Are Ultra Beasts allowed in Pokemon GO PvP?

Pokemon GO's Ultra Space Wonders event aims to bring the last of the Ultra Beasts in the franchise into Niantic's popular mobile game. However, there may be some players who have some questions regarding the subset of Pocket Monsters, especially considering how some fans online describe them.

Ultra Beasts may seem like creatures that would be restricted from participating in ranked battles, as the main series has been known to do this from time to time. Thankfully for trainers, these Pocket Monsters can be used for competitive play. However, are they worth adding to one's battle party?

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and reflect the writer's opinions

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Are the Ultra Beasts any good in Pokemon GO PvP?

Ultra Beasts are some of the best battlers in the Master and Ultra tiers of play in Pokemon GO (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Not only are Ultra Beasts allowed to participate in Pokemon GO's Battle League, but they are some of the best choices players can have on their teams. Thanks to their often uncommon type combinations and optimized stat spreads, these creatures are built for fighting, with many of them being perfect for competitive play or Raid Battles.

Sadly, being Pocket Monsters with high stats, they are completely unusable in the Great League. Even if they could get their combat power low enough to participate, their IVs would be so low that their stats would leave incredibly weak. While only a few of these critters have competitive viability, each can have its fair share of usage in the game's Raid Battles.

While Pheromosa, Kartana, and Xurkitree may not be the best Ultra Beasts to bring in the Ultra or Master League, they are some of the highest damage-dealers players can have for Raid Battles. With this in mind, even trainers who have no interest in climbing the ranked ladder have a reason to get excited for these creatures.

The upcoming Ultra Beasts may prove to be a bit underwhelming in the competitive scene (Image via The Pokemon Company)

This turns players’ attention to the three new Ultra Beasts coming to the game. Blacephalon, Stakataka, and Naganadel are set to debut during Pokemon GO's Ultra Space Wonders event, and they all have their fair share of weaknesses that may work against them in terms of their viability.

All three of these Pocket Monsters share a weakness to Ground-type attacks. Stakataka, in particular, has the very unfortunate type combination of Rock and Steel, leaving it with a 4x weakness to the Ground and Fighting elements. Being a creature built for defense, its type is incredibly counterproductive, and many players may opt to use a different Steel-type option like Registeel instead.

Blacephalon and Naganadel are both glass cannon attackers with interesting offensive type combinations. With this in mind, it is likely that they will be incredible choices for Raid Battles, even if they are rather lackluster in Pokemon GO's Battle League. However, information on their performance is not available as of writing, so this is mere speculation.