Best Ultra League teams to use in Pokémon Go

The Ultra League in Pokémon Go’s Go Battle League and its 2,500 CP limit is where more “regular” Pokémon have their time in the spotlight, compared to the almost Legendary-dominated Master League and lower levels of the Great League.

In this League, every Pokémon has a chance to make a splash — but that’s not to say there are some strong team recommendations to make, and some genuine strategy to be had.

Here’s our picks for the best Ultra League team, and where the meta is right now.

What is the Ultra League meta right now?

After the excitement of the Dual Destinies season, Pokémon Go is now entering the era of “Might and Mastery,” a thrilling new season that seems intent on adding a lot of powerful Pocket Monsters to the already massive pool. 

Much like Great League, the Pokémon Go Ultra League is more susceptible to change when new Pokémon join the game, or when moves are adjusted, and the latest balance change has really upset the Flapple cart, and given a few forgotten moves and Pokémon their time to shine. 

If you tuned into the recent EUIC (Pokémon Europe International Championships) or Vancouver competitions, then it’s clear that a lot of the previously popular picks are still doing well. Shadow Drapion is in most teams, Dewgong is still making a name for itself, and you can also expect to bump into the occasional Charjabug or Emolga rubbing Ultra League shoulders with the likes of Giratina and Zygarde. 

For anyone keeping track of the rankings, some of the most important changes this season include buffs to moves like Aqua Jet, Dynamic Punch, Sludge, and Hex: which have all either had their power increased or their energy cost decreased. 

Meanwhile, a few Pokémon were given some much needed additions to their arsenal, especially when combined with some of the aforementioned move changes. 

Just like in the Great League, Lapras and Grumpig are two of the main beneficiaries of these buffs, with Lapras gaining the Fast Attack Psywave, and the Charged Move Sparkling Area, which is pretty much superior to Surf in every way. 

Next up, both Grumpig and Dusknoir now have access to the Charged move Dynamic Punch, helping them hit both normal- and dark-type Pokemon with super effective hits, vastly expanding their options. 

Finally, some of the newest Pokémon are still finding their feet in this bracket, with Corviknight being a constant threat in the Ultra League format. We’ll have to wait and see how any upcoming additions like Urshifu, or other potential future reveals, may change things further, but even just working with the changes we have, it’s an exciting time for this league and competitive Pokémon players. 

Ultra League best team suggestions

With the caveat that you may struggle to get a couple of the Legendary Pokémon on offer here, these Pokémon are our top picks for the Pokémon Go Ultra League:

• Corviknight, Jellicent, and Skeledirge
• Grumpig, Lapras, and Dusknoir

Let’s go through them separately.

Corviknight, Jellicent, and Skeledirge

There was a time when Skarmory ruled the roost, as in terms of defense, the combination of steel- and flying-type gives a Pokémon a huge amount of resistances, and even a couple of double resistances. Then along came Corviknight, which is an improvement in almost every respect. 

Corviknight only has two weaknesses, those being electric- and fire-type moves. Pair this with the great coverage offered by the Fast Move Sand Attack, and the STAB power of its Charged Move Sky Attack and Iron Head, and Corviknight is no offensive slouch either. 

Steel typing is always a headache for fairy-type Pokémon, meaning Corviknight causes huge problems for Pokémon like Clefable. Flying-type moves cause huge problems for common Grass threats like Virizion.

Basically, prepare for Corviknight, and ideally, bring a Corviknight.

Next up, Jellicent is an extremely bulky Pokémon that can stand up to a lot of common picks. Plus, the fantastic buffs to the move Hex mean Jellicent hits harder than ever before. 

Considering the prevalence of Corviknight, a lot of people are sure to bring a fire-type Pokémon to counter one, and that’s where Jellicent comes in. It is an absolute monster when it comes to defense stats, and a well-timed Surf will ruin your opponent’s day. 

Back this up with the extra coverage of Hex and Shadow Ball, hitting Pokémon like Annihilape for super effective damage, and Jellicent is a great pick in its own right, but a real winner alongside mainstay Corviknight. 

