Pokémon GO Hisui Cup – Great League Edition: Best Pokémon

The people living in Hisui might not have had a Pokédex yet, but they sure knew how to fight — and you’ll follow in their footsteps in Hisui Cup: Great League Edition in Pokémon GO.

This time-limited GO Battle League format runs from July 8 to 15, 2025, and features a special ruleset that sets it apart from the regular Great League competition. Let’s begin with what’s the same, though: Like in the Great League, the Competition Points (CP) limit for participating Pokémon is 1,500, so you can’t send in your heavyweights. Additionally, you may only field Pokémon first discovered in the Hisui region or those sporting a Pokédex number from #387 to #493.

Deliver a truly flaming performance with the best Pokémon for Hisui Cup – Great League Edition in Pokémon GO based on statistics and simulations provided by PvPoke.com.

These Pokémon aggressively pressure your opponent right from the beginning of a bout and can survive even tough battles for quite a while. These qualities make them perfect to open a match up, enabling you to score an early knockout or set up a strong counter play.

1. Hisuian Electrode (Thunder Shock, Wild Charge, Swift)
2. Drapion [S] (Poison Sting, Crunch, Aqua Tail)
3. Dusknoir [S] (Astonish, Dynamic Punch, Shadow Punch)
4. Mamoswine (Powder Snow, Icicle Spear, High Horsepower)
5. Shadow Gliscor (Fury Cutter, Earthquake, Aerial Ace)
6. Roserade (Poison Sting, Weather Ball (Fire), Leaf Storm)
7. Hisuian Overqwil / Overqwil (Poison Sting, Aqua Tail, Shadow Ball)
8. Shadow Heatran (Fire Spin, Magma Storm, Stone Edge)
9. Shadow Gallade (Psycho Cut, Close Combat, Leaf Blade)
10. Mantyke (Bubble, Aerial Ace, Water Pulse)

Pokémon marked with [S] perform similarly in their regular and Shadow forms.

If the opening pairing is to your disadvantage, you should consider switching out your lead for another Pokémon. This is where Safe Switches come into play. They are either strong leads in their own right or are specialized in countering some of the most popular leads of the format. In any case, an early switch will preserve your original lead to rejoin the fight later on in the battle and perhaps force your opponent to adapt their strategy on the fly as well.

1. Sneasler (Shadow Claw, Close Combat, Aerial Ace)
2. Hisuian Qwilfish (Poison Sting, Aqua Tail, Shadow Ball)
3. Shadow Drapion (Poison Sting, Crunch, Aqua Tail)
4. Spiritomb (Sucker Punch, Rock Tomb, Shadow Ball)
5. Hippowdon [S] (Sand Attack, Weather Ball (Rock), Scorching Sands)
6. Shadow Gliscor (Fury Cutter, Earthquake, Aerial Ace)
7. Vespiquen (Fury Cutter, X-Scissor, Power Gem)
8. Hisuian Samurott (Fury Cutter, Dark Pulse, Icy Wind)
9. Gliscor (Fury Cutter, Earthquake, Aerial Ace)
10. Electivire (Thunder Shock, Ice Punch, Wild Charge)

These Pokémon are particularly useful when there are no shields left in play on either side and things have come to an all-put brawl. Closers are either incredibly tough or end battles quickly thanks to powerful Charge Moves, which can’t be deflected without a shield.

1. Electivire [S] (Thunder Shock, Ice Punch, Wild Charge)
2. Shadow Gallade (Psycho Cut, Close Combat, Leaf Blade)
3. Shadow Sneasler (Shadow Claw, Close Combat, Aerial Ace)
4. Shadow Mamoswine (Powder Snow, Icicle Spear, High Horsepower)
5. Shadow Empoleon (Metal Claw, Hydro Cannon, Drill Peck)
6. Shadow Toxicroak (Poison Sting, Dynamic Punch, Shadow Ball)
7. Sneasler (Shadow Claw, Close Combat, Aerial Ace)
8. Wormadam (Trash) (Bug Bite, Bug Buzz, Iron Head)
9. Mamoswine (Powder Snow, Icicle Spear, High Horsepower)
10. Drapion [S] (Poison Sting, Crunch, Aqua Tail)

These Pokémon perform best when fighting a trainer who still has shields, while you no longer have shields yourself — in essence, they’re your ace in case you need to make a comeback. Attackers combine important resistances and strong Fast Moves to compensate for the lack of shields. Shadow forms are much rarer in this category, as they take more damage than their regular counterparts and therefore are a risky card to put on the table.

1. Gastrodon (Mud Slap, Body Slam, Earth Power)
2. Drapion (Poison Sting, Crunch, Aqua Tail)
3. Togekiss (Charm, Psyshock, Aura Sphere)
4. Drifblim (Hey, Icy Wind, Shadow Ball)
5. Gliscor (Fury Cutter, Earthquake, Aerial Ace)
6. Hippopotas (Sand Attack, Rock Tomb, Dig)
7. Vespiquen (Fury Cutter, X-Scissor, Power Gem)
8. Bastiodon (Smack Down, Stone Edge, Flamethrower)
9. Shadow Drapion (Poison Sting, Crunch, Aqua Tail)
10. Wormadam (Trash) (Bug Bite, Bug Buzz, Iron Head)

If battling other players 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.