By Sophtoph, Contributing Writer

Pokémon GO: Adventures Abound is under way! September 1, 2023, marked the beginning of another Season of wild encounters, events, and bonuses in Pokémon GO. Every new Season also brings a fresh start to the GO Battle League, where Trainers can climb the ranked ladder to earn end-of-Season rewards—such as exclusive avatar items—while testing themselves in a diverse array of special formats.

In this article, we’ll do a deep dive on two upcoming cups: the Sunshine Cup, which will be available from September 29 to October 6 and October 13 to 17, and the Halloween Cup, which will be available from October 20 to November 3. While these cups have been in the rotation before—the Halloween Cup is one of the first special formats to ever appear in the GO Battle League—the changes to moves, move sets, and available Pokémon that occur every Season keep them fresh and exciting.

Sunshine Cup: Great League Edition

Veterans of the GO Battle League might remember the Sunshine Cup from previous Seasons. Like before, expect Vigoroth and Wing Attack users to be prevalent. However, there are some notable changes from the last time this cup ran in May 2023 due to September’s move rebalances.

Expect the Sunshine Cup to be dominated by eligible Flying-type Pokémon. Familiar faces like Pidgeot, Noctowl, and Gliscor are all viable options, and they’re now joined by Pokémon such as Gligar and Rufflet thanks to the reduced energy cost for the Flying-type Charged Attack Aerial Ace. And there aren’t many threats to Flying types since there are currently very few popular Electric- and Ice-type picks. In addition, one of the only frequently chosen Ice-type Pokémon, Abomasnow, takes supereffective damage from Flying-type attacks. Because of this, Flying-type Pokémon are relatively safe overall and deal neutral or supereffective damage to almost every Pokémon commonly taken to the cup.

While most Flying-type Pokémon will know Wing Attack as their Fast Attack, the variation in Charged Attacks means each brings something slightly different to the table. For example, Steelix and Galarian Stunfisk are considered the primary counters to Flying-type Pokémon, but Gligar and Gliscor’s Ground-type Charged Attacks—Dig and Earthquake, respectively—allow them to hit these Pokémon for supereffective damage. There is also a plethora of dual Normal- and Flying-type Pokémon available in the meta. Most of them—notably Pidgeot—can learn the extremely heavy-hitting Charged Attack Brave Bird. Noctowl has fallen off a bit due to Sky Attack’s energy cost increase, but some players might still opt to use it over other Flying-type Pokémon if they need more bulk.

So, what counters Flying-type Pokémon? Two of the most common counters will probably be two of three Ground- and Steel-type Pokémon: Steelix, Stunfisk, and Galarian Stunfisk. While Steelix didn’t make much of a splash in the last edition of the Sunshine Cup, the addition of Breaking Swipe to its move set has already propelled it to success in the Great League and the Ultra League, and we’ll undoubtedly see it in the Sunshine Cup too.

Steelix can charge Breaking Swipe every four times it uses the Fast Attack Dragon Tail—in other words, every six seconds—and is guaranteed to debuff the attack of the opponent’s active Pokémon. This, coupled with the fact that there are very few Pokémon in the meta that resist Dragon-type damage, means that Steelix will deal extremely consistent damage throughout its matchups and excel the longer it battles. Opponents will be forced to either fight a matchup with lowered Attack and unable to deal meaningful damage or use a switch to clear their Attack debuff.

In contrast to the newly popular Steelix, Galarian Stunfisk has been a mainstay in the Great League since it debuted in Pokémon GO. However, after its primary Charged Attack, Earthquake, became less efficient, it has been buried in usage by other Steel- and Ground-type Pokémon. It will still be a strong pick in the Sunshine Cup, though, as it can counter both Steelix and Flying-type Pokémon with relative ease.

The most effective counters to these Steel- and Ground-type Pokémon are other Ground-type Pokémon. Specifically, the dual Water- and Ground-type Pokémon Swampert and Quagsire famously only have one weakness: Grass-type attacks. Swampert and Quagsire can both reliably do at least neutral damage to almost every Pokémon commonly chosen in competitive play. Whiscash is another dual Water- and Ground-type Pokémon, though it can be trickier to play because its main answer to the Grass-type Pokémon it tempts opponents to counter with—the secondary Charged Attack Blizzard—has a high energy cost.

