The “Nifty Or Thrifty” article series takes a comprehensive look at the meta for PvP Cup formats: the GBL Season 20 version of Willpower Cup, in this case. As is typical for the NoT series, I’ll cover not only the top meta picks, but also some mons where you can save some dust with cheaper second move unlock costs and/or leveling up!
A quick reminder of what Willpower Cup is:
- Great League, 1500 CP Limit.
- Only Pokémon with a Psychic, Dark, or Fighting typing will be allowed.
- As an update to past Willpower Cups, it appears that Gardevoir is NOT banned this time.
As per usual, we’ll start with Pokémon with the cheapest second move unlock cost and steam ahead until we finally arrive at the expensive Legendaries. I do try and put extra emphasis on the thriftier stuff, especially for formats like this where you may not use some of these things much in the future. For a rough guide to reusability, I will rank things with ♻️s, with three being solid in other Great League formats, two being okay in at least certain Cup formats, and only one ♻️ being something that, honestly, you’re unlikely to use again.
10,000 Dust/25 Candy
LIEPARD ♻️
Liepard
Dark
Charm | Dark Pulse? Play Rough? Does it matter?
Starting right off with what we in the business call a One Week Wonder. Charm Liepard looks likely to be one of the bigger stars in Willpower Cup, but probably only in Willpower Cup, because it has a lot going for it here that it won’t in basically any other meta… namely resisting all the Dark and Psychic damage around, and fending off most Fighters that prey on Darks thanks to Charm (as well as obliterating most all Darks with Charm as well, with only a few of the Poisonous ones realistically having a chance to escape). But its very flimsy Defense still holds it back even with those positives going for it, so even here it can still only hit about a 50% winrate against the core meta. Shadow Liepard can better overpower a couple of the Dark/Poisons (tying Skuntank in 1shield and sometimes beating aside Overqwil in 2shield), but only non-Shadow has the bulk necessary to consistently power through Mandibuzz. (And you DO want Play Rough, at least, to help guarantee that.) You will find that the few Charm options have a lot of value in Willpower Cup, and Liepard is not only cheap, but right up there with the rest.
ALOLAN RATICATE ♻️♻️
Alola Raticate
DarkNormal
Quick Attack | Crunch & Hyper Fang/Returnᴸ
So last time my recommendation was purified A-Rat with STAB Return, and while that’s still fine, I slightly lean towards Hyper Fang now instead, as its unique wins (Greninja, Galarian Rapidash, and the new annoyance of Morpeko) have more value to me than those of Return (Guzzlord and Skuntank). Similarly, I slightly favor non-Shadow over ShadowRat, with Shadow uniquely beating down Skuntank, H-Qwilfish, and Mandibuzz, but non-Shadow holding strong with unique wins G-Dash, Lokix, and Claydol instead. Either way, A-Rat is a great generalist that really only needs to fear Fighting damage and Charm, and can take a big bite out of just about everything else in the meta.
OBSTAGOON ♻️
Obstagoon
DarkNormal
Counter | Night Slash & Cross Chop
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. One of the unfortunate non-Fighting victims of the big Counter nerf this season, Goonie is not completely unusable in PvP, but it’s definitely fallen on hard times in formats like Willpower. There IS good news, however, as ShadowGoon can still recapture a little of its former glory with pickups (as compared to non-Shadow) against Cresselia, Drapion, Overqwil, and Galarian Moltres, though it does drop Mandibuzz along the way. It’s not perfect by any means, but Goonie is good enough for at least one more meta. 🎼 Good enough for me! 🎶
INCINEROAR ♻️♻️
Incineroar
FireDark
Snarl/Double Kick | Blast Burnᴸ & Blaze Kick
I’d be remiss not to point it out as a viable thrifty option, though it’s really only ideal with high rank IVs, with which it can add on wins like Umbreon, Malamar, and Galarian Rapidash. I’m still somewhat partial to Double Kick, but even I have to admit the speedy energy gains of Snarl are probably better here, as only with Snarl can Incineroar outrace stuff like G-Dash, Galarian Slowbro, and top Charmer Hatterene. (Yeah, really… more on that later.) Double Kick instead takes out Dark/Poisons, but Snarl probably wins out on most teams, if I’m being honest.
