The best individual Pokemon for the Element Cup in Pokemon GO

The next special cup for Pokemon GO's competitive Battle League has finally arrived in the game. To add a bit of variety and balance to the game's battle scene, the Element Cup brings with it a few interesting restrictions. For starters, only Pokemon that are Fire, Water, or Grass-type can participate.

Another restriction placed by the Element Cup is that only the Pokemon with a combat power of 500 or under can participate. And the final restriction is that only Pokemon that are the first stage of an evolutionary line can participate. This makes the Elemental Cup play very similar to Little Cup, a special tier from the past.

With all of these restrictions in mind, some Pokemon that may have gone unconsidered in previous Little Cup variants will perform much better in the climate that the Element Cup offers. So, which of the eligible Pokemon performs best in this cup?

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Best Pokemon in Pokemon GO's Element Cup

Ducklett, one of Element Cup's All-Stars, as it appears in Pokemon GO (Image via Niantic)

The first Pokemon that may come to the mind of players who have already played the Element Cup is Ducklett. Ducklett is a Water and Flying-type Pokemon that goes relatively unnoticed even after its evolution. But what sets Ducklett apart from other Water and Flying-types is its movepool.

Ducklett has access to one of the best Flying-type attacks in the game, Brave Bird. And though the move requires a large amount of energy to even get the chance to use it, Brave Bird can deal massive damage to bulky Grass-type Pokemon. These types of Pokemon are incredibly common as almost every player uses Bulbasaur.

Another factor that makes Ducklett a great choice for Pokemon GO players to use in the Element Cup is its type. Its Flying and Water-type complement each other very well. Most importantly, the addition of the Flying-type removes Ducklett's weakness to Grass-type attacks. This increases its defensive utility.

While Ducklett is more than capable of taking down Grass-type Pokemon with a little bit of setup, its forte is dealing with Fire-type Pokemon. With a lot of the Element Cup's prevalent Fire-type Pokemon being glass-cannon attackers, a Water-type Pokemon on the bulkier side can quickly cleave through them.

While Ducklett has so many perks to using it, this does not mean it is invincible. One of its most apparent weaknesses is the energy cost of Brave Bird. Brave Bird requires the most amount of energy out of a majority of other charged attacks in the cup, not to mention the opponent can just use a shield.

With all of these details in mind, players will be able to see why Ducklett is a must-have for players looking to participate in Pokemon GO's Element Cup. However, players should keep in mind that its charged attack requires a bit of setup. Also, players should bait out the opponent's shields before sending out their Ducklett to finish up.