The level of competitiveness in the Pokemon Go Battle League is insane, and rising to the top ranks of the Master League isn’t easy. Despite that, our list with the best team recommendations should be enough to get you there during the Dual Destiny season.
Trainers looking to test their power in Pokemon Go will want to head to the Go Battle League, which is the game’s competitive PvP mode. Here, players can battle against others around the world with their best Pokemon and earn rewards as they go.
There are three leagues to compete in: Great League, Ultra League, and Master League. Right now, we’re focusing on the latter, which is the Go Battle League’s top-tier competition where there are no restrictions on which Pokemon you can take to battle.
Only the strongest fighters will have a chance of success in this free-for-all league, so to help you figure out which Pokemon are worth spending the time and energy powering up, we’re taking a look at the best team to use in the Master League.
Best team for Pokemon Go Master League
One of the best teams you can use in Pokemon Go’s Master League consists of Zygarde (Complete Forme), Solgaleo, and Landorus Therian Forme. These are three of the strongest Pokemon in the meta that will provide wide coverage against most types.
As always, it’s impossible to say what the ‘ultimate team’ looks like across every single scenario, as it really depends on which Pokemon your opponent sends out – and you won’t know that until the battle begins.
Having said that, we’ve included several Pokemon below that should serve you well in most battles you’ll find yourself in. These require XL Candy to reach their full potential, so this can be quite an expensive league.
Best Pokemon for Pokemon Go Master League
Xerneas (XL)
- Fast Move: Geomancy
- Charged Moves: Close Combat and Moonblast
- Resistances: Fighting, Bug, Dark, and Dragon
- Weaknesses: Poison, and Steel
The incorporation of Xerneas’ signature move – Geomancy – turned this Legendary into the top Fairy-type Pokemon in the game.
Xerneas can work either as a lead or a closer as it has good bulk and an even better Attack stat. Like most of the top-ranking competitive Pokemon, it can reach its Charged Moves fast, putting extra pressure on the opponent and forcing them to use their shields.
Geomancy deals great damage for a fair amount of energy. And while all the Charged Moves cost the same, Moonblast is the one with higher damage, plus it benefits from STAB. Close Combat is ideal as a secondary Charged Move because it targets Xerneas’ greatest weakness: the Steel type.
Florges (XL)
- Fast Move: Fairy Wind
- Charged Moves: Disarming Voice and Moonblast
- Resistances: Dragon, Fighting, Dark, and Bug
- Weaknesses: Poison and Steel
Florges recently made its way into our ranking thanks to its solid stats, with both very high Attack and Defense.
As a bulky ‘mon, Florges can stand its ground against its opponents. Plus it has only two weaknesses and a good amount of useful resistances, including fan-favorites Dragon, Fighting, and Dark.
Even though Florges can use Grass and Psychic-type moves, it’s best to go with its full Fairy-type attacks. Fairy Wind costs more than the other Fast Moves, but it deals pretty good damage. On the other hand, the Charged Move – Disarming Voice – is the cheapest one and hits very hard, so it’s a good balance and the nuke Moonblast can be used as a secondary move to finish any enemy off.
Dawn Wings Necrozma (XL)
- Fast Move: Shadow Claw
- Charged Moves: Moongeist Beam and Dark Pulse
- Resistances: Fighting, Normal, Psychic, and Poison
- Weaknesses: Dark and Ghost
The recently added Dawn Wings Necrozma quickly got a spot in the top 10 due to its Psychic/Ghost-type combination which gives it key resistances to the many Psychic Pokemon on the Master League ranking.
Dawn Wings Necrozma is a bulky creature that can be used as a lead or charger as it excels at pressuring opponents to waste their shields early on thanks to its strong and rapid attack, Shadow Claw. For the Charged Moves, its signature attack Moongesit Beam is a wonderful nuke, while Dark Pulse gives it a wider coverage.
Groudon (XL)
- Fast Move: Mud Shot
- Charged Moves: Precipice Blades and Fire Punch
- Resistances: Electric, Poison, and Rock
- Weaknesses: Grass, Ice, and Water
Groudon is a brilliant addition to any team in the Master League, thanks to its impressive bulk and a great STAB moveset. But it excels because of its ability to destroy Steel-types like the omnipresent Dialga (either form) and others including Metagross and Melmetal.
