Niantic bans overpowered Pokemon GO Little Holiday Cup pick without an announcement

Pokemon GO is home to a unique Battle League that is different from anything else the franchise has seen before. Due to the mobile game's real-time battle system, the way fights look, how they play, and even the creatures that see viability in this league differ drastically from the source material, which features turn-based combat.

One of the highlights of the Battle League is the variety of special battle formats it features, with the Little Cup and Premier Cup being the most popular. The Holiday Little Cup begins on December 17, 2024, but Niantic has decided to ban a creature from it at the last minute.

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Why was Smeargle banned from Pokemon GO's Little Cup?

Smeargle's ability to have almost any move in the game has landed it a seat in the penalty box for the current Little Cup (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Smeargle has been banned from this Pokemon GO Holiday Little Cup rotation despite its mediocre stats. Niantic's decision stems from the Pocket Monster's ability to learn almost any move, similar to its capability in the main series.

Smeargle's moves are determined by the Buddy Pokemon active when players encounter it. This creature was initially introduced to reward trainers for using the snapshot feature with their Buddy Pokemon, with it only appearing in photobombs. It cannot learn a secondary charged attack like most other Pocket Monsters in the game.

Despite being intended to be a fun reward for casual players, competitive trainers have optimized Smeargle's moves through RNG and Shadow Pokemon, allowing it to use a powerful moveset combination of Incinerate and Flying Press, which is highly effective in low-power formats like the Little Cup.

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How did Pokemon GO players perfect Smeargle?

Through luck and the right Shadow Pokemon, players can have a competitively optimized Smeargle (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Perfecting Smeargle involves using the right Shadow Pokemon. This is because these Pocket Monsters come with the charged attack, Frustration, which can only be learned by these types of creatures. If players have a Shadow Pokemon with Frustration assigned as their Buddy, the charged attack Smeargle has will be randomized.

Also check: Pokemon GO Evolution Calculator

For its fast attack, Incinerate is preferred due to its balance of energy generation and synergy with Flying Press for offensive coverage. Since this will always be copied from the Shadow Buddy Pokemon, players need to register a Shadow Buddy Pokemon with Incinerate. Ho-oh and Typhlosion are popular choices for this purpose.

Also check: Pokemon GO CP calculator

Flying Press is considered one of the best charged attacks for Smeargle. It is the strongest Fighting-type move in the game that has no self-debuffing consequence.

With such strong moves, Smeargle has a significant advantage over most other Little Cup contenders. This is why Niantic has chosen to ban it from the format.

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For more information on the game, check out the articles below:

• Ditto disguises
• Sierra counters
• Cliff counters
• Arlo counters
• Giovanni counters
• Team GO Rocket Grunts