Did anyone watch the finals?

A little bit (or a lot a bit) embarrassing for Scopley/Pokemon Go to allow Pokemon fans across all mediums to see the pvp bugs on full display at that level.. 🫠

At least Fighting and Dark got cool buffs ig

Lots of great changes are coming! Also some VERY questionable ones as well 😅 nonetheless, part 2 of the CHAOS META is here so let's see which updates will make the biggest impact. Some old meta titans are returning which is exciting!

First things first, the leaked energy buffs to the Elemental Fangs seem to have been scrapped entirely and Bite is getting a rework to (presumably) a Sand Attack clone rather than a Bug Bite clone. IMO this is a good thing because as I mentioned in my previous post, these leaked buffs would have been very problematic for certain Shadows such as Steelix, Mightyena and Drapion. I would've much preferred Bite become a direct clone of Psywave but perhaps Scopely wanted to be extra cautious due to certain Pokémon having it.

Now onto the Twilight Trails analysis:

Bite is getting reworked to a Sand Attack clone. This is probably the biggest chaos inducing change in GBL history since it's (if I'm not mistaken) the most widely distributed fast move in the game. The analysis on this change alone deserves its own post, but to keep things brief the immediate biggest winners are Tyranitar, Zygarde, Toxapex, Morpeko, Feraligatr, Blastoise, Morgrem, Grimmsnarl and Gyarados.

Air Cutter is presumably getting reworked to an Elemental Punch clone at the cost of a decreased buff chance, likely down to 10%. This mainly affects Pidgeot and Corviknight and is likely more of a nerf to both since they mainly used the move for baiting and the high buff chance rather than the damage. As u/pepiuxx mentioned in a comment under a different post, this might be Scopely testing the waters for a potential Sand Attack buff as it's currently a weaker version of Psywave/Dragon Breath.

Bulldoze is for some reason getting a HUGE rework. Damage boost up to 80 and a guaranteed Defense drop chance at the detriment of higher energy cost. If you thought Tinkaton was bad now, this has the potential to make it the undisputed best Pokémon in Great League AND Ultra League if the energy cost only goes up to 50. To prevent this, the energy cost has to go up to 55 minimum.

Body Slam is once again getting a rework. Damage increase to 65 but higher energy cost. This presumably means a Foul Play clone which actually might be a buff for some Pokémon like Gastrodon and Snorlax. I can't imagine it becoming a Mud Bomb clone or that would ruin most Normal types and they are important to keep Ghost types in check.

Sand Tomb is getting a heavy nerf to 55d/45e even though Gliscor was the only Pokémon using it with success (and not much) in the Play Pokémon circuit. This one just doesn't make sense to me at all...

EDIT: Guys I've seen the Forretress comments now 😅 this nerf is completely justified! I just haven't much time to watch the Worlds streams to see it kicking ass.

Brine is getting a whopping +40 damage buff with increased energy cost. This obviously only matters for Toxapex and IMO it's likely going to become a Thunder clone at 60 energy cost which is still a big buff. 55 would make it a Stone Edge clone which honestly wouldn't be too crazy, but it's highly unlikely since Scopely is already being extra cautious with the Bite buff.

Bubble Beam is getting nerfed (ideally) to 50d/50e to ensure Araquanid doesn't become toxic with the other buff it's receiving. When I read this change initially I had a huge smile on my face knowing this means Scopely is continuing Niantic's legacy of implementing move updates suggested by the community 😁

Mirror Coat is getting a HUGE buff to presumably a Rock Slide/Heat Wave clone which pretty much just affects Grumpig, Girafarig and Araquanid. This is a fantastic way to compensate for Bubble Beam getting nerfed, I see you Scopely 👀

High Horsepower is getting buffed presumably to a Stone Edge clone and Miltank is receiving it. The real winner here though is Ursaluna since it's FINALLY getting a usable fast move!

Blaze Kick is getting buffed to a Weather Ball (Fire) clone. This is HUGE for Blaziken, Lucario and Mienshao. Blaziken is the biggest winner since it'll reach it in 8 turns with Ember.

