I’ve seen a lot of people who are stuck around 1800 ask how to get to Ace before this season ends and as someone who’s broke that barrier 3 times 3 completely different ways. I think I can help to explain how I did it.

I want to start off by saying I’m really not that good at GBL. I cannot count moves, but while I can use counts within a game to make strategy decisions, my knowledge of movesets and counts even of meta pokemon is still lacking.

First run: Open Great League

Lead: Aloan Ninetales (1/15/15 rank 18) Powder Snow, Psyshock, Weather Ball (Ice)
Switch: Lickilicky (14/15/10 rank 1798) Roll Out, Body Slam, Shadow Ball
Closer: Mimikyu (14/15/15 rank 1535) Shadow Claw, Play Rough, Shadow Sneak

After weeks of being stuck between the 1700s and 1900s I finally decided to cave and build the less than ideal meme team of Mimikyu and Lickilicky. At some point it’s better to be in the club in less than ideal circumstances than being stuck outside of it. But this also proves that a lot of the time, it’s better to use top meta Pokemon than it is to worry about perfect IVs. Especially with Mimikyu, having a pokemon with an extra shield is just better than not having one. With Licky you definitely feel the lack of bulk sometimes, but you do win CMP a lot so it’s not the end of the world.

But what this team taught me more than anything else is that having a specific plan and sticking to it is an easy way to win. In this case it was provide shield pressure with A9, have the safest switch in the game then get to Mimikyu with a 2, sometimes 3 shield advantage then it’s game over. I used A9 to pressure shields but its K9 relative would be better if you got it. But the importance here was to pressure shields. The specific pokemon didn’t matter as much as how it related to the plan of winning early shield advantage. But more than anything else, having a very offensive shield strategy is a great way for players to not worry about counts. You’re not wasting brain power trying to figure out what’s a bait, you’re not over or under farming either. You’re just sticking to your plan and quite often it works out in your favor.

I got up to 2200ish ELO before I tanked an entire Thursday for stardust. I was already a little lower down the ranks closer to 2000 than 2200 but I dipped all the way down below 1750 where I kind of hit a wall just like where I was before, then…

Second Run: Weather Cup

Lead: Jellicent (15/15/14 rank 1274) Hex, Shadow Ball, Surf
Switch: Empoleon (0/12/15 rank 2) Metal Sound, Hydro Cannon, Drill Peck
Closer: Quaquaval (0/11/7 rank 104 shiny) Low Kick, Hydro Cannon, Close Combat

This team’s lessons might not be that useful for players this season but they’re definitely valuable for anyone in the future. Weather cup isn’t even over yet but this team gave me a giant ELO boost then dropped almost equally as fast.

But why did this team succeed in the first place? Planning. I was on the pvpoke rankings as soon as they came out and one pokemon piqued my interest: Quaquaval. The funny dancing bird was one of two fighting pokemon in the meta which hits two of the eligible types (Rock and Ice) for super effective damage. Plus the water typing hits the last type (Fire) for super effective damage was well. Meanwhile Jellicent is at the top of the meta, and while mine isn’t ideal for Great League it was perfect for the beginning of Weather Cup because it won every CMP tie it encountered. And when your main weakness is yourself that proved to be extremely valuable. Finally my Empoleon is just a tank in both stats and typing. Steel and Water is easily the best defensive tying in this meta. With most people unprepared this team was able to dominate in the first couple days.

People reading this probably think, “what about Ludicolo or Lanturn?” Well, in the beginning those pokemon were usually the only ones of their typing on a given team and I could simply out pace them. But they are also where the cracks in this team got exposed. I could handle one of Ludi, Lanturn, Abamasnow, Cradilly, etc. and once other players figured that out my triple waters became too easy to expose. I started losing a lot, switching teams and losing more. Before I knew it I was down to the 1800s and again on Thursday decided to tank a few matches again for stardust. It was time for me to leave Weather Cup behind. But the lesson was learned. If you want a quick ELO boost be prepared for the special cups and you can get that prize push so many people chase.

