5 best Pokemon choices for Pokemon GO Great League

Pokemon GO's competitive scene is one of the reasons players keep coming back to the mobile title. Providing them with a chance to test their mettle against other players, the game's competitive battles even have a seat at the Pokemon World Championships. With this being the case, a lot of trainers may want to give the game mode a shot.

Battling is one of the core gameplay mechanics that the Pokemon franchise has to offer. Being able to catch, battle, and trade creatures with other players has been the main gameplay loop of the main series titles since the franchise's conception in the early 90s. With the introduction of Pokemon GO's Battle League, doing so has never been more accessible.

With the Great League being the most popular format as well as the most accessible, a lot of players may want to make it their first stop in their journey to become a Pokemon Master.

As such, Pokemon GO players may need to know which creatures dominate the metagame in its current state.

Note: This list is subjective and solely reflects the opinions of the writer

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Scrafty and other top picks for Pokemon GO's Great League

1) Noctowl

Noctowl as it appears in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Good Flying-type creatures are hard to come by in Pokemon GO's Great League. This is due to the typing's rather frail nature and either too low or too high combat power limits. While Pidgeot was seen quite often in March, April's flavor of the month is Noctowl, the regional bird of the Johto region.

With access to powerful Flying and Psychic-type attacks in Sky Attack and Psychic, as well as strong Ghost-type coverage in Shadow Ball, Noctowl is the best Flying-type creature for Great League's metagame.

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2) Medicham

Medicham as it appears in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

In a format where Dark and Ghost-type creatures lurk around every corner, players may be a bit hesitant to use Medicham, given its secondary Psychic typing. However, Medicham is a valuable asset for dealing with the oppressive Steel-types in the format, thanks to its access to potent Fighting-type attacks.

Medicham is also one of the few viable Pocket Monsters in the Great League to possess Power-Up Punch, a great move that costs a low amount of energy and boosts the creature's attack. Some sets prefer to use Power-Up Punch in place of Psychic. In exchange, these builds take Psycho Cut for a fast attack, allowing faster energy charging rates.

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3) Scrafty

Scrafty as it appears in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Scrafty is good for the same reasons Medicham is so popular. Having access to Power-Up Punch makes it one of the best Fighting-types in Pokemon GO's Great League. However, the main difference between Scrafty and Medicham is the match-ups they are best suited for.

While Medicham is weak to the tier's Ghost and Dark-type creatures, Scrafty is their perfect counter. When it comes to a fight between the two Fighting-types, it depends heavily on the build both trainers are using. In most cases, Scrafty loses against Medicham.

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4) Galarian Stunfisk

Galarian Stunfisk as it appears in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Galarian Stunfisk has been the best creature in Pokemon GO's competitive metagame for some time now. Being viable in both the Great and Ultra Leagues, the Pocket Monster owes its success to its great offensive and defensive type combination of Ground and Steel, as well as its bulky stat spread and great moveset.

However, Galarian Stunfisk is not invincible. It has some key losses to the Fighting-type Pokemon mentioned prior. Noctowl and Trevenant are also major threats to the flounder in Pokemon GO.

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5) Registeel

Registeel as it appears in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The best Legendary Pokemon to use in the Great League, Registeel has been a threat in Pokemon GO for some time now. Given its unique gimmick as a charged attack spammer through the use of Lock-On, the creature is easily one of the best tanks the game has to offer.

Registeel gets its utility from spamming charged attacks. This means players must decide if they want to use it in the beginning to bait out all of the opponent's shields or if they want to wait until the end to allow for a clean sweep with uncontested charged attacks. The only drawback is that Lock-On has very little damage output to compensate for the major energy generation it possesses.