GRENINJA ♻️♻️♻️
Greninja
WaterDark
Water Shuriken | Hydro Cannonᴸ & Night Slash
Like many of the higher ranked things in this Cup (Greninja settles into the Top 25), the overall win/loss record is not awe inspiring at first glance, even at its best (which in this case, is actually with high Attack to better overpower Morpeko and obviously win the mirror). But it can take down the majority of the very top meta options, and aside from opposing Charmers (not Fairies in general, as it can wash away stuff like Galarian Rapidash) and Fighters, Greninja is never an easy out. Nothing brings widely neutral pressure quite like it can.
HISUIAN SAMUROTT ♻️♻️
Hisuian Samurott
WaterDark
Fury Cutter | Icy Wind & Dark Pulse
As much as I like Greninja and the widespread pressure it can bring to bear, I gotta say, Hisuian Sammie is in many ways a better fit for this meta, and it starts with Fury Cutter, which hits Dark and Psychic types for super effective damage. Add in some intriguing charge moves (especially Icy Wind) and you have an intriguing wild card… if you’ve managed to trade for one with IVs that allow it to sneak into Great League, that is. Remember that it’s only ever been available from raids, which means Level 20. There are 274 IV combinations that work… good luck!
ALOLAN RAICHU ♻️♻️
Alola Raichu
ElectricPsychic
Volt Switch | Thunder Punch & Wild Charge
Another case where decently high Attack outperforms higher bulk (the extra wins being Shadow Machamp and Overqwil), thanks to Electric being widely unresisted here. And yes, you probably want the all-Electric moveset. It puts a pretty good beating on a swath of things, but honestly is a little tough to recommend relying on this time around in Willpower Cup.
LUCARIO (Baby Discount™) ♻️♻️
Lucario
FightingSteel
Force Palm | Thunder Punch & Close Combat/Shadow Ball
I believe there are a number of ways you can go here, with Blaze Kick, Power-Up Punch, and especially Shadow Ball all having some obvious applications that could work on the right teams. But the best overall seems to be Thuder Punch and Close Combat, which can add on stuff like Victini, Mandibuzz, and Galarian Moltres in various shielding scenarios.
BLAZIKEN ♻️♻️
Blaziken
FireFighting
Counter | Blaze Kick & Blast Burnᴸ/Stone Edgeᴸ/Brave Bird
Specifically as a Shadow, Blaze does enough to be worth pointing out, though the only thing it beats that you may not expect is Greninja. I suppose it’s nice that it can outrace fellow Shadows Machamp and Primeape, so there’s that?
CHESNAUGHT ♻️♻️
Chesnaught
GrassFighting
Vine Whip | Superpower & Frenzy Plantᴸ
This isn’t a great meta for Grasses, and perhaps the best way to show that is to point out that Chesnaught is the best Grass in Willpower Cup. Yes, as a Fighter it tangles up Dark types — though even there is struggles with Poison, Flying, and Dragon ones — and it demolishes what Grounds, Rocks, Waters, and Electrics sneak into the meta, as well as nicely fending off Raichu thanks to resisting Electric damage. But Naught is a mere role player, not something to build your team around.
