Pokemon GO: Best team to use in the Master League

Season 8 of Pokemon GO's Battle League marches on, and the Master League showcases some of the top PvP competition in the entire game.

Finding a team for such an intense set of PvP bouts is daunting, and the meta changes constantly for nearly every aspect of Pokemon GO's Battle League. This is especially true considering Niantic's constant tweaks to Pokemon Go as well as the introduction of new Pokemon, moves and other content. With so many moving parts, it's no surprise that players rarely set their teams in stone.

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Pokemon GO: Great Pokemon to use on a Master League team

Image via Niantic

Considering the level of competition in the Master League, it is likely going to take plenty of trial and error on a Pokemon GO trainer's part to find a team that works for them. In addition, the varied roles that certain Pokemon serve in a team's battle lineup can somewhat complicate things. To account for this, and before listing great Pokemon for a Master League team, it's important to define the primary roles of a Pokemon GO PvP team:

• Leads - Best used at the beginning of battle, Lead Pokemon are efficient at winning protracted fights and can apply significant shield pressure to opponents.
• Closers - On the opposite side of the spectrum compared to Lead Pokemon, Closers are bulky or hard-hitting Pokemon that can finish difficult fights on their own. Even without the assistance of a shield.
• Switches - If players are at a disadvantage with their Lead Pokemon and are looking to rebound, Switches are what they're after. They have safe matchups in most cases and can still apply good shield pressure. They're best used to bail a Lead out of an untenable position.
• Chargers - Since charged moves are so important in a Pokemon GO battle, chargers can be a great utility pick. Centered around powering up their strong charged moves, Chargers can decimate an opponent's shields by giving them no alternative but to defend themselves from a massive charged attack.
• Attackers - If a player is out of shields but still needs to take out their opponent's, Attackers can handle the job well. Since Attackers are naturally high in stamina and attack stats, they can power through plenty of disadvantages.

With those roles outlined, Pokemon excelling at them can be listed. According to Pokemon GO community sites such as PvPoke, these Pokemon/moves can help trainers go on that coveted win streak in Master League:

Leads

• XL Ho-Oh using Incinerate, Brave Bird and Earthquake.
• XL Shadow Mewtwo using Psycho Cut, Psystrike and Ice Beam.
• XL Melmetal using Thunder Shock, Superpower and Rock Slide.
• XL Yveltal using Snarl, Dark Pulse and Focus Blast.
• XL Dialga using Dragon Breath, Iron Head and Draco Meteor.

Closers

• XL Shadow Ho-Oh using Incinerate, Brave Bird and Earthquake.
• XL Zekrom using Dragon Breath, Crunch and Wild Charge.
• XL Shadow Mamoswine using Powder Snow, Avalanche and Bulldoze.
• XL Reshiram using Dragon Breath, Crunch and Overheat.
• XL Lugia using Dragon Tail, Sky Attack and Aeroblast.

Switches

• XL Shadow Mewtwo using Psycho Cut, Psystrike and Ice Beam.
• XL Lugia using Dragon Tail, Sky Attack and Aeroblast.
• XL Mamoswine using Powder Snow, Avalanche and Bulldoze.
• XL Altered Giratina using Shadow Claw, Dragon Claw and Shadow Sneak.
• XL Shadow Snorlax using Lick, Body Slam and Superpower.

Chargers

• XL Shadow Mewtwo using Psycho Cut, Psystrike and Ice Beam.
• XL Reshiram using Dragon Breath, Crunch and Overheat.
• XL Melmetal using Thunder Shock, Superpower and Rock Slide.
• XL Shadow Mamoswine using Powder Snow, Avalanche and Bulldoze.
• XL Yveltal using Snarl, Dark Pulse and Focus Blast.

Attackers

• XL Melmetal using Thunder Shock, Superpower and Rock Slide.
• XL Togekiss using Charm, Ancient Power and Flamethrower.
• XL Lugia using Dragon Tail, Sky Attack and Aeroblast.
• XL Sylveon using Charm, Moonblast and Last Resort.
• XL Heatran using Fire Spin, Flamethrower and Iron Head.

This list is by no means exhaustive, but it should help Pokemon GO players add some top picks to their team as they work to fill it out and best fit their playstyle.

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