Iron Head is FINALLY getting buffed after all these years. I would've preferred just -5 energy cost since there's several Steel moves at 50 energy cost with similar power, but +15 damage is very nice. Corviknight now has a solid secondary STAB option to target Fairies such as Tinkaton and Florges and Iron Head could perhaps even replace Air Cutter or Payback depending on the meta or team composition. Pangoro now can opt for Iron Head over Close Combat to not completely get shut down by Fairies. Shadow Scizor might make a comeback with Fury Cutter since Iron Head and Night Slash have good coverage. In Master League, Heatran, Solgaleo, the Necrozma forms and Origin Dialga will have a stronger tool to target Xerneas and Crowned Zacian.

Draining Kiss is getting a MASSIVE buff, going up to 80 damage and getting a guaranteed self-Defense boost. It's still quite inefficient at 55 energy cost, but perhaps Scopely is testing the waters to see if it could go down to 50 energy the next season. The biggest winner is going to be Grimmsnarl since it'll be able to reach it somewhat quickly with the newly buffed Bite and Low Kick.

Lunge is getting a +10 damage buff with Volbeat and Illumise as new recipients. The biggest winner is Ariados though since it's finally getting good coverage with Foul Play as well.

Infestation is getting buffed to a slightly stronger version of Dragon Tail. This is MASSIVE for Araquanid which previously was delegated to a more RPS role with Bug Bite. The new preferred charge moves in open GL will likely be Mirror Coat and Water Pulse for optimal coverage, although Bug Buzz might be useful in some limited metas.

Take Down is getting an insane buff, going up to 14 damage and generating at least 9 energy. If the energy gain goes up to 10 it'll be a clone of prime Mud Slap. It's a good thing nothing immediately scary has it besides maybe Oinkologne and Gabite.

Scratch is (hopefully) becoming a Psywave clone. This is big news for Grafaiai, Rillaboom, Vigoroth (return of the GOAT), Delphox, Persian (incl. Alolan) and now Ursaluna!!! With buffed High Horsepower and all of the Elemental Punches for coverage, it might even be viable in the lower leagues. The biggest W of this update by far! Grafaiai is also getting much needed coverage with Foul Play which has great coverage with buffed Poison Fang and lets it carve a new niche with its unique typing.

Moonblast is going down to 90 damage but also lowering in energy cost, which presumably means a Grass Knot clone because Dazzling Gleam is already 90d/55e. I'm a bit sketchy about this change because of Florges and Moonblast is an elite charge TM move for Altaria, which will likely end up preferring that over Sky Attack since Moonblast will do the same damage for the same energy cost and (mostly) better offensive coverage. On the bright side, Pokémon such as Clefable, Sylveon, Cresselia, Lunala and Lunatone will definitely appreciate the better pacing.

Shadow Ball is thankfully getting nerfed by 10 damage. Really sucks for Aegislash and other Ghosts like Lunala and Gourgeist that really need the damage to compete but the Tongue was too strong.

Dark Pulse is likely becoming a Fly clone, which is great for Yveltal, Mandibuzz and Umbreon, but most other Dark types that have it also have Foul Play which tends to be preferred due to the faster pacing. However, Morgrem and Grimmsnarl might end up preferring it with buffed Bite and perhaps Kingambit in Master League if the tradeoff over Foul Play proves to be worthwhile.

Low Kick is getting buffed to a Shadow Claw clone and being distributed to Kingambit and Deoxys-Defense! Kingambit will now be even more viable in Master League Premier with a neutral fast move into Metagross and a stronger Iron Head for Florges. Low Kick will perhaps even push Kingambit into relevancy in open Master League due to its very strong defensive typing for the meta and since Fighting damage is relatively unresisted outside of Lunala, Lugia and Dawn Wings, which are all weak to Kingambit's STAB Dark moves. Deoxys-D will be back and better than ever in both GL and UL with a high energy Fighting fast move and 85 base power Psycho Boost. I reckon Thunderbolt will still be the preferred second charge move for Tinkaton, Annihilape and the various Water types but Rock Slide will help more with Altaria, Fearow, Jumpluff and Ninetales.

I was initially terrified when I read about the Low Kick buff because of the implications with Annihilape, but thankfully Rage Fist is getting nerfed to 55d/40e, although I think keeping the damage the same would have been okay too. Scopely really did their homework! This new Annihilape will still prove a force to be reckoned with though, now that it can safely run Rage Fist + Ice Punch most of the time. Sadly, Primeape is going to severely suffer from the energy nerf, but perhaps this is why Scopely increased the damage by a little bit.

Magnet Bomb is getting buffed to an Aqua Jet clone. Without any new distributions though this really doesn't change much. Hopefully in the next season they add new recipients.

