The PvP scene in Pokémon Go is consistently changing. There are new leagues and cups every few weeks, and close to the end of a season, players have chance to test their skills in unique competitions. To close out the Battle League’s Season 7, the Retro Cup gives players a chance to return to the roots of Pokémon and use the standard type choices. For the Retro Cup, players can only use Pokémon that do not exceed 1,500 CP, and they can use the first 15 types, which leaves out Dark, Steel, and Fairy-type Pokémon.
These are some of the best Pokémon for this competition.
The best Pokémon for the Retro Cup
Abomasnow
Abomasnow is a Grass and Ice-type Pokémon. It’s become one of the more common Great and Ultra League Pokémon, dominating in nearly every division its allowed. For the Retro Cup, it stands to be able to place some heavy shield pressure against most combatants, but it’s a vulnerable to a variety of Pokémon types, such as Fire, Flying, Fighting, Poison, Steel, Rock, and Bug-type moves. We highly recommend using this as a lead Pokémon, or as a final choice. However, because of how weak it is against so many Pokémon, using it as your first choice is the best option.
Altaria
Altaria is a Dragon and Flying-type Pokémon. It’s one of the stronger choices in any Great League competition, and in the Retro Cup, it fits right in as a bulky lead Pokémon. You can use it to soak up the first series of attacks and force your opponent to reveal their initial Pokémon. You can also use it as the closing Pokémon to hold the line. How you set it up in your roster is up to you.
Drifblim
A big fear for many players in the Retro Cup will be the rise of Psychic-type Pokémon, such as Hypno, Deoxys (Defense), and Cresselia. An excellent counter to them will be Drifblim, the Ghost and Flying-type Pokémon. It has access to several Ghost-type moves capable of taking them down, and it’s a superb fighter that can spam its fast move to release shadow ball, a high attack charged move. We highly recommend this Pokémon as your switch choice and to use it to counter any Psychic-type Pokémon you encounter.
Froslass
A Pokémon a lot of trainers want to use for the Retro Cup will be Froslass, the Ghost and Ice-type Pokémon. Similar to Drifblim, Froslass will be your Psychic-type counter, capable of taking down several Dragon-types as well, such as Altaria. Froslass is considered one of the best Retro Cup Pokémon due to its high shield pressure, its flexible on most teams, and you can spam its attacks. It will lose against a handful of choices, primarily to Fighting, Fire, and Water-types. We highly recommend protecting Froslass from these attacks, and to use it as your switch or closing Pokémon.
Hypno
A tanky Pokémon to add to your team is Hypno, a classic Psychic-type Pokémon. It’s capable of placing down heavy pressure against a team using its ideal fast move, confusion, and has a variety of charged moves to pick from. While we recommend using shadow ball and thunder punch as the best choices, it also has access to psyshock and ice punch, and both are worthwhile choices. You primarily want to use it as your lead or switch Pokémon, but its high defenses and stamina make it a difficult Pokémon to beat.
Lapras
Lapras is a solid Ice and Water-type Pokémon. It’s an general choice that has solid defenses, a decent amount of attack, and enough stamina to ensure it remains active long enough to cause plenty of trouble in the Retro Cup. It’s going to lose to a majority of the Psychic-type Pokémon in the cup, so you want to use this choice to counter more niche choices, such as Abomasnow or Alolan Marowak. You need a Pokémon to tackle the Psychic-type options in the cup, though, with Lapras.
Lickitung
Lickitung is one of the best Pokémon for players to use in the Retro Cup. It’s a Normal-type, so it’s only weak to Fighting-type moves, but it’s only resistant to Ghost-type attacks. What makes it exceptionally powerful is the amount of defense and stamina it has, making it an ideal lead Pokémon for your opponent to waste of their choices. Because Lickitung is only weak to Fighting-type attacks, if a combatant’s first choice doesn’t have it, Lickitung can make short work of any Pokémon it faces off against.
Medicham
Medicham is a Fighting and Psychic-type Pokémon that usually dominates the Great League competition, and the Retro Cup will be no different. It’s an ideal Pokémon to battle against Lickitung, along with a variety of high tier choices, such as Wishcash, Lapras, and Abomasnow. Despite being a Fighting-type, it has a decent amount of defenses, making it a tough Pokémon to beat, and its quick fast moves and charged attacks make it a handful for any competitor to deal with.
Regirock
One of the few legendaries that can stand with the regular Pokémon in the Great League, Regirock is a powerful Rock-type Pokémon capable of being a worthwhile choice in the Retro Cup. It’s an exceptionally defensive Pokémon, making it a good starting or closing Pokémon for most rosters. The big downside to it is how weak it is to Fighting, Grass, and Water-types. With the Retro Cup being full of potential Water-type choices, Regirock can be a risky choice, along with the many Fighting-types. We recommend this Pokémon for the fights in this competition, but we remind you to be careful with it.
Whiscash
Normally, Swampert is the go-to option in the Great League, but Whiscash is a solid replacement as a Ground and Water-type Pokémon. It’s only weak to Grass-type moves and has an incredibly high amount of bulk to serve as a defensive Pokémon, and with the fast move mud shot, it can spam its abilities against another player. It can destroy another player’s shields if used correctly. You primarily want to use this as your lead Pokémon in any roster.
