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Pokemon Go best Catch Cup team | Go Battle League: World of Wonders season

Raissa Jerez
pokemon go catch cup little great league editionNIANTIC

The Catch Cup has returned to the Pokemon Go Battle League season 18 with both Little and Great League editions, so here are our Pokemon recommendations that will take you straight to victory in 2024.

While the regular Great League, Ultra League, and Master League competitions are the main events in the Pokemon Go Battle League, Niantic regularly introduces limited-time cups to switch things up and offer a new challenge.

As part of the current World of Wonders season, the Catch Cup is returning to play from May 17, 2024, until May 24, 2024, so if you’re struggling to figure out which Pokemon to take into battle, here are our recommendations.

Contents

Two trainers battling in the Pokemon Go Battle League Season 10

Best team for Pokemon Go Catch Cup Little & Great League editions

One of the best teams you can use for the Catch Cup: Little Edition is Smeargle, Marill, and Shuckle. These are some of the most powerful Pokemon that can be obtained right now under 500 CP, meaning they’re eligible for the Catch Cup.

For the Catch Cup: Great League Edition, you can go with Mantine, Carbink, and Lickitung. Those are some of the strongest creatures under 1500 CP in the game right now.

Our recommendations are based on the Pokemon appearing during the World of Wonders events such as Sizable Surprises, Bug Out event, Rivals Week, and more. But the top performers could change when the event ends and a new range of Pokemon are available to encounter and catch, so keep an eye out.

Best Pokemon for Pokemon Go Catch Cup: Little Edition

Annihilape

annihilape

  • Fast Move: Counter

  • Charged Moves: Night Slash and Ice Punch

  • Resistances: Normal, Fighting, Bug, Rock, and Poison

  • Weaknesses: Fairy, Flying, Ghost, and Psychic

Marshadow and Annihilape are the only two Pokemon with the dual Fighting/Ghost-type combination, making them as unique as they are powerful.

In Annihilape’s case, Counter is a great Fast Move, so make sure you have that. When it comes to Charged Moves, you’ll want Night Slash to bait for enemies’ shields, and Ice Punch as a coverage alternative.

Wobbuffet

wobbuffet pokemon go

  • Fast Move: Counter

  • Charged Moves: Mirror Coat

  • Resistances: Psychic and Fighting

  • Weaknesses: Bug, Dark, and Ghost

Even though Wobbuffet was portrayed as a kind of useless Pokemon in the anime, it is a great creature to have in your Catch Cup team as it is very consistent and extremely bulky with a 235 Stamina stat.

Counter is one of the best Fast Moves in the game and it’s superior to Splash, which deals no damage, and Charm which is slow and expensive. As for the Charged Move, Wobbuffet only has one, so the answer is simple.

Bronzor

Bronzor in Pokemon Go Little Cup

  • Fast Move: Tackle

  • Charged Moves: Payback and Heavy Slam

  • Resistances: Psychic, Poison, Steel, Rock, Normal, Ice, Grass, Flying, Fairy, and Dragon

  • Weaknesses: Dark, Fire, Ghost, and Ground

This Steel/Psychic-type Pokemon is an outstanding option as its typing combination offers plenty of important resistances.

Because of how cheap the Fat Move Tackle is, it will allow you to access your Charged Moves way faster than if you go with Confusion. For the Charged Moves, Heavy Slam deals a good amount of damage for a fair amount of energy, and if you need to expand your coverage, you can add the nuke Payback.

Shuckle (XL)

shuckle pokemon go

  • Fast Move: Rock Throw

  • Charged Moves: Stone Edge and Rock Blast

  • Resistances: Poison and Normal

  • Weaknesses: Rock, Steel, and Water

Despite being a dual Bug/Rock-type Pokemon, it’s smarter to play Shuckle as a single Rock-type creature and go with those moves.

As a Fast Move, Rock Throw can deal heavy damage at a very low cost. Because of how cheap and fast it is, you’ll be able to pick Stone Edge as your main Charged Move. Even though it is expensive, it’s achievable and will deal plenty of damage.

Marill (XL)

marill pokemon go

  • Fast Move: Bubble

  • Charged Moves: Aqua Tail and Body Slam

  • Resistances: Dragon, Water, Ice, Fire, Fighting, Dark, and Bug

  • Weaknesses: Electric, Grass, and Poison

The dual Water/Fairy-type Marill is an excellent choice for any team as it can play any role, from lead to closer. Plus, it’s super bulky with both big Defense and Stamina stats.

Marill’s best Fast Move is Bubble, which benefits from STAB. For Charged Moves, the three options cost the same, so go with Aqua Tail, as it deals a little bit more damage.

Smeargle (XL)

smeargle pokemon go

  • Fast Move: Lock On

  • Charged Moves: Flying Press

  • Resistances: Ghost

  • Weaknesses: Fighting

Similar to Marill, Smeargle is a Pokemon that can play any role on a team, making it versatile and dynamic, plus it also has a very high Stamina stat, which allows it to take plenty of hits during combat.

Its Sketch move will allow Smeargle to use any move in the game, so go with Lock On for a Fast Move, as it will allow you to gather plenty of energy to reach your Charged Move fast. Choose Flying Press for a Charged Move, that way you’ll have more coverage.