50,000 Dust/50 Candy
HISUIAN QWILFISH ♻️♻️♻️
Hisuian Qwilfish
DarkPoison
Poison Jab/Poison Sting | Aqua Tail & Ice Beam
Ranked inside the Top 5 (all the way up at #2 at the time of this writing!), so I hope you managed to land a good one when they were available. It’s got a little bit of everything: resists common Dark, Psychic, and Poison moves, takes only neutral damage from Fighting, and can hit back at darn near everything with neutral damage somewhere in its move package. Usually that package revolves around Poison Jab and Aqua Tail, and after that I personally recommend widely unresisted Ice Beam to add on things like Mandibuzz, Galarian Moltres, Morpeko, Drapion, and sometimes Guzzlord. I also recommend giving Poison Jab a long hard look over the understandly more popular (and recently buffed) Poison Sting, as Jab gives up Guzzlord but gains G-Dash, Lokix, and Victini. I also ALSO recommend — if you can manage it — running one with high rank IVs, which makes a BIG difference in this meta with pickups versus Greninja, Drapion, Galarian Slowbro, Umbreon, and both Overqwil and enemy H-Qwils. Add to that ties versus big names like Hatterene (and all Charmers, for that matter), Cresselia, Mandibuzz, Malamar, Morpeko, and many more, and yeah… Peter H. Qwil earns its high ranking.
Overqwil
DarkPoison
The story is very similar for OVERQWIL. I again recommend Poison Jab and Ice Beam, which is slightly worse than H-Qwil (gaining more consistent G-Dash wins but losing Greninja and Umbreon) but is still a perfectly acceptable alternative. Or heck, you could be evil and run them both…. 😈
SKUNTANK ♻️♻️♻️
Skuntank
PoisonDark
Poison Jab | Crunch & Flamethrower/Trailblaze/Returnᴸ
On the rise in PvP thanks to the buff to Trailblaze, that move works fine enough in this meta (as does purified Stank with Return, if you have one you like using), but in Willpower Cup, I think that Flamethrower still reigns supreme, beating everything those other closers can PLUS Overqwil and Galarian Moltres. Bonus points if you have high rank IVs and therefore a shot at Umbreon too. I do NOT recommend ShadowStank, though, which overpowers Mandibuzz but gives up a TON to get there, like Greninja, Morpeko, Overqwil, Umbreon, Lokix, Malamar, Victini and more. Yuck! 🤢
ALOLAN MUK ♻️♻️
Alola Muk
PoisonDark
Poison Jab | Acid Spray & Sludge Wave/Dark Pulse
Compared to the other Dark/Poisons, Alolan Muk is just okay. But “just okay” is still good enough to work on teams, and with Acid Spray in the mix, sometimes it’s okay for A-Muk to lose but leave its opponent(s) debuffed and hobbled and set up A-Muk’s teammates for major success. If you run it, I recommend Sludge Wave for closing out (as it actually does slightly better than Dark Pulse by overwhelming Skuntank and Drapion, whereas Pulse gets Galarian Slowbro instead.
GALARIAN SLOWBRO ♻️♻️
Galarian Slowbro
PoisonPsychic
Poison Jab | Brutal Swing & Scald
Another Poison type that is ranked high, but I gotta say… I’m having trouble seeing it. Even with Rank 1 IVs, it’s just an anti-Charm, anti-Fighting specialist. That has value, sure, and some teams will have a hole that Galarian Slowbro best fills. But just don’t ask it to do much else of note.
HISUIAN SNEASEL & SNEASLER ♻️♻️
Sneasler
FightingPoison
Poison Jab/Shadow Claw | Close Combat & X-Scissor/Aerial Ace
Both are quite good, and beat mostly the same stuff, but there ARE some key differences. Sneasler and its Shadow Claw outraces Victini, Galarian Slowbro, and Guzzlord, while Hisuian Sneasel instead takes out Galarian Moltres, H-Qwil, and Hatteren and most other Charmers.
TOXICROAK ♻️♻️
Toxicroak
PoisonFighting
Poison Jab | Mud Bomb & Dynamic Punch/Shadow Ball
Well, we FINALLY found it, folks: the meta where Poison Jab Toxicroak is the best Toxicroak. Of course, it helps that Counter was nerfed, but still. And Dynamic Punch is the best closer here over Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb too, as Dynamic beats all the big names those others do but adds on Drapion and Umbreon too. It plays very much like the Sneazes above, being better versus Poisons thanks to Mud Bomb (with G-Bro as one standout win), but ironically it struggles more than H-Sneasel versus Guzzlord.