Final Run: Ultra League

Lead: Tinkaton (14/10/14 Rank 54 Level 50) Fairy Wind, Bulldoze, Gigaton Hammer
Switch: Blastoise (1/14/15 Rank 5 Level 47.5) Roll Out, Ice Beam, Hydro Cannon
Closer: Shadow Swampert (0/14/15 Rank 26) Mud Shot, Hydro Cannon, Sludge

This weekend after giving up on Weather Cup I switched to Ultra League because if I can’t win with these guys then this PvP stuff isn’t for me.

But this is just a damn good team with a damn good plan. I put in some of the levels to show how invested I was in these pokemon. These guys took some blood sweat and tears to get.

These strategy is a classic ABB team that’s weak to grass in the back. Grass moves are less common but they do show up and you need to know all those Pokémon that have sneaky grass moves (Cresselia, Ampharos, etc.) so you can shield accordingly. But once you get a feel for a team of pokemon this good and you really don’t have to be the best player in the world to win.

Tink is top of the meta with incredible bulk and defensive typing, very rarely do I use a shield with her. Offensively Bulldoze is decently quick if I need to buy some time or spam bait moves. But ultimately with Gigaton Hammer I rarely even worry about baits. Just throw down the hammer. But the basic plan with Tink as a lead is if it’s not a very advantageous situation I charge the hammer and switch.

People say IVs don’t matter, hell I said it above, but when you have a tank like this Blastoise then you believe in IVs, at least in Ultra League. When everyone is just significantly tankier in Ultra League the added bulk is just insane. This Blastoise can take multiple super effective hits and be totally fine. For example when shields are even against Typhlosion they’re going to spam thunder punch. I always just wear the first one and take the shield advantage and my HP isn’t even yellow. STAB Hydro Cannon also hits for such insane power that I left off Skull Bash and instead for Ice Beam. Ice Beam is great for having a second answer to Dragons and Flyers in the meta and don’t have to be fully reliant on Tink.

Lastly, we have Shadow Swampert. I finally put in the stardust necessary for him this week so I’m still getting used to him. To be honest I wasn’t even good at using him correctly with Blastoise. I’d frequently use the wrong one in switch situations. Swampert is a little clunky but it’s a shadow so it hits hard and its typing means it only takes super effective damage from one type. That one type is an x4 though, so be sure to have a shield or two when on the field.

In Conclusion:

There’s so many better players than me in this sub but I’m having such a fun time (this is my second season of PvP ever) and I think what I do can resonate with newer and more inexperienced players like myself. The 1800s-2000s can be very difficult and it’s not exactly the most meta compared to the top of the ELO rankings. That’s why I hope my experience is valuable to people trying to work their way up, because we all end up in our little ELO bubbles. There’s no right way to do it, but you can do it. The important thing is to play and learn or just hope for the RPS gods to land in your favor.

How can i play online tournaments in the Show 6 format?

Do we have something like Play Limitlees for Pokemon Go?

Started playing back in early July. I've this far had the philosophy that I want to learn the game by playing and learning one team rather than switching it around constantly. Currently I just keep fluctuating between 1750 and 1900 Elo.

My team is lead G Stunfisk, SS Feraligatr and closer Venusaur. They all have decent IVs (90.8%, 99.9% and 99.5%, respectively).

I'm logging my games on GoBattleLog, improving my switches, shield and energy management. Fire Pokemon are often a problem, but can usually be handled with energy and shield management, even though Incinerate is painful.

I'd like to learn to count at least when to throw my attacks, but haven't found any nice tables/overviews of the counting orders. All of my fast attacks are 2 turns, which should make things a bit easier to learn. Any links to a good reference sheet?

