Pokémon GO Great League: Best Pokémon

It’s time to get back to the basics: The Great League returns to Pokémon GO, running from October 21 to November 4, 2025. Great League is the simplest discipline in GO Battle League, Pokémon GO’s PvP mode, and thus is the perfect ground to get started on your trainer battle journey. To add a bit of extra motivation to your competitive fire, the Stardust rewards for wins will be quadrupled from October 21 to 28.

There are no restrictions on what type of Pokémon you can field, though there is a maximum limit on competition points (CP) these creatures can possess. In Great League, this is set at 1,500 CP. That also means that this competition is very easy on your Stardust and Candy XL budget, as you won’t have to power up your Pokémon all too much.

We’ve put together a list of the best Pokémon for Great League in Pokémon GO to get you started on your team building process. Our choices are based on statistics and simulations provided by PvPoke.com.

Pokémon GO Great League: Best Leads

The Pokémon in this class are aggressors, able to apply pressure on your opponent right from the start of a battle. They can also drag out tough battles for a long time thanks to their bulk. This allround effectiveness makes them perfect to open a match up, enabling you to score an early knockout or set up a strong counter play.

1. Primeape (Karate Chop, Rage Fist, Close Combat)
2. Corviknight (Sand Attack, Air Cutter, Payback)
3. Araquanid (Bug Bite, Water Pulse, Bubble Beam)
4. Galarian Corsola [XL] (Astonish, Night Shade, Power Gem)
5. Dragonair [S] (Dragon Breath, Wrap, Aqua Tail)
6. Dusknoir [S] (Astonish, Dynamic Punch, Shadow Punch)
7. Pangoro (Karate Chop, Close Combat, Night Slash)
8. Bellibolt (Sucker Punch, Zap Cannon, Parabolic Charge)
9. Shadow Primeape (Karate Chop, Rage Fist, Close Combat)
10. Goodra (Dragon Breath, Aqua Tail, Thunder Punch)

Pokémon marked with [S] perform comparably well in both their regular and Shadow forms. Pokémon marked with [XL] require Candy XL to reach the optimal performance level.

Pokémon GO Great League: Best Safe Switches

If you’re not happy with the initial pairing, you should consider switching out your lead for another Pokémon. That’s the role of a Safe Switch. They are either strong leads themselves or are specialized in countering some of the most popular leads. Putting them in will let you score an elimination, disrupt your opponent’s game plan, or at least preserve your lead for the later stage of the match.

1. Crustle (Fury Cutter, X-Scissor, Rock Wrecker)
2. Primeape [S] (Karate Chop, Rage Fist, Close Combat)
3. Shadow Dragonair (Dragon Breath, Wrap, Aqua Tail)
4. Samurott [S] (Fury Cutter, Hydro Cannon, Megahorn)
5. Shadow Feraligatr (Shadow Claw, Hydro Cannon, Ice Beam)
6. Golisopod (Fury Cutter, X-Scissor, Aqua Jet)
7. Empoleon (Metal Sound, Hydro Cannon, Drill Peck)
8. Shadow Diggersby [XL] (Quick Attack, Scorching Sands, Fire Punch)
9. Shadow Drapion (Poison Sting, Crunch, Aqua Tail)
10. Shadow Sealeo (Powder Snow, Surf, Body Slam)

Pokémon GO Great League: Best Closers

These Pokémon come in quite handy when there are no shields left in play on either side – they are incredibly tough thanks to their high bulk and many resistances or they can end battles quickly due to their access to powerful charge attacks.

1. Aegislash (Shield) [XL] (Psycho Cut, Shadow Ball, Gyro Ball)
2. Clodsire (Poison Sting, Stone Edge, Earthquake)
3. Registeel (Lock On, Focus Blast, Zap Cannon)
4. Carbink [XL] (Rock Throw, Power Gem, Moonblast)
5. Galarian Corsola [XL] (Astonish, Night Shade, Power Gem)
6. Shadow Empoleon (Metal Sound, Hydro Cannon, Drill Peck)
7. Kommo-o (Dragon Tail, Clanging Scales, Upper Hand)
8. Regidrago (Dragon Breath, Dragon Energy, Hyper Beam)
9. Shadow Electivire (Thunder Shock, Ice Punch, Wild Charge)
10. Azumarill [XL] (Bubble, Ice Beam, Play Rough)

Pokémon GO Great League: Best Attackers

This class is specialized in fighting an opponent who still has shields without commanding shields yourself. These Pokémon combine strong resistances and potent fast attacks to compensate for this disadvantage. For that reason, you rarely see Shadow forms in this role – they take more damage than their regular counterparts, making them a risky card to pull out at this stage of a match.

1. Bastiodon [XL] (Smack Down, Stone Edge, Flamethrower)
2. Carbink [XL] (Rock Throw, Power Gem, Moonblast)
3. Corviknight (Sand Attack, Air Cutter, Payback)
4. Diggersby [XL] (Quick Attack, Fire Punch, Scorching Sands)
5. Forretress (Bug Bite, Sand Tomb, Rock Tomb)
6. Steelix (Thunder Fang, Psychic Fangs, Breaking Swipe)
7. Shadow Bastiodon [XL] (Smack Down, Stone Edge, Flamethrower)
8. Araquanid (Bug Bite, Water Pulse, Bubble Beam)
9. Forretress (Bug Bite, Sand Tomb, Rock Tomb)
10. Stunfisk (Thunder Shock, Mud Bomb, Discharge)

If PvP isn’t your thing and you’d rather beat up Team GO Rocket instead, check out our complete guides with the best counters to Giovanni, Arlo, Cliff, and Sierra.