CLAYDOL ♻️♻️
Claydol
GroundPsychic
Mud Slap | Ice Beam & Rock Tomb/Scorchung Sands/Shadow Ball
One thing NONE of those Poison types want to see is the Spinny Top Of Doom and its now-really-good Mud Slap. Claydol’s always been a star in Psychic Cup, but now this makes TWO metas where it’s legitimately awesome (ranked well within the Top 10!) As with the Qwils, I actually like Ice Beam a lot here for its ability to at least maim Flyers, wallop Guzzlord and opposing Claydols and such, and hit most of the meta for neutral damage. But after that, I think I actually lean Rock Tomb as the second move, a little bit for coverage but mostly because of its guaranteed Attack debuff to the opponent. Scorching Sands is fine too (and, importantly, 10 energy cheaper than Tomb), but loses Cresselia in 2shield and Drapion in 1s, which Tomb allows ‘Dol to outlast. It IS worth noting that Sands alone can outrace Greninja and Shadow Primeape with shields down. Take that all for what it’s worth. Guessing most people will just run Shadow Ball anyway, so…. 🤷♂️
GALARIAN RAPIDASH ♻️♻️
Galarian Rapidash
PsychicFairy
Fairy Wind | Body Slam & Megahorn/Wild Charge
Those who played through Psychic Cup and all the Claydol found there know that G-Dash with Megahorn is a solid Claydol counter, and it does plenty else too… and again, high rank IVs are invaluable, picking up Overqwil and Hatterene. I do prefer Megahorn here for the ability to slap Psychic AND Dark types, but Wild Charge is a more than acceptable sidegrade, losing out to Claydol (no duh), Cresselia, Qwil, and Umbreon, but gaining Mandibuzz, Annihilape, and often the mirror match.
HATTERENE ♻️
Hatterene
PsychicFairy
Charm | Psyshock & Power Whip (though you won’t need charge moves much!)
I NEVER imagined we’d see Hatterene in the Top 20 of ANY meta, but here we are! This may be the best Charmer in the format, folks, right up there with the infamous Shadow Gardevoir. And this meta, despite all the Poisons, is ripe for the picking for a good Charmer. Pick off Fighters and most Darks, and then overwhelm stuff like G-Dash (at least sometimes) for dessert. Nothing fancy, and I don’t think Hatterene stands out this tall in future metas, but simple is sometimes best, and that’s very true in Willpower Cup.
Female MEOWSTIC and GOTHITELLE are poor man’s versions that I don’t recommend, per se, but they do (portions of) the same job in a pinch.
SCRAFTY ♻️♻️
Scrafty
FightingDark
Counter | Thunder Punch & Foul Play
It is a testament to Scrafty’s bulk that despite the Counter nerf AND its double weakness to Fairy damage that it somehow manages to stay relevant in Willpower Cup. One could say that it has incredible… power of will? Okay, stop groaning… I’ve made far worse puns over the years. Keep your pants on! 👖 Anyway, Scrafty pulls himself up by his britches, putting on his big boy pants to still put a smackdown on opposing Darks and bonuses like Victini too. Take that, smarty pants!
PANGORO ♻️♻️♻️
Pangoro
FightingDark
Karate Chop | Close Combat & Night Slash/Rock Slide
Pangoro doesn’t even need pants to make a nice impact as well. It struggles to match wins versus Greninja and Victini that Scrafty achieves, but Kung Fu Panda goes out and takes down Malamar, Skuntank, and Claydol instead. I do prefer Night Slash as the bait/coverage move, but shout out to Rock Slide for at least taking down Mandibuzz (at the cost of giving up Claydol and G-Bro).