Make sure Groudon has Mud Shot as its Fast Move, as it has brilliant energy generation that will let you access two strong Charged Moves: Fire Punch and Precipice Blades. Both require an Elite TM, but it’s worth it for the low cost, strong power, and shield-baiting potential.
Marshadow (XL)
- Fast Move: Sucker Punch
- Charged Moves: Close Combat and Ice Punch
- Resistances: Normal, Fighting, Bug, Rock, and Poison
- Weaknesses: Fairy, Flying, Ghost, and Psychic
Don’t let the tiny size and cuteness fool you. The Mythical Marshadow is an outstanding fighter that recently made it into our ranking due to its great type combination, high Attack stat, and versatile move pool.
The dual Fighting/Ghost Pokemon works incredibly as a lead and can target some mighty beasts like Dawn Wings Necrozma, Zygarde, and Landorus Therian Forme. Marshadow will reach its Charged Moves fast, so use them to force your enemy to use its shields early on and then hit it hard.
Giratina (Altered Forme XL)
- Fast Move: Shadow Claw
- Charged Moves: Dragon Claw and Shadow Sneak
- Resistances: Normal, Fighting, Bug, Electric, Fire, Grass, Poison, and Water
- Weaknesses: Dark, Dragon, Fairy, Ghost, and Ice
Both forms of Giratina are well-placed in the Master League, but Altered Forme has better defensive stats allowing it to hold out longer in battle, which is why many trainers prefer it. Both are definitely worth having on your team, though.
Regardless of which version you have, Shadow Claw is Giratina’s best Fast Move. For Altered Forme, go with Dragon Claw and Shadow Sneak, but if you decide to pick Origin Forme, go with Shadow Ball and Ominous Wind as Charged Moves.
Kyurem (XL)
- Fast Move: Dragon Breath
- Charged Moves: Dragon Claw and Glaciate
- Resistances: Water, Grass, and Electric
- Weaknesses: Fighting, Rock, Steel, Dragon, and Fairy
The mix of a good moveset, plus a solid ATK stat and a good amount of HP has put Kyurem at the top. But since accessing its Legendary move Glaciate, it has become unstoppable in fights.
This Charged Move not only gives great coverage, but it also debuffs the enemy’s ATK stat. That move along with Dragon Breath and Dragon Claw (which also benefit from STAB) is a great combo to have on any team.
Landorus (Therian Forme XL)
- Fast Move: Mud Shot
- Charged Moves: Sandsear Storm and Stone Edge
- Resistances: Electric, Fighting, Poison, Bug, and Ground
- Weaknesses: Ice and Water
Even though it’s not as bulky as other Ground-type Pokemon, Landorus Therian Forme has good coverage against a wide variety of types. Plus it can access its Charged Moves quickly, which pressures opponents to waste their shields.
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As with Groudon, the Fast Move Mud Shot will let you access the Charged Moves fast thanks to its brilliant energy generation. Even though Sandsear Storm requires an Elite TM, it’s worth it thanks to its debuff, while Stone Edge works as a powerful coverage nuke.
Ho-Oh (XL)
- Fast Move: Incinerate
- Charged Moves: Brave Bird and Sacred Fire
- Resistances: Ground, Fighting, Steel, Fire, Fairy, Bug, and Grass
- Weaknesses: Rock, Water, and Electric
The always beautiful Ho-Oh is one of the most balanced Pokemon in the Master League, as it is as bulky as powerful.
Its Fast Move Incinerate deals a lot of damage, but its Ho-Oh’s Charged Moves the extremely amazing ones, as both are considered to be some of the strongest moves in the whole game. Plus, Sacred Fire has a 50% chance to debuff the enemy’s ATK stat.
Solgaleo (XL)
- Fast Move: Fire Spin
- Charged Moves: Psychic Fangs and Iron Head
- Resistances: Normal, Flying, Rock, Steel, Grass, Ice, Dragon, Fairy, Poison, and Psychic
- Weaknesses: Ground, Ghost, Fire, and Dark
As a half-Steel-type Pokemon, Solgaleo has a huge amount of type resistances that combine well with its extreme bulk to make it very difficult to take down. It’s also the number one Dialga counter, which is something every Master League team needs.
The mix of Fire, Psychic, and Iron-type moves in its ideal moveset gives Solgaleo a wide coverage against other fan-favorite Master League champions like Dragonite and Zacian.
