Good day, Pokémon trainers! A new season of Pokémon GO Battle League is upon us. Which means new moves, rebalances, and new entrants to PvP! A lot of this has already been covered by other members over here at GOHub, such as these extensive move rebalance analyses by JRE and the September catch priorities by Jtizzler.
And today I want to add to the discussion by talking about the often understated part of Pokémon GO PvP. The Pokémon available as rewards for getting three in a set wins in the GO Battle League!
Key Terms
The main purpose of this article is to give you an idea of the Pokémon available as rewards in the GO Battle League, analyze their best use cases, And which league you can use them in. After all, you’ll be catching these Pokémon while participating in PvP anyway, so why not make good use of them?
So with the idea of this being an article you can easily refer back to while playing in the GO Battle League in mind, I will be describing some key factors at the start of each Pokémon’s analysis. The key terms are as follows:
Type: The type(s) of the Pokémon or it’s evolution. Whichever one is more viable for PvP.
Required Rank: Certain Pokémon in the GO Battle League will only start appearing after a certain rank is reached. This denotes that rank.
Viable League: Which leagues the Pokémon is viable for. Whether it be the Great League(1500 CP), Ultra League(2500 CP), Master League(Unlimited). Or even Little League (500 CP).
Best IVs: The generally accepted best possible IVs for the Pokémon. Denoted in the format of Attack/Defense/HP. So if I say 5/13/15, I mean 5 Attack, 13 Defense, 15 HP/Stamina.
Usability As Is: Not every Pokémon you can catch in GO Battle League has ideal IVs for PvP. This is because the GO Battle League Pokémon have a minimum IV of 10/10/10. And a lot of Pokémon for the Great League and the Ultra League prefer having low attack with high defense and stamina. As such, I will be using three terms to explain usability:
- Absolutely: The Pokémon’s best possible IVs can be acquired in GBL.
- Yes: The Pokémon can be acquired with usable IVs in GBL. But not with the best possible IVs.
- No: The Pokémon requires IV spreads that can only be acquired in the wild or through trading.
With that out of the way, let’s get right into it! Starting with:
Bisharp
Bisharp
Type: DarkSteel
Required Rank: 1
Viable League: None(Yet). Potentially Master League in the future.
Best IVs: 15/15/15 (Potentially)
Usability As Is: Probably Absolutely!
We’re starting off with a strange one. You get Bisharp as a confirmed reward for winning 3 games in Rank 1. And it isn’t a good Pokémon for PvP…Yet! Generation IX introduced a new evolution for the Bisharp line in the form of Kingambit. And considering its typing and moves in the main series games, it might prove to be a very good Pokémon for the Master League when it’s added to GO!
Since we’re finally getting Paldean Pokémon this season. And considering the fact that you’re getting a second-stage evolution with a 10/10/10 IV floor. Here is your chance to nab one with solid IVs that will be potentially less expensive to build up as well!
Marill
Marill
Type: WaterFairy(Azumarill)
Required Rank: 1+
Viable League: Great League
Best IVs: 0/15/15
Usability As Is: No
A mainstay in the Great League. The future for Marill’s direct evolution seems bright for this season. As along with the long-standing Galarian Stunfisk, Gliger and Carbink have entered this season as potential top-meta picks. What do all of these Pokémon have in common? They are absolutely allergic to Water. So while the popular charged attacks of choice for the blue egg thus far have been Moonblast and Ice Beam, there is a point to be made for going with Hydro Pump as well.
Azumarill always had some play even after the nerf to its preferred fast attack Bubble. This is thanks to its impressive bulk and part Fairy typing. Which allows it to threaten the likes of Medicham. As for the usability of one acquired from GBL. Well, a 10/15/14 isn’t completely useless as it’s so naturally bulky, but it isn’t ideal. And Marill is pretty commonly found in the wild so no need to hold on to one from league rewards. However, they are still useful for getting those all-too-necessary XL candies.