MACHAMP ♻️♻️♻️
Machamp
Fighting
Karate Chopᴸ | Cross Chop & Paybackᴸ/Stone Edgeᴸ/Rock Slide
The typically preferred ShadowChamp, despite typing differences, is mostly just an alterative Pangoro, trading away Morpeko and Malamar to take down Greninja and Victini instead. But for once, non-Shadow is more interesting to me, because it alone retains the bulk to make Payback work, using it to take down Claydol, Malamar, Morpeko, G-Bro, and Shadow Annihilape. Without Stone Edge it does drop Mandibuzz, Victini, and Qwils, but I think it’s worth it. How about you?
MACHOKE ♻️♻️
Machoke
Fighting
Karate Chop | Cross Chopᴸ/Brick Break & Returnᴸ/Dynamic Punch
Yeah, it’s really good now as well. And you can work it in a few different ways. Instead of Return as simmed just above, you can run Dynamic Punch instead, giving up G-Dash but gaining Mandibuzz in exchange. (That might be an upgrade anyway in this meta.) Or if you don’t want to throw an Elite TM at getting Legacy Cross Chop, you could run Brick Break as an acceptable alternative, which actually picks up Malamar, but does lose to Mandibuzz and Primeape that Cross Chop can overcome. I do shy away from ShadowChoke though, as it lacks the bulk to outlast Primeape and the Qwils. But this is a VERY good time to build a Machoke in general, folks… it’s viable even in Open play now after the (non-Legacy!) Karate Chop buff!
PRIMEAPE ♻️♻️♻️
Primeape
Fighting
Karate Chopᴸ | Rage Fistᴸ & Close Combat
Primeape takes the Payback Machamp formula and flips it, pushing the spammy damage (Fighting with Cross Chop in the cases of Machamp and Machoke) to anti-Psychic Ghost damage with the brand new Rage Fist, which makes Optimus Primal strictly better than it was with Night Slash, suffering no new losses while picking up Morpeko, Mandibuzz, Claydol, and Shadow Machamp. And speaking of the Champ, Primeape beats things Machamp can only dream of like Morpeko (in fairness, Machoke can match that win, at least) and Malamar. Hope you got a good Rage Fist version during Community Day!
ANNIHILAPE ♻️♻️♻️
Annihilape
FightingGhost
Counter | Rage Fistᴸ & Shadow Ball/Close Combat
Bigger, angrier monkee has the potential put up even bigger, angrier numbers with Shadow Ball. Not only does Anni typically outlast Primeape in the head to head, but also Victini and Megahorn G-Dash (resisting Body Slam AND Megahorn helps a lot). The downside is giving away Malamar and sometimes Mandibuzz as well (thanks to taking neutral from Dark rather than resisting as mono-type Fighters do), but to me that seems worth it. Shadow Anni probably prefers the speed of Close Combat over Shadow Ball, gaining Mandi but losing now to Shadow Primeape.
GALARIAN FARFETCH’D ♻️♻️
Galarian Farfetch'd
Fighting
Fury Cutter | Brave Bird & Leaf Blade
Yes, really. Believe it or not, in this meta, G-Fetch’d makes a real impact here. It starts with Fury Cutter, because as a reminder, Bug damage shreds Dark AND Psychic types, allowing G-Fetch’d to not only beat down most Dark types, but Claydol too. Of course, Leaf Blade helps a lot there too.
SIRFETCH’D also seems best with Fury Cutter, and it utilizes Close Combat rather than the Brave Bird that G-Fetch’d is stuck with, using it to Greninja and the Qwils rather than Morpeko, Drapion, and G-Bro that G-Fetch’d takes down instead.
POLIWRATH ♻️♻️
Poliwrath
WaterFighting
Mud Shot | Icy Wind & Dynamic Punch
Yep, I think if Poliwrath is to break through here in this post-Counter-nerf world, it’s with an old school moveset that includes Mud Shot and Dynamic Punch. That allows outracing Shadow Machamp as well as Skuntank and Galarian Slowbro. WILL Poliwrath pop up again? Only time will tell….
