for an Ultra League Edition, which means you’ll need to rethink your existing best team compositions if you want to win. Here are our top picks!
While the regular Great, Ultra, and Master League competitions are the main events in the Pokemon Go Battle League, there are additional cups with their own set of rules that offer players different challenges.
As part of the current Delightful Days season, the Summer Cup: Ultra League Edition is returning to play. However, only Normal, Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, and Bug-type Pokemon at or below 2,500 CP can participate.
To help you figure out which Pokemon to use in the Summer Cup: Ultra League Edition, we’ve put together some team recommendations as well as a list of the Pokemon that are predicted to rise to the top of the meta.
Best team for the Pokemon Go Summer Cup: Ultra League Edition
One of the best teams you can use for the Catch Cup includes Cradily, Bellibolt, and Tentacruel, 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: Ultra League Edition Pokemon
Skeledirge
Niantic / The Pokemon Go- Fast Move: Incinerate
- Charged Moves: Torch Song and Shadow Ball
- Type: Fire/Ghost
- 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 Summer Cup, and its secondary Ghost typing only helps it further.
Related
Incinerate is a very good Fast Move, and pairing it with Shadow Ball will make for a nasty combination. However, before blasting the Ghost-type nuke, it’s better to use Torch Song first to increase the user’s Attack stat by 25%.
Zapdos (Shadow)
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Thunder Shock
- Charged Moves: Drill Peck and Thunderbolt
- Type: Electric/Flying
- Resistances: Bug, Fighting, Flying, Grass, Steel, and Ground
- Weaknesses: Ice and Rock
The Gen 1 Legendary has an interesting type combination that allows it to resist both Bug and Grass-type creatures, which are some of the most used in the Summer Cup.
Its high Attack, decent Defense, and solid move pool make it a strong contender. However, to exploit its full potential, you must use Thunder Shock as it’s a fast charge Fast Move. Then pair it with Drill Peck (cheapest move available) to bait enemy shields and use Thunderbolt for consistent Electric damage.
The complete moveset benefits from STAB, so you’ll be able to deal pretty good damage.
Golisopod
NIANTIC- Fast Move: Fury Cutter
- Charged Moves: X-Scissor and Aqua Jet
- Type: Bug/Water
- Resistances: Fighting, Ground, Ice, Steel, and Water
- Weaknesses: Electric, Flying, and Rock
Another Pokemon with excellent type coverage is Golisopod, which serves as a great all-rounder in the League.
The Fast Move Fury Cutter has excellent stats and offers good coverage. As for the Charged Moves, you can spam X-Scissor at the beginning to bait the enemy shields, as it is cheap, and then finish them off with Aqua Jet, a strong attack that benefits from STAB. Plus, the full moveset benefits from STAB.
Genesect (Shock)
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Fury Cutter
- Charged Moves: X-Scissor & Techno Blast
- Type: Bug/Steel
- Resistances: Bug, Dragon, Fairy, Grass, Ice, Normal, Poison, Psychic, and Steel
- Weaknesses: Fire
With only one weakness and a huge amount of type resistances, Genesect is a very tricky Pokemon to take down – which makes it a great addition to your Summer Cup team! Any form will work, but it looks like Shock Drive will have the best win rate.
Fury Cutter is the best Fast Move for Genesect, as its brilliant energy generation will give you frequent access to two powerful Charged Moves: X-Scissor to bait enemy shields and Techno Blast for extra coverage that relates to the Drive you’ve chosen.
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 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.
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 League, 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.
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.
Toxtricity
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Acid
- Charged Moves: Wild Charge and Power-Up Punch
- Type: Electric/Poison
- Resistances: Bug, Electric, Fairy, Fighting, Flying, Grass, Poison, and Steel
- Weaknesses: Ground and Psychic
The Gen 8 Toxtricity is a solid addition to any team as it can resist Bug, Electric, and Grass-type enemies. However, its most outstanding quality is its varied move pool.
Out of its Fast Moves, Acid is the way to go, as it is fast and can target Grass-type opponents. For the Charged Moves, use the spammy Power-Up Punch to expand your coverage (target Normal-type mons) and bait the opponent’s shields.
Finish off with Wild Charge to destroy any Water-type Pokemon by dealing solid Electric-type damage. However, be careful as it will decrease your Defense stat by 33.3%.
Tentacruel
Niantic / The Pokemon Company- Fast Move: Acid
- Charged Moves: Scald and Sludge Wave
- Type: Water/Poison
- 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 Summer Cup is the perfect scenario for it. Thanks to its extreme bulk, it can beat the likes of Virizion, Golisopod, Cradily, and more.
Out of all its Fast Moves, Acid is the best, as it offers a better balance between damage and energy gains. As for the Charged Moves, Scald is cheap, has solid DPE, and can decrease the target’s Attack stat by 20%. This makes it ideal to bait shields, while Sludge Wave is a powerful 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.
Bellibolt
DEXERTO- Fast Move: Sucker Punch
- Charged Moves: Parabolic Charge and Zap Cannon
- Type: Electric
- Resistances: Steel, Flying, and Electric
- Weaknesses: Ground
The pure Electric-type from Bellibolt is ideal to face the many Water-types in the current meta. Plus, it has pretty good stats – with a lot of Stamina – and a very powerful move pool players can work with.
While Thunder Shock provides maximum energy generation, Sucker Punch can expand Bellibolt’s coverage while also dealing good damage and energy generation.
The Charged Moves should be Parabolic Charge to increase the user’s Defense stat by 25%, and the nuke Zap Cannon to decrease the target’s Attack stat by 20%.
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 at number one on PvPoke. 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: Ultra League Edition is that only Normal, Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, and Bug-type Pokemon are eligible to take part. Additionally, they must also be at or below the 2,500 CP limit.
While this does restrict your options, it’s good to know that dual-type Pokemon are allowed to enter. For example, the Psychic/Fire-type Delphox can have a spot on your team because it’s part Fire-type.
Summer Cup: Ultra League Edition start & end date
The latest Battle League season is underway, running from June 3, 2025, until September 2, 2025. For the rest of its run, the Summer Cup will appear on:
- August 5 – August 12 (along with the Ultra League)
Those are the best Pokemon you can add to your Summer Cup: Ultra 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.