Stunfisk has lived in the shadow of its cousin Galarian Stunfisk for the majority of its Pokémon GO career, but the Sunshine Cup could be its time to, well, shine. It has a dominant matchup against Flying-type Pokémon while also countering Steel-type Pokémon, thus seeing neutral to positive play against most of the core meta, and will likely be the only popular Electric type on Trainers’ rosters.

The last major class of relatively safe and flexible Pokémon in the Sunshine Cup are the non-Flying Normal-type Pokémon. Because they only take supereffective damage from Fighting-type attacks, Normal-type Pokémon are often the default safe switch Pokémon in both the teams of three used in the GO Battle League and the teams of six used in competitive circuits such as Play! Pokémon. The Sunshine Cup is no exception. Pokémon like Vigoroth and Dubwool can chip away at almost anything by repeatedly using the Charged Attack Body Slam, which they can charge in five seconds or less. Combined with their Fighting-type Fast Attacks, both of these Pokémon have excellent coverage and flexibility. In my opinion, they’ll probably be the safest and easiest Pokémon to use, especially for Trainers who are just starting out. Munchlax, the newcomer Oinkologne, Lickitung, Miltank, and Greedent are also all solid, safe picks that can similarly slot into any team easily.

The Sunshine Cup will likely feature quite a number of Pokémon options, so in addition to those mentioned above, there are some other Pokémon worth mentioning that may be less flexible but are worth considering and preparing for. Dunsparce has excellent Rock- and Ground-type coverage in its Charged Attacks like Quagsire and Galarian Stunfisk, so it could see some play. Diggersby is another Ground-type Pokémon that can handle Steel-type Pokémon, but it also has a very wide Charged Attack pool that will allow it to fill different roles depending on your team’s needs. It recently gained the ability to learn the Ground-type Charged Attack Scorching Sands, but you have options when considering a second Charged Attack to accompany it. Try the Fire-type Charged Attack Fire Punch for baiting shields or dealing quick damage to Abomasnow or Hyper Beam to take down opponents in endgames when shields are down.

While Grass-type Pokémon might be tricky to run depending on how prevalent Abomasnow and Flying-type Pokémon are, they also have extremely favorable matchups against most Ground-type Pokémon. Tropius and Jumpluff in particular have merit because they’re also Flying types, which gives them a more favorable matchup against Vigoroth. Whimsicott will be one of the only Fairy-type Pokémon allowed, and can serve as a hard wall to Steelix that know Dragon-type attacks. Serperior and Lurantis, pure Grass-type Pokémon, might also appear on teams since both can quickly use extremely efficient Charged Attacks that are some of the best in the game: Frenzy Plant and Leaf Blade, respectively.

And as for Fire-type Pokémon, while the strongest one—Charizard—has been banned from the format, Blaziken and Ninetales are both viable.

Here are some example teams that have flexible coverage over the meta that you can try out and adapt to your playstyle. An easy way to make substitutions is to group them with Pokémon that fill similar roles. For example, Vigoroth and Dubwool are relatively interchangeable.

• Option 1: Pidgeot - Dunsparce - Vigoroth

• Option 2: Swampert - Noctowl - Dubwool

• Option 3: Vigoroth - Steelix - Gligar

Halloween Cup: Great League Edition

Unsurprisingly, the Halloween Cup runs around the end of October. It has been a fan favorite among the wide pool of special formats that rotate through the GO Battle League, and this year will mark its fourth time returning. However, like the Sunshine Cup, several Pokémon have been introduced to the game or updated since the last time it ran, and as a result the meta might look quite different.

One of the most notable changes to the Halloween Cup landscape will be Carbink. While this small Pokémon may look unassuming and harmless, make no mistake, it is a menace in the Halloween Cup and in the open Great League. With some of the highest HP and Defense in the game, rivaling traditional tanks like Bastiodon, Carbink can deal very consistent damage with its Rock-type Fast Attack Rock Throw. It can also easily charge many efficient Charged Attacks simply by lasting on the field for a long time. Carbink is currently relatively difficult to obtain, having only appeared during GO Fest 2023 and at Championship Series events. Otherwise, the only way to obtain them at the time of writing is through reward encounters in the GO Battle League.

Another new face in the Halloween Cup will be Greninja, which recently received its Community Day and is the latest first-partner Pokémon to proudly carry the Water-type Charged Attack Hydro Cannon. With the Fast Attack Water Shuriken, Greninja reaches this efficient Charged Attack faster than any Pokémon in the game—even Swampert! Importantly, this means it will always deal supereffective damage to Carbink, which may make this glass cannon’s high damage output one of the best ways to deal with the Jewel Pokémon. Some alternative sources of Water-type damage for Trainers who may have missed the Community Day or are looking for more bulk on their team could be Jellicent or Azumarill, or the dual Poison- and Water-type Pokémon Tentacruel and Toxapex.