MEDICHAM ♻️♻️
Medicham
FightingPsychic
Counter | Ice Punch & Power-Up Punch/Dynamic Punch
Maybe another mini-renaissance on the way? Medi creams the Darks, not surprisingly, and still outlasts most other Fighters. (Anni being a notable exception.) Ice Punch also takes down Claydol, and while that’s about all there is to speak of, that still makes for one of the better Fighting performances in the meta. Medicham isn’t a terrible option if you miss its glory days and want another shot at it.
MALAMAR ♻️♻️♻️
Malamar
DarkPsychic
Psywave | Foul Play & Superpower
Yes, you’ll certainly see it, as popular as it is now. But in truth, it’s not nearly as scary here as it is elsewhere.
LOKIX ♻️♻️
Lokix
BugDark
Sucker Punch | X-Scissor & Bug Buzz/Trailblaze
Unsurprisingly, it’s held back a bit by its glassiness, but does enough here to be menacing. And yes, I lean towards double Bug charge moves for reasons I’ve already stated: Bug is pretty lethal in this meta, and Bug Buzz adds a lot of wins with shields down that Trailblaze can’t really replicate, like Guzzlord, Drapion, Skuntank, and Hisuian Qwilfish.
MORPEKO ♻️♻️♻️
Morpeko
ElectricDark
Thunder Shock | Psychic Fangs & Aura Wheel
Well with Aura Wheel currently being a wild card (a current bug in the game makes it impossible to tell when it’s Electric or Dark type), it’s a little hard to judge HOW good Morpeko will be here, but it’s safe to say it will certainly be good (assuming it isn’t banned). Not surprising is how it pretty well dominates Flyers and Waters, and being part-Dark means it has a leg up versus many other Darks like Umbreon, Drapion, Malamar and Lokix. More surprising, perhaps, are wins like G-Bro, G-Dash, Victini, and even the Shadow versions of Machamp and Primeape. It WILL feature prominently here if allowed in, so get ready for more unpredictable chaos, folks.
75,000 Dust/75 Candy
Running out of time and room, so forgive me, but we’re gonna cover these more expensive picks in bulletized form. Here we go!
MANDIBUZZ ♻️♻️♻️
Mandibuzz
Dark
Air Slash | Foul Play & Aerial Ace
Ranked very highly in Willpower Cup, so not much analysis needed, right? Actually, there are a couple big things I feel compelled to point out. That ranking comes with a moveset that is NOT one of my recommendations, the standard Snarl/Aerial Ace/Dark Pulse that Mandi typically runs these days. That moveset indeed performs quite well versus the entire format and earns a high ranking… but it underperforms a bit versus the core meta. So if you want to run a Snarl set, I recommend Shadow Ball as basically a straight upgrade to the Dark charge moves, gaining Galarian Rapidash and Shadow Annihilape across multiple shielding scenarios, and even Hatterene in 1v1 shielding. However, I would ALSO recommend taking a long hard look at Air Slash, which sometimes drops Drapion but more than makes up for it by gaining Guzzlord, both Shadow Apes, Greninja, Overqwil, and Snarl Mandibuzz. THAT is the moveset I would use, but you do you, my friend!
DRAPION ♻️♻️♻️
Drapion
PoisonDark
Poison Sting | Aqua Tail & Crunch/Sludge Bomb
The obvious play these days is the buffed Poison Sting, with which GBL is currently crawling with Drapions. In this meta, it is only with Sting that Drapula outraces stuff like Greninja, Hatterene, G-Dash, Morpeko, Cresselia, and Umbreon. However, there is also the disruptive option of Ice Fang, which instead chews through Guzzlord, Galarian Moltres, the Qwils, and Poison Sting Drap. Sometimes that kind of edge can push your team OVER the edge.
UMBREON ♻️♻️♻️
Umbreon
Dark
Snarl | Foul Play & Last Resortᴸ/Psychicᴸ
Still here, still doing its thing. And still wants Last Resort more than any other secondary charge move. High rank IVs give it a leg up versus Snarl Mandibuzz and even Galarian Rapidash. And uh… that’s about it. Next!
