Cover Photo created from the assets provided by TSR including imagery from Indranil Ghosh
The Silph Arena’s Jungle Cup has been announced and will be open as of July 1st. Let’s have a look at the initial indications of which Pokémon are looking prominent in the meta and which we would suggest should be shortlisted for testing.
We will, of course, follow this soon with a more in-depth meta-analysis once the front-runners have shown their strengths and the ones that are lacking have been eliminated from the field.
As a quick reference, we’ve also designed the following infographic, to sum up, our initial impression of the Jungle meta. We will continue to refine this and make any necessary changes in time for our full analysis:
Normal-Types
Vigoroth Normal |
Although Normal-type moves aren’t Super Effective against any other type, Vigoroth is widely being hyped as the most prominent Pokémon in the Jungle Cup meta, due partly to its access to the high EPS and high DPS move, Counter, and the high DPE Charged move, Body Slam (which also gets STAB when used by Normal-types).
Noctowl Normal | Pidgeot Normal |
Noctowl and/or legacy Pidgeot (with Wing Attack) are also looking to be essential picks, with their Flying-typing being your main advantage over the Bug-types. Noctowl may have slightly wider usability though, due to Pidgeot only having access to Flying-type moves.
Grass-Types
Venusaur GrassPoison |
The Jungle Cup is yet another meta in which Venusaur finds itself very relevant. With its resistance to Fighting- and Electric-type moves, and a double resistance to Grass-type moves, it can stand up to several of the top fighters in this Cup.
Meganium Grass | Sceptile Grass |
Meganium and Sceptile find themselves in a similar position with both being single Grass-types, but they do have moves which give them a bit of variation on how they can be used; Meganium has access to Earthquake which will shut the Electric-types down very quickly if they don’t shield it. Sceptile, on the other hand, has the high EPT Bug-type move, Fury Cutter for dealing more Fast move damage to other Grass-types than they will be able to return.
Breloom GrassFighting |
Breloom also has access to Counter and gets that 20% extra damage from STAB. Fighting-type moves are Super Effective to Vigoroth, so Breloom would be a good one to test out in that role.
Bug-Types
Forretress BugSteel |
With Bug-type moves to cover the Grass-types, Ground-type moves to cover the Electric-types, Rock-type moves to cover the Flying-types, and with very few eligible Pokémon having the Super Effective Fire-type moves needed to counter Forretress effectively, it’s easy to see why it, once again, tops the rankings.
Heracross BugFighting |
Heracross offers not only Fighting-type moves with which to counter Vigoroth, but also a resistance to Vig’s Fighting-type moves. Definitely worth trying out if you can get hold of one.
Vespiquen Bug |
Vespiquen boasts a double resistance to Fighting-type moves so again, looks to be a solid counter to Vigoroth. It also has access to some decent moves for countering the Grass- and Flying-types in the meta.
Other Bug-Type ‘Wildcards’
- Scizor – Only weak to Fire-type moves which, as we know, are not well represented in this Cup.
- Venomoth – Single resistances to Bug- and Poison-type moves and double resistances to Fighting-, and Grass-type moves.
- Beedrill – Same typing as Venomoth and therefore, also boasts single resistances to Bug- and Poison-type moves and double resistances to Fighting-, and Grass-type moves.
- Masquerain – Same typing as Vespiquen, so a possible replacement if you haven’t yet found a viable female Combee.
Electric-Types
Golem (Alola) ElectricRock |
Alolan Golem does have a few weaknesses to some of the move types being thrown around in this Cup, so you may need to bring it on early while you still have Shields available. It’s particularly susceptible to Earthquake with its double weakness to Ground-type moves. Having said that, it will offer great coverage against the Flying-types with its arsenal of Rock- and Electric-type moves, particularly Wild Charge which will seriously hurt anything that takes an un-shielded hit from it.
Magnezone ElectricSteel |
Magnezone also has a vulnerability in this respect, with also having a double weakness to Ground-type moves as well as a single weakness to Fighting-type moves. It does, however, boast nine resistances including Normal-, Rock-, Bug-, Grass-, Electric-, and Psychic-type moves, a double resistance to both Flying- and Steel-type moves, and a triple resistance to Poison-type moves, all of which are being used by relevant Pokémon in the Jungle Cup.
Lanturn ElectricWater |
Lanturn shows up as a top contender in yet another meta, with its only weaknesses being Ground- and Grass-type moves which, while present, are not widely used by the meta. Lanturn’s particular strength will be in match-ups against the Flying-types.
Our Full Jungle Cup Analysis
Our in-depth analysis on the Jungle Cup is currently in progress with full details on how all of the above Pokémon perform in battle. Keep an eye on our Social channels in the coming days if you’d like to learn even more about this meta.