Best Pokemon for Pokemon Go Catch Cup: Great League Edition

Cresselia

Cresselia in Pokemon Go's Sinnoh Cup

  • Fast Move: Psycho Cut

  • Charged Moves: Grass Knot and Future Sight

  • Resistances: Psychic and Fighting

  • Weaknesses: Bug, Dark, and Ghost

The single Psychic-type Legendary is part of almost every ranking as it has proven to be a bulky Pokemon that combines strong stats with good moves.

With Psycho Cut as its Fast Move and Future Sight as its Charged Move, Cresselia is the ideal choice to lead any battle. Plus, you can use Grass Knot to add coverage. However, be particularly wary of its weaknesses, mostly to Ghost and Dark types, as those are constantly exploited.

Lickitung

Lickitung in the Pokemon Go Summer Cup

  • Fast Move: Lick

  • Charged Moves: Body Slam and Power Whip

  • Resistances: Ghost

  • Weaknesses: Fighting

Pokemon like Lickitung, with bulky Stamina and a strong Defense stat, are a must in any team, as they will act as a switch between ‘mons enduring hits during long battles.

Another strong characteristic of this particular ‘mon is its move pool, which thanks to its variety, can provide wide coverage. While Lick is the default Fast Move, players can go for the Charged Move Body Slam if they use an Elite TM or Hyper Beam which deals a lot of damage. More so, Power Whip is the right way to go in case of needing extra coverage.

Gligar (Shadow)

Arlo's Gligar in Pokemon Go

  • Fast Move: Wing Attack

  • Charged Moves: Aerial Ace and Dig

  • Resistances: Ground, Poison, Fighting, Electric, and Bug

  • Weaknesses: Ice and Water

Even though this small creature seems harmless, it is a tough fighter as it is very dynamic and can work perfectly as a lead, switch, charger, and even closer.

Its move Wing Attack allows it to gain energy fast so it can access its Charged Moves. While Aerial Ace is a more general attack, Dig is super useful and deals a great amount of damage.

Carbink

Carbink in Pokemon Go

  • Fast Move: Rock Throw

  • Charged Moves: Rock Slide and Moonblast

  • Resistances: Dragon, Normal, Flying, Fire, Dark, and Bug

  • Weaknesses: Steel, Grass, Ground, and Water

Carbink can be hard to get in the game, but adding this dual Rock/Fairy-type creature to your Catch Cup team is a must.

Carbink’s best Fast Move is Rock Throw. When it comes to Charged Moves, go with Rock Slide for a relatively cheap Rock-type attack and Moonblast for some huge (albeit expensive) Fairy-type damage. This entire moveset has STAB, which makes it extra powerful.

Mantine

Mantine in Pokemon Go Flying Cup

  • Fast Move: Wing Attack

  • Charged Moves: Aerial Ace and Ice Beam

  • Resistances: Ground, Water, Steel, Fire, Fighting, and Bug

  • Weaknesses: Electric and Rock

Water/Flying Mantine can act as a lead in any Pokemon Go Catch Cup team thanks to its good type combination, which offers a nice set of resistances, decent Attack, and great Defense stat.

Out of the three Fast Moves Mantine has, Wing Attack not only benefits from STAB, but it also happens to be the cheapest one. Plus, it is very fast, allowing it to unlock its Charged Move quickly. For Charged Moves, go for the very well-balanced Aerial Ace and keep the expensive Ice Beam as a coverage attack.

Skarmory

Skarmory in the Flying Cup

  • Fast Move: Steel Wing

  • Charged Moves: Brave Bird and Sky Attack

  • Resistances: Poison, Grass, Bug, Steel, Psychic, Normal, Ground, Flying, Fairy, and Dragon

  • Weaknesses: Electric and Fire

Skarmory is fairly well-rounded and its typing offers a very wide and useful coverage in battle, leaving it with only two weaknesses: Electric and Fire. Plus, its whole move pool benefits from STAB.

Steel Wing is Skarmory’s preferred Fast Move, as it has better energy generation and is effective against Fairy, Ice, and Rock. Sky Attack should be your first option for a Charged Move as it deals good damage for a low amount of energy, and you can pair it with Brave Bird if you’re looking for a nuke.

Pokemon Go Catch Cup start & end date

Both Catch Cup: Little Edition and Catch Cup: Great League Edition will begin on Friday, May 17, 2024, at 1 PM PST and will run until Friday, May 24, 2024, at 1 PM PST.

The season’s GO Battle League will end with the return of Great, Ultra, and Master Leagues from May 24, 2024, until May 31, 2024, so you’ll have to wait until the next season’s schedule is up to see if the Catch Cup will return once again.

Pokemon Go Catch Cup rules & restrictions explained

The Catch Cup is one of the most unique cups in the Go Battle League, as you can only use Pokemon that were caught during the cup’s current season, which severely limits your team options.

Pokemon who enter the Little Edition must be below the 500 CP limit and those who participate in the Great League Edition can’t exceed 1500 CP. In both cases, Mythical Pokemon are not allowed and all creatures must have been captured after March 1, 2024.

The easiest way to expand your horizons in this cup is to focus on Raid Battles, Egg hatches, and Field Research tasks, as these can reward powerful Pokemon that don’t currently spawn in the wild.

Those are the best Pokemon you can take to the Catch Cup in Pokemon Go. For more game content, check our guides below:

Best Pokemon in Pokemon Go | All upcoming Spotlight Hours | Fastest way to get Best Buddy status | Pokemon Go catching tips | Pokemon Go promo codes

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