Pokemon Go best Great League team | Go Battle League: Dual Destiny season

❘ Updated: 2024-12-20T19:25:03

pokemon go great league battle 1600x900 dexerto

NIANTIC

The Battle League is the most popular PvP format in Pokemon Go, and dominating every competitive battle is no easy feat. To help you build the most balanced team, here are the best Pokemon you can put in your Great League roster for the newest season, Dual Destiny.

The Go Battle League is Pokemon Go’s PvP mode that allows you to compete with trainers from all across the globe. Through the course of the season, players can rise through the ranks — Great League, Ultra League, and Master League — and earn some great rewards along the way.

In the game, the Great League differs from the Ultra League and Master League because of one simple rule: Only Pokemon lower than 1500 CP can enter, which rules out many of the most powerful Pokemon from the competition.

So let’s take a look at the best Pokemon to take into the Great League. This is typically the first league of each season, and it usually appears again later down the line, so there are plenty of chances to take part.

Best team for Pokemon Go Great League

Pokemon Go’s Great League has a max CP of 1500.

One of the best teams Trainers can use in the Great League is Clodsire, Mandibuzz, and Primeape, as these are three of the strongest fighters and they’ll offer good coverage against most of the major Great League opponents.

It’s hard to say what a definitive ‘best’ team for the Great League looks like, though, as you’ll never know what types you’ll be up against. For example, a strong Clodsire can make light work of Jumpluff, but it will likely fall against Gastrodon or Malamar.

Despite this, there are some Pokemon that are solid options in almost any situation. Choose a few different types from our recommendations below for optimal coverage, and you should be on your way to victory.

Best Pokemon for Pokemon Go Great League

Quagsire (Shadow)

Fast Move: Mud Shot
Charged Moves: Aqua Tail and Stone Edge
Resistances: Electric, Poison, Rock, Steel, and Fire
Weaknesses: Grass

Shadow Quagsire climbed the ranks once again and sits at the top 10 of the Great League thanks to its good Attack and Defense stats, as well as a solid Stamina that can keep this dual Water/Ground-type Pokemon in the battle for a while.

The best use players can give Quagsire is as a lead or charger thanks to two factors: it reaches its Charged Moves fast and its typing can hit a wide variety of types in the League.

Azumarill (XL)

Fast Move: Bubble
Charged Moves: Play Rough and Ice Beam
Resistances: Bug, Fighting, Water, Ice, Fire, Dark, and Dragon
Weaknesses: Electric, Grass, and Poison

It’s fair to say the dual Water/Fairy-type Azumarill is probably a Pokemon you wouldn’t expect to see in a top-tier list. However, its impressive bulk and diverse moveset make it one of the best options for the Great League.

Azumarill’s best Fast Move is Bubble. As for Charged Moves, Play Rough hits very hard without being expensive, while Ice Beam will help negate its weakness against Grass. Azumarill can be quite costly to power up, but it’s worth it.

Morpeko (Full Belly)

Fast Move: Thunder Shock
Charged Moves: Aura Wheel and Psychic Fangs
Resistances: Psychic, Steel, Ghost, Flying, Electric, and Dark
Weaknesses: Bug, Fairy, Fighting, and Ground

Despite its tiny size and disappointing defense, Morpeko (Full Belly) is an outstanding Pokemon to use in the Great League, mostly due to its Aura Wheel move.

When in combat, the Fast Move Thunder Shock will allow Morpeko to quickly access its Charged Move Aura Wheel. This move is not only extremely powerful and cheap, but it also increases the user’s Attack stat by 25% every time, making Morpeko an unstoppable machine.

Combine it with Psychic Fangs for more coverage, and you’ll secure a win in most of your encounters.

Carbink (XL)

Fast Move: Rock Throw
Charged Moves: Power Gem and Moonblast
Resistances: Bug, Dark, Dragon, Fire, Flying, and Normal
Weaknesses: Grass, Ground, Steel, and Water

Carbink is one of the sturdiest Pokemon in the game. However, only Trainers who purchased a Go Fest 2023 ticket before July 5, 2023, will have access to this Pokemon, so it’s going to be a fairly rare encounter for now.

