The Element Cup in GO Battle League reduces the complexity of the PvP world of Pokémon GO by only allowing Fire, Water, and Grass types to participate. There is also an upper limit of 500 competition points (CP), and the rule that participating monsters must be the base form of an evolutionary family. This excludes a large part of the Pokémon that exist in the game today, but the selection pool for this competition still can’t be called shallow.
To give you a point of reference, this guide provides an overview of the best Pokémon and teams for Element Cup in Pokémon GO, which will be available in GO Battle League until May 17, 2022, 1 p.m. PDT.
Element Cup: Best Pokémon – Pokémon GO
Not much has changed compared to previous editions of this tournament – however, one recent addition to the game has managed to reshuffle the cards quite significantly, as its typing has allowed it to instantly jump to the top of the food chain: Salandit.
Salandit in Element Cup
Salandit (Poison Jab, Poison Fang, Flamethrower) belongs to the Fire and Poison types, which in this format is a potent pairing indeed.
Not only does the lizard stand up to popular Grass-types like Chikorita and Cottonee, it even takes down Water-types like Chinchou and Ducklett – both had been dominant forces last time around. As a bonus, it also quenches most of the competition from the Fire department. Salandit is the new king of this format and will serve you outstandingly well, if you’ve grabbed it on its debut and didn’t already evolve it.
Countering Salandit in Element Cup
As usual, the dominant Pokémon of the format defines the meta around it. In this case, it is wise to familiarize yourself with the best counters against Salandit:
(Shadow) Wooper (Mud Shot, Body Slam, Mud Bomb).
(Shadow) Slowpoke (Confusion, Psyshock, Psychic).
Skrelp (Water Gun, Sludge Bomb, Aqua Tail).
Slugma (Rock Throw, Rock Slide, Flame Charge).
(Shadow) Exeggcute (Confusion, Seed Bomb, Ancient Power).
If you have one of these Pokémon with the right selection of attacks up your sleeve, Salandit will pose a far smaller problem for you. By the way, Salandit itself also does a good job of taking out other specimens of its kind. But you shouldn’t focus your entire team on countering this big bad lizard – other Pokémon pose a threat as well.
Meta Pokémon in Element Cup
In addition to Salandit and its counters, the following Pokémon will play a role based on simulations and last year’s experience:
Ducklett (Wing Attack, Bubble Beam, Brave Bird) – strong vs. Vulpix, Salandit counters, Grass-types.
Chinchou (Spark, Thunderbolt, Bubble Beam) – strong vs.Vulpix, Salandit counters, Water-types.
(Shadow) Bulbasaur (Vine Whip, Seed Bomb, Sludge Bomb) – strong vs. Water, Grass-types.
Chikorita (Vine Whip, Body Slam, Grass Knot) – strong vs. Water-types.
Seel (Ice Shard, Aqua Tail, Icy Wind) – strong vs. Ducklett, Cottonee, Shadow Exeggcute.
Cottonee (Charm, Grass Knot, Seed Bomb) – strong vs. Chinchou, Slowpoke, Chikorita, Ghost-types.
(Shadow) Vulpix (Quick Attack, Body Slam, Weather Ball (Fire)) – strong vs. Seel, Grass-types.
Binacle (Scratch, Ancient Power, Cross Chop) – strong vs. Salandit, Ducklett, Fire-types.
The trick, as usual, is to plan for as many scenarios as possible and cover your Pokémon’s weak points as best you can – or throw your opponent off guard with a surprise so they can’t react.
Element Cup: Best Teams – Pokémon GO
Based on the Pokémon above, the following are examples of strong teams:
Salandit, Ducklett, Bulbasaur.
Chinchou, Bulbasaur, Vulpix.
Ducklett, Chinchou, Bulbasaur.
Ducklett, Cottonee, Chinchou.
Shadow Slowpoke, Ducklett, Vulpix.
Chikorita, Ducklett, Vulpix.
Shadow Slowpoke, Wooper, Vulpix.
Don’t be afraid to experiment in case a combination just doesn’t work well for you, or you notice that you frequently encounter a certain Pokémon that you can’t counter with your team. In the end, adaptability is an important skill in PvP duels.
Written by Marco Wutz on behalf of GLHF.