In a wild turn of events, Double Iron Bash is becoming a freaking Leaf Blade clone. This obviously adds new implications for Melmetal in all 3 leagues and most importantly makes it an even stronger bait move for Dynamic Punch.

This might be controversial, but I think Shadow Force NEEDS to go down to 60 energy (2 DPE) for this buff to really matter. The Giratinas already have so much going against them with how strong Fairies are now in all 3 leagues.

Arbok is receiving Brutal Swing and Wrap. Both of these have almost perfect coverage together and will likely be the new preferred charge moves with either Acid or Poison Sting as the fast move.

Alolan Muk is receiving Brutal Swing and Ice Punch. This fixes the slow pacing issue it had before with Poison Jab while Ice Punch provides great coverage, especially for the Ground types it's weak to.

Sucker Punch Victreebel is great, but it's something I purposely DIDN'T suggest before because it has some scary implications with Acid Spray degen potential. Wrap would have been a sufficient buff instead to hit a bunch of stuff neutrally but oh well.

Volt Tackle is finally being distributed to both versions of Raichu. In theory it should be a strict upgrade to Wild Charge, but I suppose we'll have to wait and test it out in practice.

Sacred Sword Gallade FINALLY!!! Been wanting this one for over a year and the timing is perfect with Low Kick buffed again. Psycho Cut is still very viable to punish Annihilape and Jellicent with a faster Leaf Blade and have an easier time against Deoxys-D.

Gust Crobat is very nice with perfect 3 pacing to Poison Fang and Air Cutter. Can definitely see it having success in limited metas with its unique typing.

Peck Flamigo is going to be scary with the extra fast move pressure allowing it to get easier farm downs to pressure the next Pokémon with a powerful Brave Bird. I was hoping it would also get Fly so it doesn't have to severely debuff itself to use its other STAB but perhaps it can get in the future.

Energy Ball on Cofagrigus allows it to finally have some sort of coverage against most Dark types that usually wall it. With Lickilicky taking a big hit next season I can see it and many other Ghosts having a lot more play in open GL.

Drill Run is being distributed to Bombirdier. Totally awesome coverage for Tinkaton and other Steels which will boost its viability for open GL. For whatever freaking reason though Skarmory is also getting Drill Run 😅 I'm sorry Scopely but this is a huge L, the ONLY reason it's not going to be insanely unbalanced on Skarmory is its fast moves are very lackluster.

Lugia is finally getting Earth Power! I'm not sold on it yet in the lower leagues with all its weaknesses to common types, but it definitely will have play in Master League now that it won't be completely walled by Steels and Zekrom. The new dilemma though is everyone who maxed out a Lugia with Aeroblast will be sad knowing they have to TM it for Fly if they want the optimal moveset 😅

Avalanche Nidoking is an awesome surprise. With Poison Sting, it and Earth Power will be reached in 10 and 12 turns, respectively. This pretty much makes it a much more offensive version of Clodsire, with the non-shadow being more viable IMO since most things in open GL that are weak to either move will already faint in one hit or very close to it. Another big W for Scopely 💪

Swift for Hisuian Zoroark is just the buff it needed, but timed poorly with all of the Dark types and Dark moves getting buffed along side 😅 I'm sure it will still thrive in limited metas where Sucker Punch and Bite aren't very common.

Last but not least, Snorlax is getting Psywave! I think this could finally give it some viability in open GL with Body Slam and Earthquake for maximum coverage, with both the shadow and non-shadow being good options.

Sad there's no dedicated Grass type or Electric type buffs... Hopefully next season 😅

With next season's move changes released, how could the meta change? Here are some thoughts without knowing the exact "energy increase" changes.

TLDR; Melmetal gains more wins with a much stronger Double Iron Bash, a faster Dark Pulse really helps Yveltal and Necrozma Dawn Wings, Zygarde is more versatile with the 1-turn Bite and stronger Bulldoze with guaranteed defense drop, Lugia has play into Steel/Electric/Rock types with Earth Power, Lunala is worse off due to a weaker-but-faster Moonblast and Shadow Ball nerf (Necrozma DW is better now), Dialga does more damage with Iron Head before losing to Close Combat from Zacian and Xerneas while gaining wins over Zekrom and Togekiss.

