Best team for the Element Cup: Little Edition in Pokemon Go

The best team for the Element Cup: Little Edition in Pokemon Go will consist of a variety of types to cover all opponents – so we’ve got recommendations to take you to the top in June 2023.

If you ever get bored of the traditional Great League, Ultra League, and Master League, the good news is that Niantic regularly introduces unique cups that switch things up to give you a fresh challenge to enjoy.

The latest is the Element Cup, which makes its grand return during Season 15 of the Go Battle League. In this cup, only Fire, Grass, and Water-type Pokemon under 500 CP can compete, so you’re going to be quite restricted with your options.

Below you’ll find our best team recommendation for the Element Cup in the Pokemon Go Battle League, as well as some other Pokemon you can use and the optimal movesets to teach them.

Best team for the Element Cup in Pokemon Go

One of the best teams for the Element Cup in Pokemon Go is Vulpix, Ducklett, and Bulbasaur.

These are three of the strongest eligible Pokemon that you can use in this cup, with loads of big wins in the meta between them. The best thing about this team is that it provides you with counters for all featured types in the Element Cup: Fire, Grass, and Water.

As with any cup, it’s impossible to say what the ultimate team looks like, as it really depends on the Pokemon your opponent sends out. For example, Chinchou might be a top-tier choice for this cup, but it will pretty much always lose against a strong Grass-type.

The Pokemon we’ve recommended below will perform well in most scenarios in the Element Cup. As long as you’ve got counters for Fire, Grass, and Water-type Pokemon on your team, and they’re all as close to 500 CP as possible, you should be good to go!

Best Pokemon for the Element Cup in Pokemon Go

Ducklett

• Fast Move: Wing Attack
• Charged Move: Bubble Beam and Brave Bird
• Resistances: Ground, Steel, Fire, Bug, Water, and Fighting
• Weaknesses: Electric and Rock

Ducklett was the star of the show in last year’s Element Cup, and it’s got loads of potential this time around too. Being a dual Water/Flying-type means it can wipe out both Fire and Grass opponents and has very few weaknesses to exploit.

The main Ducklett counters to watch out for are Chinchou, Shellos, and the newly-debuted Salandit, but as long as you have Bubble Beam and Brave Bird in your moveset, you shouldn’t have too much trouble with any other opponents.

Chinchou

• Fast Move: Spark
• Charged Move: Thunderbolt and Bubble Beam
• Resistances: Water, Fire, Ice, Flying, and Steel
• Weaknesses: Grass and Ground

Chinchou is one of the top-tier Pokemon you can use in the Element Cup. Why? Well, thanks to a unique dual Water/Electric typing, it has the brilliant ability to easily defeat both Water-type and Grass-type opponents.

As long as you’ve got a mix of Water and Electric-type attacks, Chinchou is a huge threat. We recommend Spark as a Fast Move with Thunderbolt and Bubble Beam as Charged Moves – all of which benefit from STAB.

Vulpix

• Fast Move: Ember
• Charged Move: Weather Ball (Fire) and Body Slam
• Resistances: Grass, Fire, Ice, Steel, Bug, and Fairy
• Weaknesses: Water, Ground, and Rock

Fire-types aren’t very well represented in the Element Cup, but it’s a good idea to have at least one on your team – and the best of the best in this meta is Vulpix. It has decent bulk and the ability to take down most Grass-type opponents.

The best Fast Move for Vulpix is Ember, paired with the Charged Move Weather Ball (Fire) for brilliant Fire-type damage. If you can afford a second Charged Move, go with Body Slam which can be spammed for neutral coverage.

Salandit

• Fast Move: Poison Jab
• Charged Move: Poison Fang and Flamethrower
• Resistances: Bug, Fairy, Fighting, Fire, Grass, Ice, Poison, and Steel
• Weaknesses: Ground, Psychic, Rock, and Water

Salandit may be the most difficult Pokemon to get on this list, as it can only be hatched from 12km Eggs and its CP will often be too high, but it’s worth mentioning as it’s one of the best contenders for the Element Cup if you can get one.

Make sure you have Poison Jab as a Fast Move and Poison Fang as a Charged Move, giving you a brilliant pair of STAB attacks. You’ll also want Flamethrower for the extra coverage it will give you against Bug, Ice, and Steel-type opponents.

Bulbasaur

• Fast Move: Vine Whip
• Charged Move: Seed Bomb and Sludge Bomb
• Resistances: Electric, Fairy, Fighting, Grass, and Water
• Weaknesses: Fire, Flying, Ice, and Psychic

While Venusaur shines in the Great League, its pre-evolution Bulbasaur gets a chance to show off in the Element Cup, with key wins against the likes of Chinchou, Cottonee, Seel, and Chikorita.

What makes Bulbasaur a standout is its Grass/Poison typing and moveset, which lets it square up to both Water-type and Grass-type opponents – and you’ll be facing off against plenty of them here.

Cottonee

• Fast Move: Charm
• Charged Move: Grass Knot and Seed Bomb
• Resistances: Water, Grass, Fighting, Electric, Ground, Dark, and Dragon
• Weaknesses: Fire, Poison, Steel, Flying, and Ice

Cottonee is a regular in any sub-500 CP cup, and even though it doesn’t hold the absolute top spot in the Element Cup anymore, it’s still a force to be reckoned with thanks to its high bulk and potential for lots of wins.

With such a low max CP limit, Fast Moves are arguably more important than ever in the Element Cup, as many Pokemon won’t get a chance to use their Charged Moves – so make sure Cottonee has Charm, as it’s deadly.

Pokemon Go Element Cup rules & restrictions

The rules of the Element Cup are that only Fire, Grass, and Water-type Pokemon are allowed to enter, they must be first in an evolutionary family, and they must be below the 500 CP limit.

Although this does heavily limit the pool of Pokemon you can use, it’s worth pointing out that dual-types are eligible, so a Water/Flying-type Pokemon like Ducklett is allowed to enter.

Pokemon Go Element Cup start & end date

The Element Cup will begin in the Pokemon Go Battle League on Thursday, June 15, 2023, at 1PM PT / 4PM ET / 9PM BST, and end on Thursday, June 22, 2023, at 1PM PT.

It will run alongside the traditional Ultra League – and we’ve got a best team guide for that league here.