On Monday, August 9, 2021, the Master League starts in Pokémon GO for PvP battles. We have looked at which monsters are best suited for use and explain what you should pay attention to in PvP battles.
What is it about? In addition to catching Pokémon, interacting with friends, and battling in raids, there is another possible activity for trainers in Pokémon GO: the PvP battles. In these, you can compete and fight against other trainers in the Super, Hyper, or Master League during each season.
Of course, you can expect appropriate rewards for a victory. Starting Monday, the Master League takes place in Pokémon GO. We show you which Pokémon you can best use for your battles and give you some tips to help you choose.
When does the Master League run? The Master League starts on Monday, August 9, 2021, at 10:00 PM local time. It will run until August 23, 2021, at 10:00 PM.
These are the 5 best attackers in the Master League
To play in the Master League, you need to assemble a team of three Pokémon that will compete against others. You can choose from all your Pokémon without any CP restrictions. Therefore, it is helpful to consider the following aspects beforehand to select the right monsters for your team:
- Which monsters are perfect for the PvP League?
- Do you have enough candies to power up your monsters?
- Do your selected Pokémon have the required moves or can you teach them?
- Which Pokémon are commonly used by other trainers?
With the help of the overview from PvPoke, we have summarized the 5 best attackers in the Master League for you and will introduce them below (via pvpoke.com):
Lugia
The Psychic and Flying-type Pokémon, Lugia, is considered by PvPoke to be the best suited for use in the Master League. It impresses with strong values in defense and stamina. Due to its typing, it is weak against Rock, Dark, Electric, Ghost, and Ice-type attacks.
To make the most of your Lugia in the PvP League, you should use the following moves:
- Dragon Tail
- Sky Attack
- Aeroblast*
*The charge move Aeroblast is an event move. You can only learn it with a Premium Charge TM.
Melmetal
Melmetal is a legendary Steel-type Pokémon. Therefore, it has issues with Fighting, Fire, and Ground-type attacks. In contrast to Lugia, it has particularly strong values in stamina and attack. However, its defense is also quite impressive. It ranks 2nd in the PvPoke ranking.
In the Master League, you should best use the following moveset for Melmetal:
- Thunder Shock
- Superpower
- Heavy Slam
Dialga
The Dragon and Steel Pokémon, Dialga, ranks 3rd in the PvPoke ranking. This monster has quite a strong attack but can also show good values in stamina and defense. It is particularly vulnerable to Fighting and Ground-type attacks.
The best moveset for Dialga in the Master League is as follows:
- Fire Fang
- Iron Head
- Draco Meteor
Yveltal
Ranking 4th in the PvPoke ranking, the Dark and Flying Pokémon, Yveltal, also has very good attack and stamina values. However, it is somewhat weaker in defense. Because of its type, it is weak against Rock, Electric, Ice, and Fairy-type attacks.
Use the following moves in the Master League for Yveltal:
- Oblivion Wing
- Dark Pulse
- Focus Blast
Ho-Oh
The Fire and Flying-type Pokémon, Ho-Oh, can also impress in the Master League according to the list from PvPoke. It is slightly weaker in stamina compared to the previously mentioned Pokémon but scores well in attack and defense. Its weaknesses are Rock, Water, and Electric-type attacks.
If you want to use Ho-Oh in the Master League, you should utilize the following moveset:
- Incinerate
- Brave Bird
- Earthquake*
*The charge move Earthquake is a special event move. You can only obtain it using a Premium Charge TM.
These Pokémon are used by other trainers
Anyone who regularly competes in the PvP League knows that the teams of other trainers do not always consist solely of the best attackers. The YouTuber Zyonik introduces his favorite team for the Master League, consisting of Melmetal, Giratina (Altered Forme), and Mewtwo, in the following video.
The community surrounding The Silph Road has also dealt with this topic and assembled an overview of which team compositions trainers have observed from their opponents (via silph.gg). As of August 5, 2021, a total of 31 different teams have been reported.
Using this overview, we have summarized the most frequently used Pokémon in the Master League:
- Metagross was seen by participating trainers in 10 of the 31 teams
- Giratina (Origin Forme) and Mewtwo were used in 8 different teams each
- Dialga was represented in 7 teams
- Dragonite was used by 6 trainers
- Kyogre and Togekiss were seen in 5 teams each
- Tyranitar and Garchomp appeared 4 times each in the Master League
If you use three of the best attackers against these Pokémon, your opponents might potentially have the upper hand. Especially, Lugia, Melmetal, and Dialga struggle against the attacks of these Pokémon.
The Silph Road is a network of trainers, dataminers, and Pokémon GO enthusiasts. Together, they exchange knowledge about the game and try to analyze it. They then provide their insights to other players.
These Pokémon you can also use
If you prefer to assemble a team that is tuned to the most frequently used monsters, you should especially rely on Pokémon with Electric, Ice, Dark, and Fighting-type moves. This will cover the relevant weaknesses of most of the mentioned monsters.
According to the ranking from PvPoke, the following Pokémon of the previously mentioned types could also be interesting for your team (via pvpoke.com):
| Pokémon | Moveset |
| Mamoswine | Powder Snow + Avalanche & Superpower |
| (Shadow) Articuno | Ice Shard + Ice Storm & Hurricane* |
| Glaceon | Ice Shard + Avalanche & Ice Storm |
| (Shadow) Zapdos | Thunder Shock* + Steel Wing & Thunderbolt |
| (Shadow) Raikou | Volt Switch + Wild Charge & Shadow Ball |
| (Shadow) Magnezone | Spark + Wild Charge & Mirror Shot |
| (Shadow) Machamp | Counter + Cross Chop & Heavy Slam |
| Machamp | Counter + Dynamic Punch & Stone Edge |
| Snorunt | Oblivion Wing + Avalanche & Focus Blast |
Moves marked with a (*) are event moves. Depending on the attack, you can only teach your Pokémon these moves using a Premium Fast TM or Premium Charge TM.
Are you going to participate in the Master League, or is that not your thing? And which Pokémon are in your team? Feel free to share your opinion about this on MeinMMO in the comments!
Do you prefer raids instead of PvP battles? We have looked at the best attackers in Pokémon GO by type and summarized them for you.