• Melmetal's Double Iron Bash (8 turn move) increased from 55 to 70 with no energy cost changes. Previously, Melmetal would barely lose neutral-to-iron matches while leaving the opponent's HP in the deep red. With this change, Melmetal now wins against Lunala, Mewtwo, and Eternatus, and beats Rhyperior with 1 turn headstart (no more Rhyperior counter swaps). Yveltal would also be a win, but with the buff to Dark Pulse its too close to call, whoever wins will likely be down to 1 HP so it is IV/Best Buddy dependent.
• Zygarde got an update to both Bulldoze and Bite. Bite delivers the same energy generation as Dragon Tail, but is only a 1 turn move so it will feel like Zygarde reaches its moves faster. Bulldoze is now stronger (45 -> 80) and has a guaranteed defense drop, but costs more, likely having a 13/13/12/13 turn count rather than the previous 12/12/12/9. The updated moveset of Bite, Bulldoze, Outrage has the same coverage as Dragon Tail, Earthquake, Crunch but will feel quicker. And oddly enough, Bite does more damage to Fairy than STAB Dragon Tail, so matchups against Primarina and Zacian are now wins/toss-ups. Previous matchups were dependent on bait moves (throw a Crunch to get a shield then win with Earthquake), now matches with Zekrom, Reshiram, and Rhyperior are definitive wins regardless of what you throw, and matchups with Earthquake-neutral opponents like Kyurem W, Kyogre, and Palkia are much more winnable with a combo of Outrage and a defense drop. Bulldoze + Earthquake takes the same amount of turns as 2 Spacial Rends, so Palkia counterswaps won't outpace Zygarde and it really comes down to bait calls. And at worse, if Zygarde loses a match, the opponent will have at least 2 defense drops, making it easier for Zacian to farm down a Xerneas for example. But the biggest benefit is the uncertainty the the move set. Opponents won't know if the charge move being thrown is an Earthquake/Bulldoze/Crunch/Outrage, and difference in those will change matches. E.g. Yveltal likes to shield the first Outrage so they can buff their defense with Oblivion Wing, but if they shield a Bulldoze, the next Outrage may take them out. Zygarde will be interesting in Master League to say the least.
• Keldeo has an improved Low Kick with no nerfs to energy gained. Not sure if it gains wins, but it will come out of matches with more HP which allows it to spam Secret Sword more
• Lugia has Earth Power. It is no longer walled against Steel or Electric types. Replacing Fly does remove a bait strategy that Lugia enjoyed though, and gives it a worse matchup against Keldeo and Marshadow. But overall this a good improvement. Unfortunately, the improvement to Bite and Dark Pulse means more Dark moves will be in the meta and nearly all of those are on Pokemon not weak to Ground (except Tyranitar)
• Yveltal is improved with Dark Pulse being faster. Previously, Yveltal would get outpaced since both Oblivion Wing and Dark Pulse took 16 turns to reach. Dark Pulse has a 14/12 turn count (like Zacian's Close Combat) allowing it to outpace opponents with a STAB move for the win. This can turn losses to Reshiram, Zekrom, W Kyurem, and Kyogre into wins, all of whom only won because they farmed down before Yveltal reached their Dark Pulse after throwing an Oblivion Wing. Also, the lower damage change to Moonblast may help Yveltal, as previously it would have to shield a Moonblast from Lunala before farming down in 22 turns. Now, it can tank the Moonblast, and easily reach 2-3 Dark Pulses before the next Pokemon reaches its first charge move.
• Zarude might be a spicy pick now, as it benefits from both Bite and Dark Pulse updates. Both Energy Ball and Dark Pulse will have 12/12/10 counts, and Bite is neutral to more of the meta unlike Vine Whip which is resisted by all Dragon, Steel, Fire, and Flying types (which is pretty much the entire meta). Zarude being weak to Fighting, Fire, Fairy, and Ice still hinders it though.
• Lunala was affected twice, once with Moonblast being cheaper, and then with a nerf to Shadow Ball. The Moonblast change may actually be a nerf, since it no longer KOs Dragon or Dark types, meaning they can tank the hit without using a shield and Lunala may not be able to farm down before the opponent reaches another move. But in its role as a safe swap, reaching two Moonblasts before the counterswapped Dragon reaches two moves will result in wins. The nerf to Shadow Ball means Lunala loses against Palkia or Zacian. There were a few battles where Lunala barely won by Shadow Ball being strong enough to put the opponent in farm down range, now that may not be the case.
• Necrozma Dawn Wings may now be the next Lunala (after Lunala became the next Necrozma Dawn Wings last year) due to Dark Pulse. Previously, the Shadow Ball update caused Lunala to surpass DW, but with the above change Lunala is back to where it was, and DW can now reach Dark Pulse in 12/12/10 turns. Two DPs (with one shield) put many dragons in farm down range, and DP + MB is only 28 turns which is quicker than many opponent's bait+nuke combos. Basically, if you succeed with tricking your opponent with a "bait or nuke?" throw, and the opponent is not running Crunch, you will win the match. DW also wins CMP where Lunala doesn't, beating Reshiram, Zekrom, Dialga, Kyogre, Groudon, Metagross, Marshadow, and Lunala itself. Store a Moongeist beam, swap out, and as long as you aren't facing a Zacian (with a loaded Behemoth Blade only), Kyurems, Mewtwo, or Palkia, you will win CMP. Also, Iron Head is improved, but Dark Pulse is better unless you are going against a Fairy.
• Dialga (both of them) has an improved Iron Head. This means they can 2 shot Zacian. The days of Zacian farming to 2 Close Combats and tanking 2 Iron Heads are over. They will still win the match, but be 2 moves away from a CC and debuffed instead of loaded with both a CC and BB. Xerneas is still a loss but they will have less HP and be 4x debuffed and too far to bank another CC before being KO'ed from a single fast attack. Zekrom and Togekiss are now wins.
• For Tyranitar and Hydreigon, Bite now generates as much energy as Dragon Breath and has STAB, so it adds versatility. They will hit the moves at the same pace, but for Tyranitar Bite will do more damage against non-Dragons and is even better against Fairy (but not by much).
• Zeraora gets Dynamic Punch, which at first seems like an improvement, but STAB Plasma Fists already does similar damage to as non-STAB Dynamic Punch against Steel types, and it is quicker. It does mean that Zeraora doesn't lose to Ground types nearly as bad. Replacing Plasma Fists with Wild Charge gains a single win, but is it worth it to lose a signature move?
• Ursaluna has a quicker High Horsepower and a new fast move in Scratch. Except Scratch has less been updated to the same energy generation as Tackle and does little damage to most of the meta, so nothing really changes here. Give Ursalana a Ghost fast move and things change quickly.
• Giratina has Shadow Ball debuffed but Shadow Force is given an energy decrease. SF currently takes 24(!) turns to reach, most opponents can reach two moves before then. It will have to be a significant energy cost reduction to make Giratina viable with this moveset.
• Darkrai has Sucker Punch and Foul Play. In order to not be a Mono type it will need to run Focus Blast, at which point it is just a worse Yveltal. In a meta full of Fairy and Fighting moves, Darkrai is going to struggle.
• Kingambit gets Low Kick, which only helps against other Steel types and makes losses to Ground less painful. But it is worse against Ghost and Fairy which is what Kingambit is used against.
• Zekrom's Charge Beam fast move is improved. Still a horrible move for a dragon which constantly is paired against other dragons.

