The Holiday Cup is returning for Season 10 of the Pokemon Go Battle League, so Trainers will need to know the best team to rise to the top of this festive competitive challenge.

Alongside the traditional trio of the Great League, Ultra League, and Master League, Niantic regularly introduces limited-time cups with unique rules to the Go Battle League to help switch things up and keep Trainers on their toes.

As expected, the Christmas-themed Holiday Cup is returning for the second half of December. In this cup, there’s a limit of 1500 CP and only Normal, Grass, Electric, Ice, Flying, and Ghost-type Pokémon are allowed to take part.

These unique restrictions mean Trainers might struggle to sort through their limited pool of Pokemon and find the standout fighters. To help you out, we’ve put together the best Holiday Cup team to take you to victory.

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Best team for the Holiday Cup in Pokemon Go

One of the best teams you can use for the Holiday Cup is Altaria, Alolan Graveler, and Wigglytuff as they’re three of the strongest Pokemon allowed in this cup and will give you good coverage against a variety of opponents.

As always, it’s impossible to truly say what the ‘best’ Holiday Cup team looks like, as it really depends on the types of Pokemon that you end up facing off against – and you’ll never know that until you’re in the heat of battle.

Despite this caveat, there are some Pokemon who rise to the top of the Holiday Cup ranks and can perform well in most situations. Choose a selection of these, and you’ll have a pretty good chance of emerging victoriously.

Best Pokemon for the Holiday Cup

Altaria

• Fast Move: Dragon Breath
• Charged Moves: Sky Attack and Moonblast
• Resistances: Fighting, Water, Bug, Fire, Grass, and Ground
• Weaknesses: Ice, Fairy, Dragon, and Rock

Altaria rises to the top of the Holiday Cup this year, as most of its biggest threats aren’t eligible to enter. It also has big wins against the likes of Alolan Marowak, Obstagoon, and Vigoroth. You’ll want one on your team, but also something to counter it for when your opponents have one.

Dragon Breath is one of the best Fast Moves in Pokemon Go, so definitely use that. As for Charged Moves, Sky Attack is relatively quick to generate and does decent damage, while the Fairy-type Moonblast will give you better coverage here than the traditional choice of Dragon Pulse.

Alolan Graveler

• Fast Move: Volt Switch
• Charged Moves: Stone Edge and Rock Blast
• Resistances: Electric, Fire, Flying, Normal, and Poison
• Weaknesses: Fighting, Grass, Ground, and Water

Alolan Graveler is usually held back in the Battle League by its weakness to four very common types, but only one of them (Grass) is permitted to enter the Holiday Cup, giving it a chance to shine with the ability to take down the likes of Altaria, Wigglytuff, and Froslass.

Volt Switch is the optimal Fast Move for Alolan Graveler, as it has great energy gains and decent damage output. Then, you’ll be able to access two powerful Charged Moves, Stone Edge and Rock Blast, which can bait shields and deal huge damage respectively.

Talonflame

• Fast Move: Incinerate
• Charged Moves: Flame Charge and Brave Bird
• Resistances: Electric, Fighting, Grass, Ground, Normal, and Water
• Weaknesses: Dark, Fire, Flying, Ghost, Ice

While mono Fire-types are banned in Pokemon Go’s Holiday Cup, being a dual Flying/Fire-type gives Talonflame a big advantage as it can not only compete, but also wipe out some of the biggest stars of the show including Skarmory, Altaria, Wigglytuff, and even fellow Fire-type Alolan Marowak.

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Incinerate is Talonflame’s optimal Fast Move, so it’s definitely worth using an Elite TM to get it. As for Charged Moves, go with the low-cost Flame Charge which can be spammed and gives a guaranteed Attack buff, then follow it up with Brave Bird for huge damage.

Wigglytuff

• Fast Move: Charm
• Charged Moves: Ice Beam and Play Rough
• Resistances: Dragon, Bug, Dark, and Ghost
• Weaknesses: Steel and Poison

Wigglytuff is known for two things in the Pokemon Go Battle League: Being incredibly tanky and being the best Charm user when there’s a 1500 CP limit. So, as expected, it’s a real threat in the Holiday Cup, where it often wins simply by outlasting the competition.

Charm should always be Wigglytuff’s Fast Move regardless of the situation, as it deals some impressive STAB damage. When it comes to Charged Moves, go with Ice Beam for extra coverage and Play Rough as a solid secondary option.

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Obstagoon

• Fast Move: Counter
• Charged Moves: Night Slash and Cross Chop
• Resistances: Dark, Ghost, and Psychic
• Weaknesses: Bug, Fairy, and Fighting

Obstagoon remains a powerhouse in the Holiday Cup this year, where it can overpower some big threats like Skarmory and Alolan Marowak. It’s also one of very few viable Pokemon that can actually take out Alolan Graveler, so it’s definitely worth considering.

The brilliant Counter is essential for Obstagoon, so make sure you have it. For Charged Moves, go with the Attack-boosting Night Slash and follow it up with Cross Chop, which gives you another powerful Fighting-type move to help counter the likes of Vigoroth and Alolan Sandslash.

Pokemon Go Holiday Cup start date & time

The Pokemon Go Battle League’s Holiday Cup will begin on Thursday, December 16, at 1pm PST and stick around until Friday, December 31, at 1pm PST.

It will run alongside the Ultra League and Ultra League Remix until December 27, where it will then run alongside the Master League and Master League Classic until December 31.

You can check out the full schedule for Season 10 of the Go Battle League here.

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