Image via Niantic
The catch cup is the final special league in Pokémon Go occurring in November. After this, the current season will wrap up, and players will be returning to a new one starting in December with 24 ranks, rather than the standard 10. The Catch Cup will be available from November 23 to the 30, and like the Kanto and the Little Cup, there are specific rules for this event.
If you’re participating in this cup, you can only use Pokémon you’ve captured from November 9 onward will be available. If you captured any Pokémon before this point, they would not be eligible to join your roster. So, really, almost any Pokémon will be viable for this event, except for several legendary Pokémon that you likely can’t catch during this time frame. These Pokémon must also be under 1,500 CP. Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, and Victini cannot be used.
Galarian Stunfisk, Azumarill, and Scrafty
If you have the luck to hatch a Galarian Stunfisk from a seven-kilometer egg or even a Scraggy and evolve it into a Scrafty before the event, pairing these two together will make them extremely powerful. They’re a good combo, and then adding an Azumarill to the mix will also make them exceptionally good against most of the Pokémon you’ll encounter in the Catch Cup.
- Galarian Stunfisk: Mud shot (fast move), rock slide, and earthquake
- Azumarill: Bubble (fast move), ice beam, hydro pump
- Scrafty: Counter (fast move), foul play, power-up punch
Dewgong, Sirfetch’d, and Medicham
For this group, Dewgong and Medicham are the easiest to obtain. You can usually capture these Pokémon in the wild, but the third in this roster, Sirfetch’d, is a bit more difficult. You’ll have to hatch a Galarian Farfetch’d from an egg and then complete its evolution challenge. But if you do that, using these three together will yield several victories for you against other trainers.
- Dewgong: Ice shard (fast move), ice wind, and water pulse
- Sirfetch’d: Counter (fast move), leaf blade, and close combat
- Medicham: Counter (fast move), ice punch, and psychic
Machamp, Ferrothorn, and Dusclops
Machamp is one of the easier to find Pokémon that you probably have a bunch of candy for, so all you need to do is capture a Machop after November 9, and you can use a powerful Pokémon in the Catch Cup. Ferrotohrn and Dusclops, on the other hand, are a bit harder to find. You might not be able to complete this combination, but if you can, it’s worth trying.
- Machamp: Counter (fast move), cross chop, and rock slide
- Ferrothorn: Bullet seed (fast move), power whip, and thunder
- Dusclops: Hex (fast move), shadow punch, and ice punch
Skarmory, Primeape, and Alolan Muk
Skarmory is always a consistently good choice for trainers to use in the Great League. That remains to be the case for the Catch Cup. To pair with it, Primeape is an excellent choice, and one players could likely obtain following November 9. Alolan Muk, however, is another matter and a potential option. But it might be difficult for players to obtain it.
- Skarmory: Air slash (fast move), brave bird, and sky attack
- Primeape: Counter (fast move), night slash, and close combat
- Alolan Muk: Snarl (fast move), dark pulse, sludge wave
Swampert, Abomasnow, and Clefable
The final choice is another roundup of some of the best Great League Pokémon. Swampert, Abomasnow, and Clefable. These three will work well together, and Swampert can easily deal a bunch of damage. Abomasnow might be a bit more difficult to acquire because of how many Team Rocket grunts you might have to battle for it or catch it in the wild, but it’s a possible contender.
- Swampert: Mud shot (fast move), hydro cannon (or muddy water), and sludge wave
- Abomasnow: Powder snow (fast move), weather ball, and energy ball
- Clefable: Charm (fast move), meteor mash, and moonblast
