Not my first time hitting Legend, but my first time Legend using only Shiny Shadow Pokemon. I've been using Shiny Shadows in GBL exclusively since the Interlude season after Season 10, so it's been quite a while since I've made it this far, previously capping out at Expert in several seasons.

After having some mixed luck throughout this season and making it to Veteran, I unintentionally fell down to the 2100s-2200s. After taking some breaks, I came back during Scroll Cup and didn't expect any success there, but ended up finding some running Murkrow/Machamp/Sableye. Took me up to just a few points shy of Expert before the leagues changed over.

After that, I climbed the rest of the way in Ultra League. I don't want to reveal my team as it's tough enough without giving people the advantage of knowing what to expect if they face me, but it's a team I've been using in UL for several seasons now (Ie. Doesn't use any of the new shinies from the March Grunt update).

Despite knowing most people wouldn't care enough about this specific feat to bother attempting it, I'm still proud of getting this far, especially since I don't think many people, if any, have done it before.

All of my children are getting nerfed next season😭😭😭

I just finally got a good IV licki & used an elite TM last week. Licki was everywhere & EVERYONE had BS/Shadowball. I've played 5 matches today of the new league & 4 people had Licki with earthquake... Did I waste one of my only elite tms?

Now that move updates have been announced do we have any idea what the new meta looks like or still too early?

Congrats to all who have posted about making legend the last few days, let me share the inverse. After working my way up to start the day at 2995 I proceeded to go 5-20 to end up back in the 2700s. Master league is usually my bread and butter and the team I was running (zacian, zygarde, eternatus) just couldn’t do it today. Nonstop rps on lead, swap, and closer. Sadly don’t really see a run happening in mega masters as it’s been a very volitale league in the past. Pretty disheartening as I have made it in multiple seasons before but haven’t for the last 2. Just wanted to share my inverse legend climb.

Did I not read that Mega would be powered down to compete in the mega league of choice?

Hello! I posted something earlier about beginner suggestions and it seems one of my big issues is that I didn't know about alignment/fast move counting.

I've watched a few videos but honestly most of them are too fast and I haven't found one that breaks down what exactly is happening.

If you have more detailed videos and/or an explanation I would appreciate it 💕

🔗 https://pvpogo.streamlit.app/

How do you do, fellow trainers!

The new cup rotation is here with Mega Great Cup, Mega Ultra Cup, and Mega Master Cup.

What’s New

• Mega Great / Ultra / Master Cup rankings and search strings are live.

Current Features

• Default View = Search Strings: Copy-ready strings for top N picks.
• Pokémon Lookup Toggle: Switch to family tables (IVs, movesets, evolutions).
• Detailed Stats: Rank, CP, IVs, movesets, and level info for all leagues & cups.
• Evolution Chain Data: Lookup a base species to view its full evolution chain.
• Shadow Filtering: Toggle “Shadow Only” in Settings.
• XL Only Filtering: Toggle “XL Candy Pokémon Only” in Settings.
• Language Selection: Dropdown or append ?lang=LanguageName to the URL. Para español, haz clic aquí.

Copy-paste search strings (drop these into the in-game search box)

Mega Great Cup Top 10

cp-1500&195,393,108,333,394,778,958,395,334,194,959,957,463,302&0-1attack&3-4defense,3-4hp&2-4defense&2-4hp

Mega Ultra Cup Top 10

cp-2500&671,823,393,108,394,778,669,640,146,463,670,958,395,959,957,821,822&0-1attack&3-4defense,3-4hp&2-4defense&2-4hp

Mega Master Cup Top 10

148,382,149,129,247,248,147,376,444,383,150,443,384,445,374,375,246,130&3*,4*

*Legacy or Elite TM move

Quick takeaways

• Mega Great Cup: Lickilicky still sits at #1. First Mega in the list is Sableye (Mega) at #6 — the rest is the usual bulky GL core (Tinkaton, Altaria, Empoleon, Mimikyu).
• Mega Ultra Cup: Mimikyu takes #1. Corviknight / Tinkaton / Florges stay the bulky stack; Galarian Moltres is the spice at #10.
• Mega Master Cup: Primals and Megas run the table. Kyogre (Primal) #1, Mewtwo (Mega X) #2, then Mega Gyarados / Rayquaza / Garchomp.

We need your feedback

Drop suggestions in the feedback box at the bottom of the site (include your Reddit username, Campfire name, or Trainer Code if you want a follow-up). I’ll fold community notes into future updates.

Good luck in your battles! 🔗 https://pvpogo.streamlit.app/

I absolutely loved my rank 1 apes, Ive been using Primeape exclusively in UL since the move came out. Rage fist, with its pacing and snowballing by buffing the attack was so fun. With the new update, that pacing will be nerfed, so I don’t think they’ll be as viable :(

This is driving me absolutely nuts. At least once a match either a charge move button or switch doesn't work and I fire off an extra fast move. It's legit costing me wins. I contact support and just get some AI chatbot canned response. Is this not happening to everyone else??

Edit: someone sent me this page, seems they are aware and it's "fixed in a future release" https://niantic.helpshift.com/hc/en/6-pokemon-go/faq/5505-new-pvp-battle-system-known-issues/

The title is self-explanatory.

Look I understand. It's hard to deny this is P2W. I agree that the implementation, coupled with how we currently acquire mega energy, is very suboptimal. I think these are common sentiments most players share. But meta rankings should be based on the most ideal scenarios.

Sure, getting a mon like Azu, Medicham, Corsola-G, etc. to level 50 is costly. It is a grind. The barrier of entry is very high when it comes to playing at a top level in Master League. No one is denying this. Yet, when you get on PvPoke, you don't see level 40 Zacian being assessed just because it is a grind to get 296 XL candies. No.

