Pokémon Go Spring Cup best team recommendations

Things to know about putting together a Spring Cup team in Pokémon Go

The best thing about the 1500 CP limit is that, like the Great League, putting a team together tends to be relatively cheap and easy on your Stardust. The second-best thing is that this allows you to try out a brand new meta with a collection of Pokémon you otherwise might never use in Go Battle League. So, if you like dipping your toes into Go Battle League, this means low risk, high rewards!

That said, if you can find some crossover with Pokémon you already love to use in Go Battle League, this offers a chance to test them in a whole new arena, which can be just as exciting.

The obvious downside to these limited metas is that the pool of eligible choices is relatively shallow. In this case, there are 258 Pokémon that are eligible, with around half of these being worth considering, which is relatively deep for one of these cups. The reason for this isn’t just that we’re looking at four types instead of one, but because dual typing is not only allowed but encouraged, the number of Pokémon you can choose from is substantially larger.

So, how do you pick Pokémon for an element-based cup? It starts and ends with what that type is weak and resistant to. Here’s an overview, with the meta-relevant bits picked out for you:

• Water is weak to Electric and Grass; but resistant to other Water-types, along with Steel, Ice and Fire-types.
• Grass is weak to Bug, Fire, Flying, Ice and Poison; but resistant to Water, Grass, Ground and Electric-types.
• Fairy is weak to Poison and Steel; but resistant to Dragon, Fighting, Dark and Bug-types.

The immediate takeaway here is that Grass and Fairy-types are naturally in a stronger position than Water, thanks to having no top-line weaknesses. However, secondary typings are important, and we can see that Grass and Fairy share a weakness to Poison. Picking your perfect team, therefore, will probably start by looking at Pokémon that fall into Grass and Fairy-typing, along with eligible Pokémon that are also Poison-types or have Poison-type attacks.

There are several Mythical and Legendary Pokémon Pokémon to consider here, including Kartana and Celebi, but they are by no means necessary or the best Pokémon in the Spring Cup. We’d advise you avoid using them; while you may have already built a Tapu Fini, for example, it’s so far down the rankings it’s more of a liability than anything else.

Remember, although there are specific Pokémon that dominate this meta, with the Go Battle League (and player-versus-player battles in general) you’ll be going in blind; so even if you cover yourself with a wide range of offence and defence options, no team is invincible.

Still – even with a few of the below Pokémon in your team, you should be able to fare better than if you just selected those as close to the 1500 CP cap as possible.

The Max Out Season is here. The new global event, Wild Area, is nearly here and In the Wild is our lead-up event, which includes the global release of Toxel. You can now catch Dynamax Pokémon through Max Battles. First, however, you need to visit Power Spots to collect Max Particles and complete the To the Max! quest. Don't forget to try out Routes, Gift Exchange and Party Play while you're hunting down rare Pokémon, fighting in the Go Battle League or competing in PokéStop Showcases.

Our Pokémon Go Spring Cup recommendations

There is no single 'best' team you can choose – since, as mentioned previously, you don’t know what you are up against – and not everyone has access to every Pokémon species.

Instead, here is a general list of recommended Spring Cup Pokémon to build a team from, with a wide range of sources that should suit all players, whether you’ve been collecting creatures since day one or just started playing. Plus, even if you don’t have a Registeel, you can still be very competitive in this cup, as (for once) none of our picks have any exclusive or Community Day moves. As long as you have the Pokémon and enough resources to power it up, you should be good to go!

Remember you are only allowed one of each in the Go Battle League, and ideally you’d want to build a team with different type strengths and defence. For example, if you build a team with all mono-Water types, a single Ferrothorn will ruin your day.

It’s also worth noting that if you want to really compete, each of your Pokémon need two Charged moves. If you want to skimp on Stardust and only run the one move, do so at your own peril – you have been warned.

Our Pokémon Go Spring Cup team recommendations in order of their appearance in the National Pokédex — while there is some overlap with the Great League guide, make sure you read the full entry as we may be recommending some move changes:

Galarian Weezing

We’re kicking things off with what is undoubtedly looking like the strongest Pokémon in the meta.

That moveset is just pretty sweet. Although Fairy Wind doesn’t apply much shield pressure, it does charge your Brutal Swing very quicky, and that move is pretty, well, brutal against other Fairy-types. Overheat, while still being fairly cheap, is a self-debuff nuke that will leave your attack in tatters, so make sure you save this as a last resort.

So, if you want a spammy Pokémon that can start the match by stripping the opponent of their shields, Galarian Weezing is well worth a look.

In terms of matchups, we’re looking to beat Ferrothorn, Mawile, Abomasnow, Trevenant and Araquanid — all of which are recommended on this list. Tentacruel, Walrein, Qwilfish, Pelipper and Lanturn, however, are going to have you beat, so know when to retreat.

Pelipper

The number-one rule of limited metas is that if it’s good in PVP normally, it’s probably good when there are fewer threats than normal. And here, where there’s very few Electric or Rock-types at the top of the meta, Pelipper is very good.

Wing Attack is a fast-charging move, allowing you to spam your way into Weather Ball — a move notorious for stripping shields. If you need to go big, a Hurricane will obliterate a fair few of your opponents.