This creature’s best Fast Move is Rock Throw. When it comes to Charged Moves, go with Power Gem 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.

Jumpluff (Shadow)

Fast Move: Fairy Wind
Charged Moves: Aerial Ace and Energy Ball
Resistances: Ground, Grass, Water, and Fighting
Weaknesses: Ice, Fire, Flying, Poison, and Rock

Even with its Shadow debuff, Jumpluff still boasts an impressive Defense stat, making it one bulky fellow to have on your team.

Unlike most Battle League choices, Jumpluff doesn’t spam moves to charge its Charged Move, but instead, it uses Fairy Wind’s high energy generation to reach Aerial Ace and Energy Ball.

Aerial Ace is pretty cheap and deals ok damage while covering Fighting, Bug, and Grass types. Energy Ball has a relatively low cost for a Charged Move and deals a great amount of damage while covering Water, Ground, and Rock types.

Pangoro

Fast Move: Karate Chop
Charged Moves: Close Combat and Night Slash
Resistances: Dark, Rock, Psychic, and Ghost
Weaknesses: Fairy, Fighting, and Flying

Pangoro has a very bad Defense and might use all your shields, but as a lead and with the right moves, it can give you an advantage in combat, as it is extremely fast and powerful.

Similar to Machop, Karate Chop will fast charge your Charged Moves. Night Slash is great because it’s so cheap you can spam it to finally use Close Combat. Plus, the Dark-type move has a chance to increase your Attack by 50%.

Marowak (Shadow)

Fast Move: Mud-Slap
Charged Moves: Bone Club and Rock Slide
Resistances: Electric, Rock, and Poison
Weaknesses: Grass, Ice, and Water

The game’s meta changed with the previous season and gave a buff to Mud-Slap and Bone Club while nerfing Mud Shot. This took several Ground-type contestants out of the way and brought new faces, like Marowak.

Thanks to its high Defense, Shadow Marowak can sacrifice some of it for a higher Attack stat. Mud-Slap is the best of the two Fast Moves available, as it deals more damage than the other option – Rock Smash – and benefits from STAB.

As a spammy Pokemon, Marowak can access its Charged Moves fast, to use Bone Club for more STAB, or Rock Slide for more power, as well as coverage.

Dunsparce

Fast Move: Rollout
Charged Moves: Drill Run and Rock Slide
Resistances: Ghost
Weaknesses: Fighting

Dunsparce’s massive Stamina and Fast Move are the ideal combination for using this Pokemon as a lead. The Stamina will keep Dunsparce alive while you use Rollout to bait enemy shields and unlock your Charged Moves.

While Rock Slide deals great damage for little energy and benefits from STAB, Drill Run can cause even more harm while expanding the Pokemon coverage.

The best thing about Dunsparce is that it is resistant to the Ghost type which is always being used in PvP. Plus, it only has one weakness to worry about.

Gastrodon

Fast Move: Mud-Slap
Charged Moves: Body Slam and Earth Power
Resistances: Steel, Rock, Poison, Fire, and Electric
Weaknesses: Grass

Similar to Marowak, Gastrodon is a new threat to the Great League thanks to the Mud-Slap buff and its very high Stamina. Having only one weakness makes the water slug an even better choice.

Out of both Fast Moves, Mud-Slap is stronger, cheaper, and benefits from STAB. Body Slam is Gastrodon’s cheapest Charged Move and due to how fast it is, it can be used to force the enemy shields while Earth Power hits extremely hard.

Feraligatr (Shadow)

Fast Move: Shadow Claw
Charged Moves: Hydro Cannon and Ice Beam
Resistances: Steel, Fire, Water, and Ice
Weaknesses: Grass and Electric

This happy crocodile works perfectly as a charger or closer thanks to its stats and moves. Despite its weaknesses, it can resist very used Pokemon types such as Steel and Fire, which is very handy.

Additionally, Shadow Claw helps it access its Charged Moves faster, as it has very high energy generation. That way, the opponent is forced to use its shields early on.