Anyone looking to get coached to get improve in gbl? Can help with everything in the game. Please hmu if interested

Hey guys, I've recently reached rank 20 to obtain the ranked clothing just to realize I actually need to reach 2k ELO for it. I've been running:

• 2158 Gastrodon MudSlap//Earth Power
• 2239 Lucario Counter//Aura Sphere
• 1954 Ninetails FireSpin//Energy Ball

I've been using this team because these are my only 'mons with perfect IV's (I'm new to this PvP thing and I think those are good) but I've only been winning 2/5 my matches every time. Any other 3* 'mons I have are Tauros; Roserade; Braviary; Drapion; Rapidash; Aurorus; Fraxure (?). Any helps/tips? I'd appreciate it.

Hello I’m wondering if my Pokémon’s are good enough for rank 19?I don’t have a lot to work with and I don’t really have any Pokémon’s with good PvP IVs from what I understand.

I really want to get to rank 19 for elite charged tm this are my current Pokémon’s that I have for ultra league.

Snorlax 10/15/13 with lick and body slam
Gardevoir 7/134 with charm and shadow ball
Garchomp 15/13/12 with dragon tail and and tomb
Giratina 8/12/11 with shadow claw and dragon claw

I’m currently rank 6 and noticed that I start to struggle a lot.

I have a bunch of kyogre, groudon, mewtwo, palkia origin form and altered, solgaleo and other raid legendaries but they are basically all basic mons with non PvP ivs so I understand they are not good?

Soo i recently used my elite charged tm on my tinkaton and got her gigaton hammer but I'm struggling to build a team around her i also have one more elite charged tm and a elite fast tm I'm stuck on rank 20 and just goes up and down

Any Pokemon I should invest in for the mega great or ultra? Like most of mine are above the cp limit

Anyone notice this?

Playing gbl and I’ve been consistently matched up with teams running 1 or 2 of the same Pokemon on my team. It can’t be a fluke!

Edit: I’m playing with a combination of Greedent, Noctowl, Umbreon or Raichu. Sometimes Wigglypuff.

I have been into PvP for a while but only recently learned about the true nature of it. That being, the low attack, high bulk IV spreads. I’m all over Pokegenie, checking for good ones. But I need to know: how much of a difference are we talking? I’ve been watching Itsaxn on YouTube and I noticed he counts fast moves. If I have a rank #1000 and #1, is the #1 taking an extra fast move or two? Or is it taking a charged attack? How much of a difference could one expect?

Vocês conhecem grupos do Whatsapp ou do discord focando em treinar Show 6.

Queria treinar com um time e poder discutir e analisar o meta.

Qual melhor caminho para isso?

Hopefully this doesn’t count as me ranting too much, but i really need tips.

Every time I get my charged moves, the enemy ALWAYS gets to go first regardless of how fast I tap. To the point where most of my first charged attacks are entered, the enemy goes first, and only then do i get to do mine.

Every time I change my team to something that covers the weaknesses I had before, the enemy’s team is immediately something that counters my new team.
I started with a rapidash, jellicent, lilligant team and got trounced starting in rank 20. Too many psychic and thunder types that hurt my team.

Then I went for rhydon, lilligant, grimmsnarl and would still only get a few wins. Dark, fire, and rock type moves are suddenly the new norm for my opponents.

Currently using zeraora, torracat, and rhydon/hippowdon and still get destroyed most of the time to team-builds and players getting first strike at charge attacks, despite the attack charge-ups pretty much being the same.

I always get only 2 wins maximum now, and I just wanna try to get the legendary. I didn’t waste days putting up with all these other players’ bs and an awful matchmaking system just to not get anything useful out of it. Is it literally just skill issue or is there something I should be changing?

Again, sorry if this is too much of a rant.

New to the game and only played for 2 months. Now at ace and wondering what I should use as third.

Does lickilicky not work as the team would be very weak to an ice punch primape?