Pelipper is a great choice against Araquanid, Galarian Weezing, Walrein, Ferrothorn and Tentacruel. However, Lanturn is an obvious threat thanks to its Electric typing. Mantine, Qwilfish, Abomasnow and Trevenant are similarly bad match-ups, so be careful if you see them.

Shadow Mawile

Mawile is an interesting choice in this meta, thanks to its variety of attacks, its ability to gain momentum and the fact that it’s one of the few glass cannons at the top of the meta.

Fire Fang is clearly going to be good against the Grass and Steel-types floating around the meta, and it’s such a hard-hitting move that anything remotely weak to it is going to feel the burn. And if Fast-move pressure isn’t enough for you, Power-Up Punch is a spammy move that ramps up your attack, ensuring your Fire Fang hits all the harder. Play Rough is mostly there as high-energy coverage — Mawile is here for a good time, not a long time.

So, how does Mawile stack up? It obviously destroys Ferrothorn and Abomasnow, but it also takes down Trevenant, Araquanid and Tropius with relative ease. However, not everything on the plate can be gravy; Mawile loses pretty hard to Lanturn, Tentacruel, Galarian Weezing, Pelipper and Walrein.

Tropius

Again, what’s good in open Go Battle League is usually good in limited metas. Tropius is well-known for being a bulky, spammy Pokémon and a PVP powerhouse – it’s just a little sensitive about the cold.

There’s not much to say about attack patterns here – everything is just pretty solid. Leaf Blade is a good spammy attack, and the two Flying-type moves are simply reliable when it comes to laying down damage.

Now for the obvious bit: Abomasnow is going to give you a bad time. Tentacruel, Mawile, Galarian Weezing and Pelipper will similarly make life difficult. However, you’ll find that Tropius is pretty excellent against Roserade, Trevenant, Araquanid, Lanturn and Ferrothorn.

Shadow Abomasnow

We always get a thrill when we get to break out the Abominable Go-man, and with the Spring Cup coming right off the back of the Mountain Cup, where it featured highly in the rankings, we know we’re going to enjoy this cup!

As always, President Snow is almost always excellent in Great League, Ultra League and its limited cups. Powder Snow fast-charges your Weather Ball to strip shields like nobody’s business. Energy Ball is there to absolutely flatten the Water types and Weather Ball takes down pretty much anything with green on it. It’s almost chilling how good Abomasnow is.

In terms of match-ups, we will be cackling gleefully as we take down Trevenant, Lanturn, Ferrothorn, Walrein and Pelipper (most of which are top-tier in this meta). Araquanid, Qwilfish, Galarian Weezing, Mantine and Alolan Ninetails, however, will make Abomasnow users sad.

Ferrothorn

Another Pokémon that transitions almost seamlessly between Special Cups, Ferrothorn is back from the Mountain Cup, having only swapped a single move – Thunder for Flash Cannon. While you could argue for Thunder against the Flying-types, you’re better off with your anti-Fairy/Grass tech, which propels this Pokémon to the very top of the meta.

While Flash Cannon is a fairy expensive nuke, Bullet Seed is fast-charging so you’ll get there relatively quickly. Power Whip is also cheap enough that you’ll be applying Shield pressure while keeping the defences up, which is always pretty exciting to hear. The only real downsides are that you won’t deal much damage with Bullet Seed and you’re double-weak to Fire, so make sure you dodge Galarian Weezing (who can one-hit you) and Mawile (who will simply pound you into embers).

Other match-ups to be aware of include losses against Trevenant, Tropius Araquanid and Pelipper. However, you can look forward to wins against Walrein, Lanturn, Tentacruel, Mantine and Abomasnow.

Trevenant

The PVP bombs keep coming and Trevenant is no exception. Scary Tree is here to apply neutral STAB damage while being the spammy Pokémon we all know and love from the open Great and Ultra League.

Like a fair few Pokémon here, Seed Bomb is here as a spammy bait move to strip shields. When the opponent has their defences down, Shadow Ball is an excellent nuke that deals a lot of damage for a modest energy cost. There’s very little here to complain about other than the lack of bulk and a weaknesses to Ice and Dark.

Dark is because of Galarian Weezing and its Brutal Swing. Abomasnow, Araquanid, Walrein and Qwilfish will also beat you in a fair fight. However, you can look forward to wins against Venusaur, Lanturn, Ferrothorn, Tentacruel and Pelipper.

Araquanid

Lastly, we have one of the bulkiest Pokémon at the top of the meta – Araquanid.

This Pokémon leans fairly heavily into the Bug-type attacks, but again this is STAB damage that few are resistant to, which can mean a lot of damage in the long run. Since Araquanid can stick around for a while, this all adds up. The issue is that Araquanid can be inconsistent; Bug Buzz is a high-energy attack that only has a 30% chance of dropping the enemy’s defence. Fortunately, Bubble Beam (which still takes a while to get up to) comes with a guaranteed attack debuff, helping make up for this slightly.

It may seem a strange tactic, but it’s one that works — especially against Abomasnow, Walrein, Ferrothorn, Trevenant and Alolan Ninetails. However, for all its bulk it will lose to Pelipper, Mawile, Lanturn, Galarian Weezing and Tentacruel.