Pokemon Go Halloween Cup: The Best Pokemon to Take into New Format

The Pokemon Go Halloween Cup for Season 9 of the Pokemon Go Battle League will bring new and interesting formats for trainers to battle in and enjoy. The Halloween Cup returns this year just in time for the holiday it’s named after to test trainers in their prowess using some of the game’s more spooky types.

Beginning Friday, October 15 at 4 p.m. EDT until it ends on November 2, trainers will need to bring in their toughest Poison, Bug, Ghost, Dark and Fairy-type Pokemon into battle. To add another stipulation to the Halloween Cup, trainers can only use these Pokemon that have 1500 CP or less. So think of your Pokemon Go Great League teams when composing your team for the Halloween Cup.

Best Pokemon Go Halloween Cup Pokemon

Azumarill

Pokemon Go Halloween Cup best Pokemon: — (Image credit: Niantic)

Type: Water/Fairy
Weakness: Grass, Electric, Poison

Arguably the best choice in Great League, Azumarill is a must-pick here too. Always pick Bubble for the fast move, then one of Ice Beam, Play Rough, and Hydro Pump for the charged. If you can afford the candy and stardust, definitely get two charged attacks.

Picking Ice Beam and Hydro Pump is the safe bet here, but if you come up against an opposing Azumarill that knows Play Rough, you'll lose the battle. So if you do go for that, make sure you have an Azumarill counter to switch to. Play Rough is exceptional against Dark-type Pokemon, of which you may see many.

Venusaur

Type: Grass/Poison
Weakness: Fire, Flying, Psychic

Venusaur is one of the premier threats in the Great League mostly because it’s a hard counter to Azumarill, who trainers will most certainly see plenty of teams using the Water and Fairy-type. Venusaur’s bulk and attacking power make it a great choice to take on any Water types you may come across including the aforementioned Azumarill and the Water/Ghost-type Jellicent.

Use Vine Whip as Venusaur’s main attacking move and follow it up with Frenzy Plant and Sludge Bomb to give the Grass starter the most versatility in the format. Venusaur really only has to worry about Fire types like Alolan Marowak who resist its Grass and Poison-type attacks.

Wigglytuff

Type: Normal/Fairy
Weakness: Poison, Steel

Fairy types are some of the most powerful in Pokemon Go and Wigglytuff is a great option for the Halloween Cup. Not only does its Fairy typing hit many different Pokemon, its Normal typing makes it resist Ghost-type moves, which trainers will likely come across in this format. Any Pokemon that can use the Fast Attack, Charm, should be used and that’s what Wigglytuff does well.

For its Charged Attacks, Play Rough is a great Fairy-type move to deal with any Dark types and Ice Beam will work well against any Venusaur you may come across. Hyper Beam, unfortunately, is the only other viable option for Wigglytuff if you are looking for an attack that can hit anything that isn’t Ghost, Rock or Steel types neutrally.

Jellicent

Type: Water/Ghost
Weakness: Electric, Grass, Ghost, Dark

Another bulky Water-type, Jellicent excels in the Halloween Cup because it’s a great pivot when going up against some of the Fire and Fighting types you’ll run into like Houndoom and Scrafty. It’s also a great counter to Azumarill who won’t be able to damage Jellicent that much.

Hex is the ideal Fast Attack as it deals at least neutral to anything not a Dark-type and Bubble Beam coupled with Shadow

Umbreon

Type: Dark
Weakness: Bug, Fighting, Fairy

Umbreon may seem like a bad fit in a format that is filled with Bug and Fairy types, but it has its place in the Halloween Cup. While it may not be the best Pokemon to lead with, it’s great to pivot to when your opponent brings out their own Dark or Ghost-type Pokemon. Just try and avoid those Fairy types.

As for its moves, Umbreon should use Snarl as its Fast Attack. It’s unfortunate that Umbreon can’t learn anything but a Dark-type move but Snarl will fill up your Charged Attack gauge faster than Feint Attack.

Last Resort and Psychic are your optimal Charged Attacks in this format as they hit Pokemon that resist Umbreon’s Dark-type moves. Psychic will handle the handful of Fighting types and Poison types you’ll come across while Last Resort will deal with anything that’s not a Ghost-type.

Galvantula

Type: Bug/Electric
Weakness: Rock, Fire

Galvantula is the best pick to counter Azumarill, but only when you have shields to utilise. Volt Switch is the go-to fast move, while Lunge and/or Discharge need to be the charged moves. Lunge has the benefit of decreasing your opponent's attack too, which makes it a solid choice.

Mawile

Type: Steel/Fairy
Weakness: Fire, Ground

Even though Mawile is an expensive Pokemon to power up, it's a very useful Pokemon to use in the Halloween Cup. Always go for Fire Fang as the fast move in this instance, combined with Power-Up Punch. This combo is best against a lot of the Pokemon you'll come up against, but if you have a second charged move, pick Play Rough. Mawile is great to counter the Pokemon that counter Azumarill, like Galvantula above.

Gengar

Type: Ghost/Poison
Weakness: Ground, Ghost, Psychic, Dark

You can catch plenty of Gastly at the moment thanks to the general Halloween event, and Gengar is a fantastic shout for the Halloween Cup meta. Shadow Claw or Shadow Punch should be your choices for fast move, while Sludge Bomb is the best charged move for this meta because it does serious damage to Azumarill. Just insta-switch if you come up against Dark-type moves.

Tyranitar

Type: Dark/Rock
Weakness: Fighting, Fairy, Bug, Water, Grass, Steel

If you can get a 1,500 CP Tyranitar, consider using it in the Halloween Cup. It's the definition of a glass cannon but thanks to Smack Down, it can deal a lot of damage very quickly. Alongside Crunch, Tyranitar is a great counter for any Ghost-types. Just switch out if you're being hit with Grass-type moves.

Beedrill

Type: Bug/Poison
Weakness: Fire, Flying, Rock, Psychic

Beedrill is another Azumarill counter, but you absolutely must have Drill Run, the Community Day move from earlier this year. Pick Poison Jab as the fast move and make sure you use a shield for any Azumarill Ice Beams that come your way. It loses to Ghost-types, but will smash any dual Grass-type Pokemon like Venusaur and Victreebel.

Alolan Marowak

Type: Fire/Ghost
Weakness: Water, Ground, Rock, Ghost, Dark

Alolan Marowak is a great alternative to Mawile, and is one of the only Pokemon that can outright defeat Mawile in a one-on-one. Fire Spin is the go-to fast move, while Bone Club or Shadow Ball should be the charged moves. Alolan Marowak loses to Ghost and Dark-types, but can hold its own against everything else.

Skuntank

Type: Poison/Dark
Weakness: Ground

For an out-of-the-box choice, use Skuntank. It is excellent at defeating most of the popular choices like Azumarill, Galvantula, and Mawile. It's best utilised with Poison Jab, followed by both Crunch and Flamethrower. Plus it doesn't have any huge weaknesses other than Ground-type moves, which you won't find many of here.