SABLEYE ♻️♻️♻️
Sableye
DarkGhost
Shadow Claw | Foul Play & Returnᴸ/Power Gem
Kind of the same story here: Sableye keeps on trucking. Non-Shadow probably still wants Return here (with extra wins versus several Dark/Poisons), but Shadow Sable benefits from the buffs to Power Gem, riding it to wins versus Shadow Anni, Shadow Drap, H-Qwil, and Galarian Moltres (though giving up Skuntank and non-Shadow Drap in exchange). As always, though, Sableye is likely to overperform what the simple sims show. Just watch out for Fairy damage.
GALLADE ♻️♻️
Gallade
FightingPsychic
Charm/Psycho Cut | Leaf Blade & Close Combat
And speaking of Fairy damage, It’s finally here, folks: the meta that makes Charm Gallade an actual thing. Non-Shadow is better in longer battles (adding on G-Dash and Drapion in 2v2 shielding), while Shadow is better with shields down (+ Greninja and Shadow Primeape). Shadow Gallade also works well with Psycho Cut; it’s probably no surprise that moving away from Charm means losses to Mandibuzz, Malamar, Galarian Moltres, Morpeko, and Shadow Primeape, but the gains include Claydol, Skuntank, Shadow Drap, and the Qwils.
GARDEVOIR ♻️♻️
Gardevoir
FairyPsychic
Charm | Triple Axel & Shadow Ball
So as I was nearly finished with this article, PvPoke added Gardevoir to the meta rankings. It was banned in the past but apparently NOT this time, and considering the other alternate Charmers we’ve already covered, that actually makes sense. Gardie is scarier than most, but not appreciably better, per se. You do have to love those charge moves, as Triple Axel is terrifying in how it buffs Charm even more, and Shadow Ball represents a OHKO (or darn close to it) for many opponents. Generally it performs like a slightly more expensive Hatterene, though it’s worth noting that Gardevoir DOES hold the advantage with shields down, able to punch out Umbreon and Mandibuzz with more consistency than Hattie. Gardevoir sneaks into the rankings within the Top 5.
ZWEILOUS ♻️♻️
Zweilous
DarkDragon
Dragon Breath | Body Slam & Dark Pulse
Dragons are nice here because one can count on one hand the number of meta things that resist Dragon damage (basically only Gardevoir, Hatterene, G-Dash, Lucario, and Pawniard). Zweil remains vulnerable to Fighting and Bug damage, which slows it down just a bit, but make no mistake: it’s still extremely solid here and is sure to be a popular pick.
Hydreigon
DarkDragon
As an aside, I trust it a little less, but Zweil’s evolution HYDREIGON is much more interesting these days with the buffed Brutal Swing. Between the two, I like the unique wins Zweilous gets more (Malamar and Guzzlord), but Hydreigon matches its win total (unique wins: Skuntank and Lokix) in 1v1 shielding, and you’re bound to shock a Fairy with a well-timed Flash Cannon sometime, right?
HAKAMO-O and KOMMO-O ♻️♻️♻️
Hakamo-o
FightingDragon
Dragon Tail | Dragon Claw & Brick Break/Close Combat
Kommo-O is nice, but Hakamo-O is just better, besting everything Kommo can except sometimes Morpeko, and adding on Mandibuzz, Guzzlord, and Shadow Machamp, among others. Both are very nice generalists and pretty safe swaps in Willpower Cup.
METANG ♻️♻️
Metang
SteelPsychic
Metal Claw | Psyshock & Gyro Ball/Returnᴸ
For when you must kill Fairies dead. Also comes in Shadow flavor. Shadow better overpowers Malamar, while non-Shadow (with Return) knocks out Skuntank.
KROOKODILE ♻️♻️
Krookodile
GroundDark
Mud Slap | Crunch & Brick Break
This still feels to me like something quite rare for folks to have at Great League level — am I wrong about that? 🤔 — but if you have it, Krook looks like a fun choice here. Note you want to run Brick Break rather than the generally recommended Earthquake to smack around stuff like Guzzlord and overpower others like Victini.