Sneasel
Sneasel
Type: DarkIce(Regular), FightingPoison(Hisuian Form)
Required Rank: 1+
Viable League: Great League, Ultra League
Best IVs: 0/15/15
Usability As Is: No
Okay, so admittedly Bisharp was a bit of a cop-out. But Sneasel or its evolution, Weavile aren’t really good for any open metas. And unlike Bisharp, Sneasel doesn’t have anything left for the foreseeable future either since its Hisuian variant is already out (we’ll get to that a bit later). So unless Sneasel gets a new evolution in a future generation or some kind of overhaul, I don’t personally think it has much going for it.
It’s Hisuian cousin performs a bit better. The FightingPoison evolution of Hisuian Sneasel, Sneasler is a decent spice pick for the Great League and Ultra League. And has solid potential in limited metas. But still, even Sneasler isn’t exactly a top-star in the open meta and Hisuian Sneasle isn’t in the pool of GBL rewards. So this one’s a bit of a waste, might as well transfer it for some candies.
Meditite
Meditite
Type: FightingPsychic
Required Rank: 1+
Viable League: Great League
Best IVs: 5/15/15
Usability As Is: Yes
Now we arrive at one of the big ones. Medicham has been an uncontested top-meta Pokémon for a while, almost to the point of concern. It is ranked #1 on pvpoke right now just to give you an example. While it got a slight nerf to one of its charged attacks Psychic, this does nothing to harm it as its counters keep getting nerfed harder.
Medicham just has a lot going for it. Solid bulk, access to the best fighting type fast attack Counter, FightingPsychic typing that gives it very few weaknesses, and several solid charged attacks. What’s better yet, the best possible IVs for Metacham, as it is often called, is 5/15/15. So a Meditite from GBL that has a 10/15/14 or a 10/14/15 IV spread is still solid and significantly cheaper to build as well. So feel free to Pinap Berry a Meditite if you come across it and check its IVs. You might just find the one for you!
Croagunk
Croagunk
Type: PoisonFighting
Required Rank: 1+
Viable League: Great League, Ultra League
Best IVs: 1/15/15 (Great League), 0/15/12 (Ultra League)
Usability As Is: Yes (Great league), No (Ultra League)
Toxicroak, Croagunk’s evolution is pretty similar to Sneasler mentioned before. As they are both glass cannon PoisonFighting types best suited as spice picks or limited metas. Though the most interesting differentiator between the two in my humble opinion, is that Toxicroak learns the fast attack Counter. In contrast to Sneasler’s equally impressive but non-stab Shadow Claw.
With an enviable moveset of Counter, Mud Bomb, and Sludge Bomb, it’s not like Toxicroak doesn’t have anything going for it. But the good is tempered somewhat by its low bulk. Along with it’s weaknesses to popular typings such as Psychic and Ground. Nevertheless, you can do a lot worse than Toxicroak and a 10/15/15 IV spread works decently enough for it in the Great League. Just remember that you’re giving up some bulk on an already glassy Pokémon. One that happens to be even glassier in the Great League.
Skwovet
Skwovet
Type: Normal
Required Rank: 1+
Viable League: Great League, Ultra League
Best IVs: 1/12/14 (Great League), 3/15/15 (Ultra League)
Usability As Is: No (Great league), Yes (Ultra League)
We reach the final Pokémon that you can potentially find in as early as two sets. And I was quite excited to talk about this one. I actually played Pokémon Unite as well around the time it just came out. And Greedent, Skwovet’s evolution was the new top dog everyone was talking about. With its new move update (Mud Shot) this season, I cannot help but feel this big squirrel has quite a lot of potential in GO as well.