Diggersby (XL)

Fast Move: Quick Attack
Charged Moves: Fire Punch and Scorching Sands
Resistances: Ghost, Electric, Rock, and Poison
Weaknesses: Fighting, Grass, Ice, and Water

Diggersby is a new addition to the ranking, and even though it’s not a great attacker, it is an extremely bulky Pokemon with a unique type combination.

This season features very strong Poison types, so Diggersby is a great choice to break them. Plus, having access to Fire Punch helps this enormous rabbit fight Grass and Ice types, which are two of its weaknesses.

As if it were not enough, Scorching Sands is a wonderful Ground-type move that deals very high damage for low energy.

Primeape

Fast Move: Karate Chop
Charged Moves: Rage Fist and Close Combat
Resistances: Rock, Dark, and Bug
Weaknesses: Fairy, Flying, and Psychic

Even though Primeape doesn’t have an outstanding bulk, it’s still a great Fighting-type choice. While being similar to fan favorite Machamp, Primeape offers a wider coverage and lightning-fast moves.

Primeape works great as a lead or switch, as it has very spammy moves that can force the opponents to use their shields early on, leaving them open for a mighty Charged Attack.

Karate Chop is the standout of the Fast Moves, but there are plenty of great options for Charged Moves that will vary depending on what you need. The best part is that most of them are quite cheap without sacrificing the damage they can inflict.

Mandibuzz

Fast Move: Snarl
Charged Moves: Dark Pulse and Aerial Ace
Resistances: Ghost, Grass, Dark, Ground, and Psychic
Weaknesses: Rock, Electric, Ice, and Fairy

Despite its lack of outstanding moves, and having fewer resistances than other Great League recommendations, Mandibuzz does make up for that with a very high Defense stat and a solid Stamina stat.

Snarl has quicker energy generation than Air Slash, so we’d recommend using that Fast Move. Mandibuzz’s best Charged Move is Dark Pulse, as it deals good damage and benefits from STAB. In case you’re looking for more coverage, Aerial Ace is a good choice.

Galarian Corsola (XL)

Fast Move: Astonish
Charged Moves: Night Shade and Power Gem
Resistances: Normal, Fighting, Poison, and Bug
Weaknesses: Dark and Ghost

Since its recent debut, Galarian Corsola has climbed the PvP ranks on the Great League thanks to its bulkiness and strong moveset – which benefits from STAB.

Tackle is a really bad option, so Pick Astonish for your Fast Move, as it is the only Ghost-type attack and has great synergy with Night Shade.

Night Shade is a very cheap Charged Move with decent damage per energy, so go with it. Compliment it with Power Gem, as it will expand your coverage thanks to its affordability.

Clodsire

Fast Move: Poison Sting
Charged Moves: Earthquake and Sludge Bomb
Resistances: Poison, Electric, Rock, Fighting, Fairy, and Bug
Weaknesses: Ground, Ice, Psychic, and Water

Clodsire appeared out of nowhere and stole the top spot of our ranking basically because – in the new meta – it is good at everything.

This dual Poison/Ground creature works fine as a lead, switch, or closer thanks to its good Defense, but mostly its massive Stamina of 209.

The blob Clodsire might exert low Fast Move pressure, but it still manages to reach its incredible Charged Moves. Earthquake is one of the best moves of all time, and Sludge helps it hit hard with a STAB move without needing too much energy. Clodsire’s access to 5 different types of moves makes it very hard to target and take down.

Pokemon Go Great League start & end date

The latest Pokemon Go Battle League season will run from December 3, 2024, until March 4, 2025.

During its run, the Great League will appear on:

December 3 – December 10
December 24 – December 31
December 31 – January 7
January 21 – January 28
January 28 – February 4
February 18 – February 25
February 25 – March 4

Those are the best Pokemon you can add to your Great League team during this Pokemon Go season. For more content, check our guide with the Battle League schedule and rewards, as well as all the best attackers, defenders, and PvP champions.

Sign up for free to unlock exclusive perks:

See fewer ads

Dark Mode

Great deals in gaming, TV, Movies and Tech