Remember earlier when I said prepare for Corviknight… rounding out this team is one of the newest Pokémon, the fire-type crocodile Skeledirge. Now, you will have to be careful as this pick does still have five weaknesses, but it can work really well at the right time. 

With dual fire- and ghost-typing, Skeledirge not only gets super effective hits on common Pocket Monsters like Corviknight and Annihilape, it also means it hits hard against some Legendary choices like Cobalion and Virizion. 

Be sure to include Incinerate and Torch Song for STAB fire-type damage, but then Shadow Ball rounds out this package and means Skeledirge stands a chance against some other Ultra League bullies like Grumpig. Overall, a risky pick, but one that works well in this team. Plus, off the back of the recent Fuecoco Community Day, there’s a good chance you have a viable Skeledirge already. 

This team’s best moves, IVs, and alternative suggestions:

• Corviknight alternatives: Registeel, Steelix, and Skarmory
• Jellicent alternatives: Lapras, Giratina (Altered), and Drifblim
• Skeledirge alternatives: Talonflame, Turtunator, and Ceruledge

Grumpig, Lapras, and Dusknoir

Sure, Grumpig may not appear at the top of any list of prettiest Pokémon, but with the huge buffs it got at the start of the “Might and Mastery” season, this grumpy swine is now a formidable foe in the Ultra League ranks. 

Grumpig recently got access to the Fast Move Psywave and the Charged Move Dynamic Punch, which already massively increased its offensive range. But, adding to that is the huge buff to Dynamic Punch, which had its energy cost decreased. 

Essentially, the humble Grumpig is at the centre of a lot of competitive changes, and now it slaps. STAB Psywave is great, Dynamic Punch hits Lapras hard, and Shadow Ball rounds out this package by putting pressure on Annihilape. You can run either Shadow or regular Grumpig depending on if you’d rather prioritise attack or bulk, but either way, this is a really strong pick right now. 

Much like Grumpig, Lapras is a fairly solid pick anyway, and one that has seen a considerable rise in power and popularity thanks to the latest changes. It also now has access to the Fast Move Psywave, but it also now has the Charged Move Sparkling Area, which is an improvement over Surf. 

Rounding out this package is the Charged Move Ice Beam, which means alongside the power of Sparkling Aria, Lapras is a fantastic counter to Skeledirge and Virizion. Sure, being dual ice- and water-type does mean it is only resistant to other ice- and water-type moves, but it has huge bulk to help it stay in the battle either way. 

Finally, Dusknoir is here to pick up the slack. Being pure ghost-type means that Dusknoir is resistant to normal-, fighting-, poison-, and bug-type moves. This helps to wall common picks like Annihilape and Drapion. 

Next, Dusknoir joins the club of Pokémon that not only received but also benefited from the changes made to Dynamic Punch, with the fighting-type move hitting dark- and normal-type Pokemon where it hurts. 

Finally, Shadow Punch is just a nice STAB powered move to really punish any Pokémon on the other end of your fury. Considering your teammates here are Lapras and Grumpig, two of the biggest problems for them are Skeledirge and Annihilape, and thankfully Dusknoir should help to wipe both of them out.

This team’s best moves, IVs, and alternative suggestions:

• Grumpig alternatives: Malamar, Cresselia, and Clefable
• Lapras alternatives: Jellicent, Feraligatr, and Walrein
• Dusknoir alternatives: Skeledirge, Runerigus, and Giratina

In summary, the main thing to remember with the Ultra League is that it has probably the widest pool of possible Pokémon, so while the rankings are important, don’t get boxed in. Try out different teams, swap moves around, and try your best to surprise your opponent more than anything. 

While the Master League is all about that max 15/15/15 IV spread, that generally won’t get you far here. For any Pokémon with a max CP above 2,500, you instead want a 0/15/15 IV spread (use the search string ‘0-1attack&3-4defense&3-4hp’) for a very specific reason. A low Attack stat allows you to get the highest IV spread before you hit the CP cap, as a higher Attack will instead bump up the CP. So yes, it may seem counter intuitive, but low Attack works great as long as those other two stats are pumped to the max.

Good luck, and happy battling. If you want some more Go Battle League tips, we also have some Great League best team recommendations.