In practice, it’s similar to other bulky Normal types such as Lickitung and Dubwool in the Great League. Acting as a very solid safe-swap as Normal types are prone to only a single weakness in Fighting. It is a bit outclassed by the aforementioned Lickitung in sheer bulk. But it is a lot cheaper to build (requiring no XL candies in the Great League) and the lack of requirement of a legacy move. Greedent gets Body Slam for free, whereas it’s a legacy move for the big licker. If that wasn’t all Greedent also wins against Licki in a direct matchup thanks to Lick not being effective against it.
And this isn’t even talking about the Ultra League. Where the added bulk honestly may as well make Greedent the best normal type and one of the best safe swaps. A 10/15/15 works well enough for the Ultra League as well and is considerably less expensive. Though you may need to find one in the wild or through trades for the Great League.
Carbink
Carbink
Type: RockFairy
Required Rank: 6+
Viable League: Great League
Best IVs: 5/15/15
Usability As Is: Yes (Great league)
Okay, so we’ve finally reached the Pokémon that can acquired quite significantly after Rank 1 in the GBL. And full disclosure, I have a tendency to talk about this Pokémon perhaps a bit too much. But I really can’t help it. I like Carbink’s design quite a lot. And the fact that it’s one of the best Pokémon right now for the Great League makes me very very happy. But let’s get to the actual discussion.
Carbink is an extremely bulky RockFairy type. So in practice, it works similarly to Bastiodon, where it can work as a swap or closer. And stay on the field for a very long time while doing respectable damage with rock throw. But unlike Bastiodon however, Carbink has its Fairy subtyping. Which does it wonders both defensively as it’s not threatened by Fighting type attacks. And offensively, with its nuke moonblast.
If you haven’t gotten a chance to get a decent Carbink during GO Fest, both 10/15/15 and 10/14/15 IV spreads work well enough. And you might actually prefer the lower spread, as it is less expensive to build. And believe me, Carbink is a veeery expensive Pokémon to build, with its rank 1 requiring over 200 regular and XL candies.
Frillish
Frillish
Type: WaterGhost
Required Rank: 6+
Viable League: Great League, Ultra League
Best IVs: 1/14/14 (Great League), 6/14/15 (Ultra League)
Usability As Is: No (Great league), Yes (Ultra League)
This ghastly(haha) jellyfish’s evolution is bulky. And also generates energy really really fast. Jellicent was already a strong pick for the Ultra League and pretty solid for the Great League as well after it received surf. And remember what I said about Azumarill having a bright future ahead for the Great League? Apply that here for the jelly as well. Now I would argue Jellicent is as good for the Great League as it had been for Ultra. As not only does it have all the benefits Water types have right now, but it also beats Medicham as a Ghost type. Despite it running Hex, over Shadow Claw. It’s Ghost typing does make it lose to Carbink though (aaand I mentioned Carbink again).
Over in the Ultra League, it can deal with a lot of the mainstays. This includes the likes of Charizard, Swampert, Walrein, and Cresselia, just to name a few. Though losing to Giratina and any and all relevant Dark types. Most combinations of IVs you’ll find in GBL should be enough for the Ultra League. With a 10/14/15 I would say, being more than what you might need. You will once again not find one for the Great League in the GBL reward pool, however.
Skarmory
Skarmory
Type: Steel
Required Rank: 11+
Viable League: Great League
Best IVs: 1/15/14
Usability As Is: No
I’m sorry but Skarmory is no longer here, it’s gone. And you will probably not see it in high-rank PvP or PvP at all this season. It was already a bit outclassed by other flyers such as Noctowl. But now as the Sky Attack nerf is here, Skarmory will no longer be seen. Maybe in some future update, Skarmory will receive new viable moves and I’ll be here to talk about it. But for now, I think it’s safe to say goodbye to this steely bird. I would say no need to rush towards building one up for PvP right now.