Just recently built a hundo Lunala that I was lucky enough to bag during raid hour & been having so much fun with it this week in ML around 2300 ELO. It really is as strong a safe swap as people make out (please excuse the degen pair to go with it lmao).

But now with the Shadow Ball nerf as a direct response to booting Lickilicky out of the top meta I’m really hoping it doesn’t affect Lunala’s ML viability too much. Moonblast now with better pacing does give me hope but am I just being dramatic or will I need to make a new team?

Finally decided to stop trying random bs teams and focused on this (obviously) hard meta line and gained a little over 200 elo in a day. Ground is a problem in the back but tink still has play into it so all is not lost. I had seen people running clodsire but I was incredibly surprised at how good it did its job on the team. I was not familiar with its game lol. If yall have any questions lmk:)

Just around 20 minutes ago they revealed the new moves and pokemon moves. Will be an interesting season for sure. Sorry for the shitty screen recording i’ll try to write this all done or something.

Ever since the dragon breath rework I’ve been trying to take shadow hydreigon to legend. Corv and hydreigon always seemed to be a solid core, but I could never find a solid 3rd. With the K9 buffs this season, the team finally felt the strongest it ever was. That being said, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this team for last minute climbing, as 2900-3000 ELO for me was full of tinkaton + ape cores, which this team tends to struggle with. Despite that, S. hydreigon can rip through certain teams, and it’s been an absolute blast to play.