Like adventures, Poison-type Pokémon abound this Season. In addition to Tentacruel and Toxapex, there is a wealth of Poison-type Pokémon with a second type that can fill different niches, even within the same team of three. First, there are dual Dark- and Poison-type Pokémon, including Skuntank, Drapion, and Hisuian Qwilfish. Like the Water- and Ground-type Pokémon, these Dark- and Poison-type Pokémon only take supereffective damage from one type of attack: Ground. Because of this, they’re traditionally seen as relatively safe choices.

All three of these Pokémon also have a variety of Charged Attacks, so you can select which one fits your team best. Skuntank can learn the Grass-type attack Trailblaze, which could come in handy against Pokémon like Carbink and Greninja. Drapion and Hisuian Qwilfish both can learn the Water-type Charged Attack Aqua Tail, which costs very little energy. In addition to these Dark- and Poison-type Pokémon, several other Poison-type Pokémon have a chance to shine. For example, both Golbat and Shadow Golbat are often used in the Halloween Cup, as Shadow Ball can hit Ghost-type Pokémon for heavy damage, and Poison Fang allows it to debuff the opponent multiple times in longer matchups. In addition, Swalot will be making an impact in the Halloween Cup for the first time—it gained the ability to learn Mud Shot in September, which allows it to reach harder-hitting Charged Attacks such as Sludge Bomb and Ice Beam relatively quickly.

A great way to counter Poison-type Pokémon is with Steel-type Pokémon, which are almost doubly resistant to Poison-type damage. While Steel-type Pokémon are generally used as bulky tanks in the open Great League—think Registeel and Steelix—in the Halloween Cup they tend to be run as glass cannons that can quickly wipe out any unprepared opponents. For example, Scizor, especially Shadow Scizor, usually makes an appearance. With each Bullet Punch dealing heavy damage every second and the potential to raise its Attack by two stages with a single Night Slash, this Pokémon can be extremely scary to play against.

It would be remiss to discuss the Halloween Cup without mentioning one of the main archetypes of Halloween: Ghost-type Pokémon. In addition to Jellicent, Ghost-type Pokémon will be prominent, not the least because they resist Poison-type attacks and therefore generally counter them almost effortlessly. Runerigus will also do well against Poison-type Pokémon, and it has useful Ground-type coverage to assist even further with Poison-type Pokémon as well as the oh-so-important Carbink matchup.

However, there is another hot new dual Ground- and Ghost-type Pokémon on the block threatening to usurp it: Palossand, which evolves from Sandygast. It has been relatively hard to obtain since its release, but recently gained the ability to learn Scorching Sands. Like Swampert, Quagsire, and Swalot, Palossand can learn Mud Shot for fast energy generation, and it also has efficient Charged Attacks in Scorching Sands and Shadow Ball.

Finally, Fire- and Ghost-type Pokémon will appear as some of the only reliable counters to Scizor. These include Alolan Marowak and the newcomer Skeledirge, which was first discovered in the Paldea region. While Ghost-type Pokémon can generally deal a lot of damage, it seems they also fear the dark, and therefore they struggle against Dark-type Pokémon like Greninja and Mandibuzz. Pawniard, while small, can quickly become the most powerful Pokémon in a game. Like Scizor, the boost potential from Night Slash can quickly flip an entire game in Pawniard’s favor. But even without a boost, its Fast Attack Fury Cutter combined with low-energy cost Charged Attacks such as Night Slash and X-Scissor allow it to deal quick and consistent damage.

Here are a few teams you can try to get started:

• Option 1: Jellicent - Mandibuzz - Greninja

• Option 2: Scizor (Shadow Preferred) - Jellicent - Drapion

• Option 3: Golbat - Toxapex - Skuntank

As you navigate the Halloween Cup and the Sunshine Cup this coming month, remember to have fun! These special formats are a chance to give your Pokémon that are not often used in the open formats a chance to shine. These cups will be held alongside other formats, such as the open Great League and open Ultra League, so if you don’t yet have the Pokémon you want for these cups, you can still play ranked matches in the GO Battle League as you continue to fill out your roster. Happy battling!

For more Pokémon GO strategy and analysis, visit Pokemon.co.uk/Strategy.