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, Max Out.
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
One of the best teams Trainers can use in the Great League is Clodsire, Mandibuzz, and Feraligatr, 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 Feraligatr can make light work of Clodsire, but it will likely fall against Mandibuzz 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
Machamp (Shadow)
- Fast Move: Karate Chop
- Charged Moves: Cross Chop and Stone Edge
- Resistances: Rock, Dark, and Bug
- Weaknesses: Fairy, Flying, and Psychic
Machamp is becoming a very popular option in the Battle League, as it is a very accessible Pokemon that only requires Elite TMs to get the right moves and dominate.
With Fighting and Rock moves, it can target a wide variety of types so it’s better to use it as a lead. Both Karate Chop and Cross Chop can be spammed to force the opponent to use its shields and then hit it with the nuke Stone Edge.
The only thing that must be taken into consideration, is that as a glass cannon, it has a very low Defense and will depend on shields to survive.
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 new 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.
Clefable
- Fast Move: Fairy Wind
- Charged Moves: Swift and Moonblast
- Resistances: Dragon, Fighting, Dark, and Bug
- Weaknesses: Poison and Steel
The key to winning Battle League encounters – or at least getting an advantage – is to access your Charged Moves fast so you can force your opponent to use their shields early on.
Clefable’s Fast Move Fairy Wind is very fast and it benefits from STAB, so you can boost your Charged Moves quickly. Moonblast is a nuke with 130 damage, though it is quite costly and has a chance of lowering your Attack stat, while Swift is cheap and faster, and can expand your coverage.
Toxapex
- Fast Move: Poison Jab
- Charged Moves: Brine and Sludge Wave
- Resistances: Water, Steel, Poison, Ice, Fire, Fighting, Fairy, and Bug
- Weaknesses: Electric, Ground, and Psychic
Toxapex might not seem like much, but this small creature boasts a ridiculously high Defense stat and a great type combination that gives it 8 resistances, including Great League favorites: Water types.
The STAB combo Poison Jab and Sludge Wave works smoothly, plus Sludge Wave has a massive damage of 110. Brine, on the other hand, doesn’t deal that much damage, but it is very cheap and benefits from STAB, too.
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%.
Carbink (XL)
- Fast Move: Rock Throw
- Charged Moves: Rock Slide 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 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.
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: Hydro Pump 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 near the top of this list. However, its impressive bulk and diverse moveset make it one of the best options for the Great League.
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Azumarill’s best Fast Move is Bubble. As for Charged Moves, Hydro Pump hits hardest while Ice Beam will help negate its weakness against Grass. Azumarill can be quite costly to power up, but it’s worth it.
Malamar
- Fast Move: Psywave
- Charged Moves: Foul Play and Superpower
- Resistances: Psychic
- Weaknesses: Bug and Fairy
Malamar’s stats are pretty balanced, which is why it can work fine either as a lead or closer. As a Dark/Psychic-type creature, it is resistant to the almighty Cresselia, but players need to be careful about its Fairy weakness, as there are pretty strong Fairy types ranking high, such as Clefable and Azumarill.
The Psywave, Foul Play, and Superpower combo has a fluid and dynamic matchup that allows Malamar to get STAB from both Psychic and Dark moves respectively, while also expanding its coverage with a Fighting attack.
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.
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.
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
- 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.
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.
Clodsire
- Fast Move: Poison Sting
- Charged Moves: Earthquake and Stone Edge
- 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 Stone Edge helps it expand its coverage even further. Clodsire’s access to 5 different types of moves makes it very hard to target and take down.
Great League Remix
The Great League remix is back during the Max Out season. To participate, the Pokemon must be at or below 1500 CP to enter.
The 20 Pokemon that are most used by trainers ranked Ace and above are not eligible. Here’s the complete list:
- Alolan Sandslash
- Wigglytuff
- Poliwrath
- Dewgong
- Lickitung
- Typhlosion
- Feraligatr
- Lanturn
- Azumarill
- Quagsire
- Gligar
- Mantine
- Skarmory
- Altaria
- Whiscash
- Bastiodon
- Talonflame
- Charjabug
- Skeledirge
- Annihilape
Pokemon Go Great League start & end date
The latest Pokemon Go Battle League season will run from September 3, 2024, until December 3, 2024.
During its run, the Great League will appear on:
- September 3 – September 10
- September 24 – October 1
- October 1 – October 8
- October 22 – October 29 (remix)
- October 29 – November 5
- November 5 – November 12
- November 26 – December 3
Those are the best Pokemon you can take to the Great League during this season. For more Pokemon Go content, check our guide with the Battle League schedule and rewards, as well as all the best attackers, defenders, and PvP champions.
