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 this Move Rebalance Analysis by JREseawolf.
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 wins in a set in the GO Battle League! Usually, I only focus on new reward Pokémon or Pokémon that got a substantial change in their standing in the meta. But with such a huge meta shakeup this time around I think we’ll have to look at each one. Key terms I’ll be using are explained in the season 16 article. Now let’s get right into it and focus only on the newcomers or the Pokémon that got a substantial update this season.
Pokémon Leaving The Pool
These are the Pokémon that were available in the GBL reward pool last season but are no longer available as GBL rewards this season:
Quite a lot of changes in this end-of-the-year season including some very familiar faces. Perhaps the most immediately noteworthy are the bulky rock duo Carbink and Shieldon. There are, of course, new Pokémon to replace them. So let’s get into the analysis!
Rank 1+
These are the new or meta-shifted Pokémon that will be available as soon as you hit rank 1:
Scraggy
Scraggy
Type: DarkFighting
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)
Scraggy is the Pokémon you’re guaranteed to get as soon as you hit Rank 1. Scrafty, Scraggy’s evolution was once a decent Fighting type with quite a few resistances that made it an interesting pick if not a very viable Pokémon in its own right.
This all changed when the famous fighting type fast attack, Counter was finally nerfed. It got a recent buff in Thunder Punch, but it isn’t substantial enough to make Scrafty fantastic again, though it is better. Again, more details are in the JRE Article.
Clefairy
Clefairy
Type: Fairy
Viable League: Great League, Ultra League
Best IVs: 0/13/15 (Great League), 0/15/13 (Ultra League)
Usability As Is: No (Great League), No (Ultra League)
Clefable, Clefairy’s evolution is a Pokémon that slowly became really good through move updates. Firstly, it got Fairy Wind, which generates energy really fast. Then Swift gave it a much-needed bait move to really make use of that fast energy generation.
Thanks to this and the meta shifting around it Clefable has become a really great Pokémon for the Great League and one of the best in the Ultra League, where it has a lot more targets such as Giratina (Altered) and Guzzlord. Unfortunately, you can’t get Clefairy in a good IV range for PvP through the reward pool but they can be used for candies, you’re gonna need a lot of them for the Ultra League.
Bunnelby
Bunnelby
Type: Normal, +Ground(Diggersby)
Viable League: Great League
Best IVs: 0/15/13
Usability As Is: No
Bunnelby’s evolution, Diggersby once played second fiddle to Lickitung when it came to bulky normal types in the Great League meta. But now, Diggersby IS the Great League meta. It put itself to the top when Lickitung got nerfed. And thanks to the fact that its part Ground typing makes it strong against popular poison types along with fellow normal type, Dunsparce. This has all made Diggersby a very lucrative Pokémon for the Great League and one that needs XL Candies, so better start collecting them for those candies!
Fletchling
Fletchling
Type: Normal(Fletchling), Fire(Fletchinder, Talonflame)
Viable League: Great League, Ultra League
Best IVs: 0/13/15 (Great League), 15/15/15 (Ultra League)
Usability As Is: No (Great League), Absolutely! (Ultra League)
Talonflame is a fascinating Pokémon. It relies on Incinerate, a move with one of the longest animations in the game, making it a bit inflexible. But in exchange, it generates a lot of damage and energy with each hit. This makes using Talonflame very unique and exciting.
Typically Talonflame uses Flame Charge and Fly. But nowadays you’ll see a lot of Brave Bird and Fly too! Talonflame is viable both for the Great League and the Ultra League. Though you’d need a maxed-out level 50 Talonflame for the Ultra League.
Rank 6+
These are the new or meta-shifted Pokémon that will be available as soon as you hit rank 6:
Togedemaru
Togedemaru
Type: ElectricSteel
Viable League: Great League
Best IVs: 0/13/13
Usability As Is: No
This little round fella might just be your next favorite electric type for the Great League! Togedemaru just got a recent buff to Thunder Shock, which can generate energy fast fast fast! Not only that you have Fell Stinger, an all too valuable bug-type move in the current meta, and Wild Charge for big big damage! So while it can take a bit of effort to understand how to use it, you should still try out your very own Togedemaru today!
Rank 11+
These are the new or meta-shifted Pokémon that will be available as soon as you hit rank 11:
Teddiursa
Teddiursa
Type: Normal, +Ground(Ursaluna)
Viable League: Great League (Ursaring), Ultra League (Ursaring), Master League (Ursaluna)
Best IVs: 0/14/15 (Great League) (Ursaring), 0/15/13 (Ultra League) (Ursaring), 15/15/15 (Master League) (Ursaluna)
Usability As Is: No (Great League), No (Ultra League), Absolutely! (Master League)
Teddiursa’s mid-stage evolution Ursaring can work as a solid spice pick for the Great League and the Ultra League. While it is a frail glass cannon, its moveset is pretty decent with Shadow Claw, Close Combat, and Swift. However, Teddiursa’s true magic lies in its final form Ursaluna, which is one of the best Master League Pokémon that can go toe-to-toe with legendaries thanks to its immense bulk and High Horsepower!
Cetoddle
Cetoddle
Type: Ice
Viable League: Great League, Ultra League
Best IVs: 1/15/15 (Great League), 0/14/15 (Ultra League)
Usability As Is: No (Great League), No (Ultra League)
Cetitan can be used as a spice pick for the Great League and the Ultra League. But honestly, as a pure ice-type it’s a bit predictable and easy to play around. I would not consider it a high priority.
Rank 16+
These are the new or meta-shifted Pokémon that will be available as soon as you hit rank 16:
Totodile
Totodile
Type: Water
Viable League: Great League, Ultra League, Master League
Best IVs: 0/11/13 (Great League), 1/15/14 (Ultra League), 15/15/15 (Master League)
Usability As Is: No (Great League), No (Ultra League), Absolutely! (Master League)
Feraligatr is perhaps THE best water type overall in PvP right now. And that’s high praise considering the prevalence of water types in all 3 of the main metas. But there is good reason for this. Feraligatr is a glass cannon that does a looot of damage. And it has the move combination of Shadow Claw and Hydro Cannon, with Ice Beam for some coverage.
Shadow Claw is perhaps one of the best fast moves in the game thanks to its combination of damage and energy generation. And Hydro Cannon on the other hand is one of three “starter exclusive” charged attacks that are largely considered some of the best. This is perhaps one of the best Pokémon you can try to invest in for PvP right now.
Pancham
Pancham
Type: Fighting, +Dark(Pangoro)
Viable League: Great League, Ultra League, Master League
Best IVs: 0/13/13 (Great League), 0/14/15 (Ultra League), 15/15/15 (Master League)
Usability As Is: Yes (Great League), Yes (Ultra League), Absolutely! (Master League)
The Pancham line’s situation is very similar to Totodile’s. Pangoro, much like Feraligatr, is a glass cannon. And much like Feraligatr it has an amazing fast attack in Sucker Punch, which can then be combined with the heavy damage dealing Close Combat. Making Pangoro a viable candidate for all three leagues.
Where Pangoro differs is that you can get usable Pangoros for the Great League and the Ultra League from the GBL Reward Pool. Look out for a 10/14/15 for the Great League and a 10/15/15 for the Ultra League if you have no other options to get a Pancham. Happy battling!
Pokémon From The Last Season
These Pokémon are staying this season from last season’s pool and my opinion of them also remains more or less the same from the previous article:
Dratini replaces Deino but its position hasn’t changed since we last talked about it. You can also get a single Sandile now, but Krookodile has no place in PvP at the moment.
Conclusion
And there you have it. A look at every new 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!