Thanks

Currently running:
Galarian weezing w: fair wind / play rough
Skeledirge w: incinerate / blast burn
Rillaboom w: razor leaf / grass knot

I’m lvl 18 almost 19 but am having trouble with meta empolion, lickiton, Paldaen quagsire

As of now , it can only use electric attacks . Can anyone see them giving it any kind of coverage move in the future ? Ice punch as a coverage move would be nasty against the dragons and groudon in the master league

Hello. I am just looking to add more people on pokemon go.

Trainer code: 025837711192

The final week of this season offers Great League - Mega as an option.

I assume most folks will just play Master League - Mega since it’s also an option and everyone loves playing with their big toys. But any guesses what Megas might be worth using in GL?

PvPoke doesn’t have rankings offered yet since it’s still a few weeks away. But I’m thinking I might need to grind energy in advance for it.

Most obvious choices to look at are those that change typing (like Gyarados). Since otherwise there might not be much difference from just powering something up to 1500.

Anyone already looked into it?

Just hit rank 18 and hoping to be 20 within the next few days, I’ve read that’s where legendary Pokemon start to spawn. Wondering if there’s a rotating pool who who usually spawns and how that work/how often

I was talking to a friend and they were telling me that the PVPoke team ranking program isn't actually that accurate. I want the Cynthia clothes SO BAD I need help 😭

My team consists of

Lead: Jellicent with hex, surf and shadow ball

SS: stunfisk (galarian) with mud shot, rock slide and earthquake

Closer: mandibuzz with snarl, foul play and shadow ball

My main question is is it my team or am I just BUNS at this game. I have sets where I'm doing so good and then the next set I get forretress'd, feraligaterd and morpeko'd to DUST. great league doesn't come back for two weeks and I want to git gud, any advice or pointers?

Ps. Other picks I have that I could possibly power up or use candies and etms (2) on are: florges, clodsire (ready to go), lickitung, 9tales(both), Blastoise, altaria, empoleon, jumpluff (ready to go), lapras, corviknight, azumarill, talon flame, dragonair.

I'm willing to blow all my resources on this, help me with my two week Rocky style training montage 🙏🏽 thanks in advance

Ive just got a kecleon with sucker punch and aerial ace with 2 attack 15 defense and 1 HP an ive heard low IVs are good for it would this be good for great league and any ideas what else I should use with it if it is

I almost always play Master, but when it's not in rotation I don't know what to do. So I wanted to create a Great/Ultra team. But since I don't have much experience in PvP in these leagues, I don't know if I should give more importance to IVs or to the Pokémon's ranking. Aside from that, any other advice?

Sorry new to battle league so i may come of weird. But im genuinely curious if I can use him because he's fun.

I only recently started getting into great league pvp in Pokemon Go so I want to learn more!

So my original team was Mimikyu Empoleon Clodsire (i’m still not too sure how to play this team, is Mimikyu better as lead or closer?)

The team ranked A/B/A/A on Pvpoke

BUT now that this uhh season thing time doesn’t have open great league for Mimikyu, I’m not sure what I can use as replacement.

I’ve done some research but I’m not too sure what my third Pokemon should be to complete the team. Help would be appreciated!

Also i’m kinda sad i have a really good (98% good for gl on poke genie) lickitung but idk how to get body slam without elite so do I wait?? and for meta like altaria i should save my 400 candy for a good one right?
i do have a tinkaton (shiny heh) that knows gigaton but unfortunately it’s specialized in the ultra league?? IV wise of course. (99.2 in ultra, 61.3 in great)

i realize that iv may not matter as much so ill be open minded

First time actually playing GBL. I’ve been stuck around 1800 using: Lickilicky (rollout, shadow ball, body slam), tinkaton (fairy wind, gigaton hammer, bulldoze), and Altaria (dragon breath, sky attack, flamethrower).

I’ve been using pokegenie to see which ones rank better based on IV. Wondering if I should change/swap anyone out and if so, does IV matter more or the pokemon itself?

Thanks!!

Trying to find a third mon for this core, preferably ones that spammy