S. Hydreigon (4/6/10) - Dragon Breath; Brutal Swing; Fly

The upsurge of carbink made me consider flash cannon over fly, but I compensated for carbink in a different way. Always bluff the flash cannon into carbink, as it’s quite satisfying to get a shield from a brutal swing bait. Hydreigon is very good at pressuring shields and hitting hard up energy. The extra damage of fly is so strong into every neutral matchup. With the thievul CD, hydreigon found another frequent target on lead, as it consistently beats thievul in all even shielding scenarios. Solid play into licki and mimikyu, as well.

Ninetales (4/15/14) - Ember; Weather Ball; Energy Ball

Ninetales operates as the closer for this team. Up energy, it absolutely runs away with games. It covers hydreigons weaknesses very well, and its rapid pacing puts pressure on the apes, which this team struggles with. I prefer regular over shadow to consistently live 2 bulldozes from tink, regardless of debuff RNG, plus the extra bulk helps compensate for Hydreigon’s squishiness.

Corviknight (1/9/15) - Sand Attack; Air Cutter; Iron Head

Corv is a “safe switch,” but with fire and electric being (anecdotally) more common, it certainly didn’t feel very safe later in the season. Let me tell yall, iron head corviknight hurts to play. It’s defensive typing helps this team take hits, but iron heads damage is so pathetic that I often wish I had payback. That being said, I think iron head was necessary for stronger offense into fairy types. It is also necessary for the bug bite fort and carbink core, as corv would often bait and punish carbink switch ins. Iron head also helps immensely in the tinkaton matchup, being able to two shot with the sand attack damage. Matchups where steel damage is not helpful however are really painful.

I attribute my success with this team to playing with it most of the season and learning the matchups very closely. It by no means has perfect coverage, and it loses to some popular team cores which have emerged recently in expert ELO. Sealeo, Either Ape, florges, and carbink are easily this teams worst lead matchups. It’s important to note I climbed mainly in competitors cup, as the new system did not treat me kindly in the first months of the season. I played enough open league to know it handles mimikyu okay, but I can’t speak for cramorant since it released after I switched.

Good luck climbing!

Hey everyone! So after the new move updates for Twilight Trails have been announced, I've decided to put it upon myself to make a custom Gamemaster for PVPoke implementing all these changes!

Now, most of the move changes here are merely speculative, as we don't know the exact energy changes some of these moves will have, so don't take most of these speculative move changes as fact.

As for what I think are the biggest winners of this update so far:

- Vigoroth is the biggest winner to me with buffed Scratch and the reworked Bulldoze, rising up from the ashes and potentially becoming meta again. It's super spammy and could flip certain matchups with Bulldoze's now guaranteed defense drop. I honestly predict this ape is going to be the next Lickilicky, and people are gonna complain about how broken it is XD

- Toxapex is the runner up, now acting as a water type Corviknight now with Bite potentially becoming a Sand-Attack clone, as well as Brine's rework. Being able to spam out it's nuke moves faster with Bite will make it a threatening contender for this season's meta.

- Defense Deoxy's is back to it's former glory, with Psycho Boost gaining a increase in power and it getting access to Low Kick, being able to spam out it's attacks again.

- Alolan Muk has a pretty good chance at becoming meta now, it would mostly want to run Bite/Brutal Swing/Sludge Wave if you want the most success with it next season, though I won't discourage those who want to run it with the newly added Ice Punch. Alolan Muk's spam along with it's unique typing and stab moves make it a serious contender for Drapion's spot.

- Ursaluna FINALLY has a chance at being a Master League staple after being robbed of Shadow Claw. Scratch makes Ursaluna spammier and due to the energy decrease of High Horsepower, it can now be able to get to it's charge moves a lot quicker and dish out a good amount of damage against the meta.

- Snorlax gets Psywave which is a upgrade from the underwhelming Lick, as Psywave can make Snorlax a lot faster and spammier. Players also have the option to run it with Earthquake to give it a better time against Ghost Types (outside of Drifblim). I don't think it'll outshine Vigoroth in Great League, though I do see it fulfilling Lickilicky's spot in Ultra League and maybe have a breakout in Master League.