PvPoke should be providing simulations based on fully optimized scenarios.

Will everyone have a GL mega level 4? No. Most probably wont, but some will. And we should receive data that accepts this reality. Furthermore, how else will players be able to fully assess whether the grind is worth it? Imagine if Zacian was evaluated at level 40 in open ML. Would it still be ranked #1? No it wouldn't. And if you went purely off of that data, you may feel as if Zacian is "bad" in ML, as I imagine a lvl 40 Zacian probably would be at a respectable ELO range.

This is a plea, essentially, for us to be provided with the most relevant data when it comes to these new mechanics. So we can discover the true potential this league holds. I want to know which megas are worth grinding for. Sure Mega Sableye is looking awesome. Obviously, with Mega level 4 it will only be better. So why not grind out some mega energy while backgrounds are potentially available? But, what else?

If the sims show my mon has a positive matchup in a 2 shield scenario against a mega level 4, and my opponent brings a mega level 3? Awesome! Who cares? But, if the sims show my mon has a close, shaky matchup against a mega level 3, maybe determined by baits, or maybe I barely win by a fast move or two... how much more does a mega level 4 flip that matchup? Sure I can go into the matrix and mess with a bunch of settings. Just like I can go in and see how a LvL 46 Medicham stacks up compared to a level 50. But, when looking at the Rankings, this isnt something I should have to factor in.

After hitting expert for the first time last season, I thought for sure that was the highest I could get. And a couple days ago I thought I was done for the season in Expert range. But after a few wins today, I figured I might as well give it a shot and I made it!

Even better is that I used the same team from last season that features a couple of my favorite Pokemon - Xerneas (CC/MB) and Yveltal (OW/FB), along with EQ/BB Ho-oh sneaking in some near nukes on Reshiram and Zekrom.

I’ve never had fun using dragons or Zacian - as good as they are - probably due to the constant tapping and mirrors. And although I like Lunala, it’s much more fun to feast on the endless (until next season?) Lunala swaps. Create a team and strategy you enjoy using and anything is possible!

The top rankings are naturally dominated by megas & primals, but you can only have 1 active at a time.

Something like Primal Kyogre - Crowned Zacian - White Kyurem gets you AADA, with D for Safety because all 3 lose to Mewtwo X & Y.

Mega Mewtwo Y - Crowned Zacian - Origin Dialga, a team recommended by Youtube content creators ( https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3r0vdd3pLkg ), rates as BACA, being weak to Mega Metagross.

I see Pvpoke has added 4th moves but am not sure if they’re accounted for in the rankings (they look the same as before) or ratings yet.

Those of you who are pros at this league, what is working for you and is pvpoke underrating its viability?

I’m looking for inspiration on who to pair this guy with in UL. Share your team if you have used golisopod.

I have some low rank questions i hope you legend folks could answer. My top is 2700 and i still have these weirdest questions:

1. Why is it that when a player overfarms instead of playing to a lost CMP, casters says he avoided something like a trap?

2. Why would you prefer to double up on something rather than throwing in one charge attack if it does not debuff you? I understand see doubling up on close combat but I find it hard to understand why players do this sometimes on non-debuff moves..

Answers are appreciated! I think this is the missing piece i need to reach 2750.

Collateral of the Air Cutter nerf.

I've had a lot of fun with the combination of a super cheap move and the energy efficient nuke of Blast Burn.

With Air Cutter being more expensive next season I think Charizard is gonna be firmly unplayable, it was already pretty underwhelming.

Volbeat is getting accessed to Infestation and Lunge, which are both receiving buffs this upcoming season. Volbeat also gets access to Thunderbolt for some type of coverage against flyers, but it's obviously there's still room for improvement.

Wait, what do you mean by "Ninetales, Tinkaton, Carbink, Mimikyu, and Forretress still exist"? Surely my Volbeat will be a force to be reckoned with?

As announced the shadow ball gets nerfed in the coming season, therefore if we are getting bottlecap again, is it worth to use it on lucky shiny gimmi?

because we never know if they will buff hex or astonish again.

I still need to farm more than half (572) of the gimmighoul coins to evolve it.

With the double nerf to Licky and Mimikyu staying untouched I could see it be extremely strong next season.

Edit: I meant in UL where normal types aren't as abundant. I don't play GL so idk about there.

I have played GBL since its inception, though my interest waned when they nerfed the legenary drop rates in 2022. I usually get to Ace but this season has been a fucking disaster. No matter what I do for my teams I get my ass kicked. If I use a Mega team I lose. If I use anti meta team I lose. If I go back to my old faithful teams... I lose. I invest thousands of dust and have lost Elo over the last week.

Now with the Mega meta I simply cannot be fucked with it (Mega leagues this week)

I have used S Ninetails, Malamar and Jumpluff (shit team dspsite being apparently awesome in this meta)

I have used Altaria, Empoleon and Tinkaton which worked briefly then when I almost got to 2000 Elo It just stopped and now back under 1900 Elo. Even my old faithful of Dedenne, Dusclops and Dunsparce is just getting its ass kicked.

No matter what I do I cannot seem to win.

So I am looking for advice on a team to get me past 2000 Elo before the season ends. Though with the Mega nonsense I dont know if I will bother

edit: typos because Samsung autocorrect is a pile of rubbish

Originally I was pretty set on Delphi’s for a chance at the shiny, but w the news that megaing will no longer raise cp for trainer battles thus allowing for mega mons in GL easier, and given that greninja is getting brutal swing in the move pool, I thought as a PvP player it might make more sense to invest in mega greninja, as I already have a high ranked one for the Great League. Mega greninja w brutal swing sounds like a menace, but wondering if I am missing anything