100,000 Dust/100 Candy
Well here we go again… short on time and even shorter on Reddit space! 🥵 So we’re going bullet style for the rest. Strap in!
Guzzlord
DarkDragon
- It’s ranked lower than many of the Legendaries below, but I think GUZZLORD deserves top billing in this section for all that it can do. It loses to Claydol but otherwise can take out everything Zweilous can, as well as Lokix and Skuntank (and Mandibuzz and Galarian Moltres with shields down). It’s also a bit more flexible in that you can swap out Dragon Claw for Sludge Bomb, which is slightly worse on paper (dropping G-Moltres and the mirror) but presents a MAJOR problem for overconfident Fairies.
Victini
PsychicFire
- Yes, VICTINI is still the little monster you remember from Psychic Cup, burning through most Psychics but now also Charmers and most Fighters too. Light ’em up! 🔥
Cresselia
Psychic
- As with other Psychics earlier, CRESSELIA doesn’t want Confusion in this meta. Instead, it’s best to race to those charge moves, doing so with Psycho Cut. Cress is a pretty good anti-Fighter and anti-Psychic thanks to its charge move damage, and even slaps aside from big name Darks thanks to Moonblast in particular. Very solid all-arounder in this meta and pretty safe swap or closer. I slightly favor non-Shadow, but Shadow Cress is fine too, only missing out (sometimes) on G-Dash.
Galarian Moltres
Dark
- It’s ranked pretty high all the way up at #14!), but honestly, even a #1 IV GALARIAN MOLTRES looks… just okay. Show-off piece for sure, but for my money, gimme a boring but reliable Mandibuzz instead any day.
Mew
Psychic
- And finally, the super versatile MEW. There are far too many viable movesets to cover them all, but if you still have one under 1500, Shadow Claw is a great place to start, however you choose to go from there!
FEELIN’ LUCKY?
Let’s quickly cover a few mons that are no less “nifty” than those in the main article above, but require maxing or at least almost maxing out, so they are FAR from “thrifty”….
Pawniard
SteelDark
- PAWNIARD is a scrappy little guy in Limited metas. Here in Willpower, it has handy resistances to Poison, Dragon, and Rock damage, double resists Psychic damage, and takes “only” neutral damage from Fairy. And while it has a fatal flaw of being doubly weak to Fighting, it still beats down more than enough things for this to be a great time to take the plunge and build one up if you wish. PvPoke has it ranked #30, and that’s fully justifiable!
Vullaby
Dark
- VULLABY is, if I’m being honest, just less potent and much more expensive Mandibuzz… in THIS meta. It’s much better in some others, and some folks have this build and will likely unleash it here too. Be ready!
Alola Grimer
PoisonDark
- And to close things out, one I’m really excited to show off. ALOLAN GRIMER suddenly has the looks of a superstar if you can afford to build one. It seems to actually work best not with Sludge Bomb, but instead a big closer like Gunk Shot or Return, the former of which can take down Mandibuzz, but the latter of which is BIG with shields down, getting unique wins over Drapion, Malamar, and the Qwils. I’d also like to point out that you can build the hundo, save a couple levels of XL Candy and dust, and not only perform as well, but actually a touch better with an additional win over Lokix. Getting as thrifty as we can, at least!
And that’s it…we’re done! As always, I hope this helps you balance the cost of where to save yourself some hard-earned dust (and candy!) and put together a competitive and FUN team. If I was successful in that, then it was all worth it!
Until next time, you can always find me on Twitter for regular PvP analysis nuggets, or Patreon. And please, feel free to comment here with your own thoughts/questions and I’ll try to get back to you!
Thank you for reading! I sincerely hope this helps you master this season’s version of Willpower Cup, and in the most affordable way possible. Best of luck, and catch you next time, Pokéfriends!