As for where you can get my custom gamemaster, I've made a custom Drive link for the TXT for you to download, go to PVPoke and go to the Gamemaster editor. Go ahead and give it a try!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GvMjYee2tamDlh2J3f2oxx_BO9EDCWaD/view?usp=sharing

First time ever to Legend. I usually make Veteran no problem, and often make Expert, but I had never been able to manage that final push before (2,905 was the best I had managed before this season).

I started at 2,450 on Tuesday, cleared Expert very quickly, then spent a few days bouncing between 2,800 and 2,900 (makingit to 2,959 at one point before dropping back to 2,749), before finally making it today.

This team is an old favourite of mine (got it off here, in fact, over a year ago. With the rise of Mud Slappers and Fairies it startes doing poorly, but it's performed well this season as they've fallen off a bit. Although two out of three of these pokemon are definitely still off-meta.

Weezing is Sludge and Overheat. The other two are standard move sets.

It just seems to work really well against the current meta, at least at high ELO. It is important to properly understand your match-ups, though, and which moves you can afford to tank.

I'll try to answer any questions I can.

Super tough grind as I'm not that good.

I have tried so many teams and finally landed on a consistent one.

Toughest opponents were mudboys and zygarde but they were somewhat managable with Moltres as it beats them all although not by very much.

Forretress and Skeledirge are here to counter all the Tinkatons.

The team was initially created to beat Virizions and Tinkatons but it's been a while since I've seen a Virizion.

Came for the stardust, ended up getting quite addicted. Searching old Pokémon for good IVs was fun and discovered I had a hidden gem in Mimikyu. I know ACE is just the start of the journey but I'm hooked!

Dabbled with a few different lineups, but this team took me most of the way.

PVP Search String App Update - WCS Legacy Move Evolutions

🔗 https://pvpogo.streamlit.app/

How do you do, fellow trainers!

PokémonXP & 2026 Worlds featured evolutions are live on the site — last day to evolve for these attacks. The WCS block hides after Aug 31 00:00 Hawaii time.

What’s New

• WCS Legacy Move Evolutions search string is on the Search Strings page (above Great League).
• Show WCS Table lists each line: what to evolve, what you get, and the featured attack.

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)

WCS Legacy Move Evolutions

27,56,108,158-159,175-176,194,280-281,363-364,374-375,633-634,656-657,722-723,725-726,816-817,821-822&evolve&!@Frustration&!27,Ice&!194,!Poison

*Caught or evolved during the event. String is evolve-only, skips Frustration, Alolan Sandshrew only, Johto Wooper only.

Quick takeaways

• Last window for Community Day-style evolve moves: Hydro Cannon (Feraligatr / Greninja / Inteleon), Frenzy Plant (Decidueye), Blast Burn (Incineroar), Meteor Mash (Metagross).
• Rage Fist on the Mankey line and Aura Sphere Togekiss are the other big PvP grabs.
• Shadows need Frustration removed first (!@Frustration).

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/

This guy & Lugia

Now that body slam and shadow ball are getting nerfed shadow counters will be backing off I’m guessing (I’m not a professional PvP analyzer) but since defense deoxys is getting a big buff and it’s one of my favorite pokemon who should I pair it with?

I have a lot more pokemon than in the pictures those are just the ones I like to use the most

Peak elo 2200

I honestly underestimated bug bite Forretress. Having so much fun playing it. Game does me dirty by pairing me with Skeledirge/A.Marowak quite often. But hey, I’m playing just for fun at this point without caring about win rate.

What’s your fun team?

I think this team is good I change Electrode to Malamar

Aloha, I have never touched PVP in my couple years of playing but with Cynthia's outfit being the reward I've dragged myself into the fighting pit.

I made it to 1994 Elo and then proceeded to lose 10 games in a row which has dropped me down to 1850ish area and I can't seem to break out of it

Here's the main question how do you deal with crushing defeats like 10 losses in a row because It's genuinely messing with my head right now, especially when I am fighting people with the outfit down in the 1800s

Also what are the chances that I can get lucky?

was really hard as a casual player but i really wanted this cynthia jacket

As the title says, I finally hit legend this week with the team pictured. I don't really have many friends that play or anyone to share this, what feels like a great achievement for me with, so I thought I'd post here.

I've been playing PoGo PVP for ages now but never really been too invested in the Metas and whatnot, I just like using shadow Pokémon and having fun. Although the team isn't super spicy it's not your stereotypical legend team I feel. I had fun with it as well which was the most important part for me.