Lickitung
Lickitung
Type: Normal
Required Rank: 11+
Viable League: Great League
Best IVs: 1/15/14
Usability As Is: Yes (May as well be absolutely)
The previous Pokémon was a bit of a downer, so let’s talk about something positive. Lickitung was very prevalent during the early days of Pokémon GO PvP but then went slightly out of fashion. Then again, all of a sudden rose to prominence after the nerf to Trevenant last season. Where it now played the role of a pseudo Grass type thanks to its access to Power Whip. And it has even more potential now as Noctowl is less prevalent thanks to the Sky Attack nerf.
As I’ve alluded to while talking about Greedent, Lickitung, in my opinion, is best suited for the role of safe-swap. It’s Normal typing means it’s only weak to Fighting. And its fast attack lick along with Body Slam makes it very spammy as well. Along with the aforementioned Power Whip for some coverage and potential super-effective damage.
While you can’t find the best possible IV spread for Lickitung in GBL. What you can find is 10/15/14, which may as well be as good as #1, as you’ll come very close to its best possible stat product. Giving up on a bit of HP in favor of Attack. However, you’ll need to use an elite TM for Body Slam. Also worth mentioning is that Lickitung’s evolution, Lickilicky can be used for the Ultra League. But unless you have a Lickitung built for the Great League, I’d recommend focusing on that. As not only will you not find a UL-compatible Lickilicky in GBL, but it’s also not as great as Lickitung in GL and is outclassed by Greedent in UL.
Wobbuffet
Wobbuffet
Type: Psychic
Required Rank: 11+
Viable League: Great League
Best IVs: 15/15/15
Usability As Is: Absolutely
You can find the best potential Wobbuffet in the GBL because even a 15/15/15 Wobb only reaches around 1160 CP. Now this might lead you to believe that Wobbuffet doesn’t have play anywhere. After all, it doesn’t even reach close to the Great League CP cap of 1500. But remember, stat product means more than CP. And Wobbuffet has bulk for days. Reaching over 300 HP and a respectable above 100 in Defense, Wobb can hang around. Match that with access to Counter, and the wobbler continues to wobble on in the Great League.
The real problem with Wobbuffet is that it’s a mono-type with only one real charged attack in the form of the expensive Mirror Coat. So Wobb generally has a spice status in the open league and even then you might want a purified one for at least some coverage. While also making it less expensive. It does do better in limited metas however, where it’s lacking movepool doesn’t seem to affect it too much.
Phantump
Phantump
Type: GhostGrass
Required Rank: 11+
Viable League: Great League, Ultra League
Best IVs: 0/15/15 (Great League), 1/15/15 (Ultra League)
Usability As Is: Yes (Great League), No (Ultra League)
Trevenant, Phantump’s evolution was everywhere for a while. With its unique GhostGrass typing along with Shadow Claw giving it quite a leg up against both Medicham and Lanturn. Both Pokémon now being somewhat unchallenged in the Great League. With Seed Bomb‘s energy requirement being increased last season it definitely fell off. But it is still by no means a bad Pokémon. As it can still get the wins it was prized for before its nerf.
And even on the side of the Ultra League, it boasts some strong wins. These include the likes of Cresselia, Giratian (Altered), and Tapu Fini, to name a few. This time around a 10/15/15 is decent enough for the Great League, but for the Ultra League you may need to look elsewhere.
Mareanie
Mareanie
Type: PoisonWater
Required Rank: 11+
Viable League: Great League
Best IVs: 0/15/15 (Great League)
Usability As Is: Yes
Toxapex, Mareanie’s evolution, feels like it was always a lesser celebrated solid pick for the Great League. And right now I feel like it has more potential than ever. I mean, it’s almost the anti-Carbink. With its WaterPoison typing directly opposing Carbink’s RockFairy. If my speculations are correct, and both Carbink and Azumarill are permanent fixtures to this season’s Great League, that’s two targets for Toxapex. Along with the ever-present Medicham and potential newcomer Mandibuzz. However, it does have to worry about Ground types like Stunfisk and the new entrant, Gligar.