Rhyperior (XL)
- Fast Move: Mud-Slap
- Charged Moves: Rock Wrecker and Breaking Swipe
- Resistances: Poison, Electric, Rock, Normal, Flying, and Fire
- Weaknesses: Grass, Water, Fighting, Ground, Ice, and Steel
The bulky Rhyperior is a great Pokemon to lead a team thanks to its high Stamina stat that allows it to take hits well.
Mud-Slap deals heavy damage for a Fast Move and can also be spammed to access the Charged Moves faster and to force opponents to waste their shields early on in the battle. The Charged Move Rock Wrecker is one of the best in the game, as it has a very low energy cost a deals a massive 110 damage.
Dusk Mane Necrozma (XL)
- Fast Move: Shadow Claw
- Charged Moves: Sunsteel Strike and Dark Pulse
- Resistances: Psychic, Poison, Steel, Rock, Normal, Ice, Grass, Flying, Fairy, and Dragon
- Weaknesses: Dark, Fire, Ghost, and Ground
Dusk Mane Necrozma’s dual Psychic/Steel type combination offers plenty of resistances to exploit in the Master League, as this Pokemon can take hits from fan favorites Lugia, Mewtwo, Dialga, and Giratina.
This strong attacker checks all the boxes a player needs to add a Pokemon to their team as Dusk Mane Necrozma is both bulky and strong, with a great move pool that can benefit from STAB and force opponents to use their shields early.
As for the moves per se, Shadow Claw offers coverage, hits hard, and helps access the Charged Moves quickly. Sunsteel Strike is its signature move and it’s a powerful Steel-type nuke, while Dark Pulse is another strong move that offers even more coverage.
Yveltal (XL)
- Fast Move: Sucker Punch
- Charged Moves: Dark Pulse and Oblivion Wing
- Resistances: Psychic, Ground, Grass, Ghost, and Dark
- Weaknesses: Electric, Fairy, Ice, and Rock
The Pokemon Y mascot, the Legendary Yveltal, made a comeback to the Master League ranking due to a shift in the meta.
With extremely high Attack and Stamina stats, Yveltal is the ideal switch in a team. It can come in and deal plenty of damage while taking a punch without dying. As a dual Dark/Flying-type Pokemon, the best moveset to use is one that benefits from STAB.
Sucker Punch is cheap and helps boost the energy to use either Charged Move. Both Dark Pulse and Oblivion Wing have the same energy and deal almost exactly the same damage, so the one you use as a primary will depend on your target.
Palkia (Origin Forme XL)
- Fast Move: Dragon Breath
- Charged Moves: Aqua Tail and Spacial Rend
- Resistances: Steel, Fire, and Water
- Weaknesses: Dragon and Fairy
Palkia Origin Forme sits at the top of our ranking and is undoubtedly a Master League champion in Pokemon Go. With incredible Defense and HP and an outstanding Attack stat, this creature is a charger that works perfectly for leading or closing a battle thanks to its powerful moveset.
Dragon Breath is stronger than Dragon Tail, so go with it as a Fast Move. For Charged Moves, similar to Dialga Origin Forme, its new move Spacial Rend is the ultimate attack to use, while also using Aqua Tail to spam.
Zygarde (Complete Forme XL)
- Fast Move: Dragon Tail
- Charged Moves: Crunch or Earthquake
- Resistances: Poison, Rock, Fire, and Electric
- Weaknesses: Ice, Dragon, and Fairy
With a super bulky HP stat and a great balance between resistance and damage, Zygarde is one of the most desirable creatures in Pokemon Go since it debuted in July 2023.
Not only is this Pokemon incredibly difficult to take down, but it is the perfect counter for the many Dragon-type creatures going around this rank as well as others like Dialga, Lugia, and Kyurem.
More so, its ideal moveset deals plenty of damage with both Dragon Tail and Earthquake, while Crunch can help with your strategy as it baits shields.
Pokemon Go Master 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 Master League will appear on:
- December 17 – December 24
- December 24 – December 1
- January 14 – January 21
- January 21 – January 28
- February 11 – February 18
- February 18 – February 25
- February 25 – March 4 (Mega Edition)
Every Master League week will offer x4 Stardust from win rewards.
Those are the best Pokemon you can use to build your Master 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.