Add to that the fact that Toxapex’s movepool isn’t bad but isn’t too impressive either, I think it is a bit of a double-edged sword. That might be a part of the reason it hasn’t had a strong breakout yet. As a final thought, you won’t really find a good IV Toxapex in GBL but it was available in the wild during Global GO Fest. So if you managed to catch one with decent IVs, you can make use of GBL to get more candies for it!
Wooloo
Wooloo
Type: PoisonWater
Required Rank: 16+
Viable League: Great League, Ultra League
Best IVs: 1/15/15 (Great League), 15/15/15 (Ultra League)
Usability As Is: No (Great League), Absolutely! (Ultra League)
This adorable sheep’s evolution is a new star in PvP. After it got access to Double Kick, it immediately gained trainers’ attention as an amazing pick for PvP. In practice, it’s similar to Lickitung and Greedent, a bulky spammy Normal type with Body Slam. Unlike the other two though, Dubwool has relatively greater fast attack pressure. It even has a choice between Wild Charge and Payback for coverage.
You can get the best possible Dubwool for the Ultra League in GBL, as it maxes out at around 2400 CP. For Great League however, you will once again have to look elsewhere.
Falinks
Falinks
Type: Fighting
Required Rank: 16+
Viable League: Great League, Ultra League
Best IVs: 0/15/15 (Great League), 2/15/15 (Ultra League)
Usability As Is: Yes (Great League), Yes (Ultra League)
Falinks is a strange Pokémon for sure. Being a mono Fighting type with no evolutions, it can be a decent spice pick for both the Great League and the Ultra League. Along with Counter, Falinks has an option between two fast-charging fighting-type charged attacks, and a Bug type nuke of all things.
You can get a good enough Falinks for both the Great League and the Ultra League through GBL rewards. For GL look for a 10/12/15 and 10/14/14 for UL.
Scraggy
Scraggy
Type: DarkFighting
Required Rank: 16+
Viable League: Great League, Ultra League
Best IVs: 0/8/15 (Great League), 9/15/15 (Ultra League)
Usability As Is: No (Great League), Yes (May as well be absolutely!) (Ultra League)
Scrafty is a very very good safe swap for both the Great League and the Ultra League. Being a DarkFighting type with Counter it only has three weaknesses, is bulky and does solid damage. So it has a lot going for it.
While you won’t find a decent one for Great League again (sensing a pattern?), 9/15/15 is the best potential UL Scrafty. So 10/15/15 might as well be the best. Other combinations of low attack, high defense, and stamina work as well. So you can definitely get a very very good UL Pokémon right from GBL if you’re lucky!
Goomy, Gabite, and Jangmo-o
Type: Dragon, +Steel Hisuian Goodra, +Ground Gibble, +Fighting Kommo-o
Required Rank: Ace+ (Goomy), Veteran+ (Gible), Expert+ (Jangmo-o)
Viable League: Great League, Ultra League, Master League
Best IVs: N/A
Usability As Is: Depends
Let’s get all three high-rank required dragons out of the way together, as there isn’t too much to say. Kommo-o Jangmo-o’s final evolution is a decent spice pick for all three leagues. Whereas Garchomp, Gible’s final evolution is decent for Master League Premiere. But Goomy isn’t worth mentioning right now. Though it does have a Hisuian variant that isn’t out yet. That could potentially give it some use. So finally:
Pikachu Libre
You’d think it’d be just a trophy Pokémon for reaching Legend, but somehow it did have play in the Little Jungle Cup last season thanks to its access to Flying Press.
Conclusion
And there you have it. A look at every Pokémon available as rewards in the GO Battle League. If you’re into PvP in Pokémon GO, you’ve probably figured out by now that you need to be smart about how you use your resources and make use of any and all benefits that come your way. Since you’ll be catching these Pokémon while participating in GBL anyways, might as well know how to make the best use of them. That was the idea behind this article anyway. So I hope it has been useful for you and happy battling!
Goodbye for now, Pokémon trainers. Priom-out!
