Pokémon Go Ultra League: Best Pokémon

Toughen up your teams with these creatures

Niantic

The Ultra League is one of the most popular competitions in Pokémon Go’s PvP mode, the Go Battle League. It returns into the rotation of available disciplines from October 29 to November 5, 2024, which coincides with a bonus that quadruples all Stardust rewards for wins.

Table of Contents

1. Pokémon Go Ultra League: Best Leads
2. Pokémon Go Ultra League: Best Safe Switches
3. Pokémon Go Ultra League: Best Closers
4. Pokémon Go Ultra League: Best Attackers

The upper limit for competition points (CP) in this format is 2,500 CP, but you won’t have to worry about any type-related restrictions: Being an open competition, you can field whichever Pokémon you like in Ultra League.

We have collected all the best Pokémon for Ultra League in Pokémon Go based on statistics and simulations provided by PvPoke.com, so you don’t have to worry about figuring out the meta.

Pokémon Go Ultra League: Best Leads

These Pokémon are very aggressive, applying pressure on your opponent right from the beginning of a match. They can drag out even tough battles for a long time – this makes them ideal to open a duel up, enabling you to score an early knockout or set up a strong counter play.

1. Clefable [XL] (Fairy Wind, Swift, Moonblast)
2. Dusknoir [S][XL] (Astonish, Shadow Ball, Shadow Punch)
3. Pangoro (Karate Chop, Close Combat, Night Slash)
4. Aurorus (Powder Snow, Weather Ball (Ice), Meteor Beam)
5. Drifblim [XL] (Astonish, Shadow Ball, Icy Wind)
6. Gastrodon [XL] (Mud Slap, Earth Power, Body Slam)
7. Feraligatr [S] (Shadow Claw, Hydro Cannon, Ice Beam)
8. Shadow Galarian Weezing [XL] (Fairy Wind, Brutal Swing, Play Rough)
9. Malamar [XL] (Psywave, Foul Play, Superpower)
10. Shadow Steelix [XL] (Dragon Tail, Psychic Fangs, Crunch)

Pokémon marked with [XL] require Candy XL to reach their best performance levels, Pokémon marked with [S] perform comparably well in both their regular and Shadow forms.

Pokémon Go Ultra League: Best Safe Switches

Should the initial pairing be to your disadvantage, consider switching out your lead for another Pokémon. This is where Safe Switches come into play. They are either strong leads themselves or are specialized in countering some of the more popular members of that class. In any case, a switch will preserve your original lead to fight later on in the battle and perhaps force your opponent to also adapt their strategy on the fly, equalizing the battle once again.

1. Feraligatr [S] (Shadow Claw, Hydro Cannon, Ice Beam)
2. Drapion [S][XL] (Poison Sting, Aqua Tail, Crunch)
3. Shadow Galarian Weezing [XL] (Fairy Wind, Brutal Swing, Play Rough)
4. Shadow Walrein (Powder Snow, Icicle Spear, Earthquake)
5. Shadow Ursaring (Shadow Claw, Swift, Close Combat)
6. Shadow Drifblim [XL] (Astonish, Shadow Ball, Icy Wind)
7. Giratina (Altered Forme) (Shadow Claw, Dragon Claw, Shadow Sneak)
8. Typhlosion (Incinerate, Blast Burn, Thunder Punch)
9. Galarian Weezing [XL] (Fairy Wind, Brutal Swing, Play Rough)
10. Clefable [XL] (Fairy Wind, Swift, Moonblast)

Pokémon Go Ultra League: Best Closers

The Pokémon in this category are especially useful when there are no shields left in play on either side – they are incredibly tough themselves thanks to their high hit points and many resistances or end battles quickly thanks to powerful charge attacks.

1. Registeel [S][XL] (Lock On, Focus Blast, Zap Cannon)
2. Regirock [S] (Lock On, Stone Edge, Focus Blast)
3. Shadow Feraligatr (Shadow Claw, Hydro Cannon, Ice Beam)
4. Galarian Moltres (Sucker Punch, Ancient Power, Brave Bird)
5. Turtonator [XL] (Incinerate, Dragon Pulse, Overheat)
6. Tentacruel [XL] (Poison Jab, Scald, Blizzard)
7. Zygarde (Complete Forme) (Dragon Tail, Crunch, Earthquake)
8. Regice (Lock On, Thunder, Blizzard)
9. Ho-Oh (Incinerate, Brave Bird, Sacred Fire)
10. Malamar [XL] (Psywave, Foul Play, Superpower)

Pokémon Go Ultra League: Best Attackers

These Pokémon do best when fighting an opponent who still has shields, while you’re out of shields. They combine important resistances and powerful fast attacks to compensate for this disadvantage. For this reason, you rarely see Shadow forms in this role – they take more damage than their regular counterparts, making them a risky card to pull out at this stage of a match.

1. Steelix [XL] (Dragon Tail, Psychic Fangs, Crunch)
2. Clefable [XL] (Fairy Wind, Swift, Moonblast)
3. Gastrodon [XL] (Mud Slap, Body Slam, Earth Power)
4. Zygarde (Complete Forme) (Dragon Tail, Crunch, Earthquake)
5. Shadow Steelix [XL] (Dragon Tail, Psychic Fangs, Crunch)
6. Giratina (Altered Forme) (Shadow Claw, Dragon Claw, Shadow Sneak)
7. Galarian Weezing [XL] (Fairy Wind, Brutal Swing, Play Rough)
8. Cobalion (Double Kick, Sacred Sword, Stone Edge)
9. Mandibuzz [XL] (Snarl, Dark Pulse, Aerial Ace)
10. Registeel [XL] (Lock On, Focus Blast, Zap Cannon)

The Max Out update really did a number on the Ultra League meta, shaking it up in a similar way as the Great League: Names like Pangoro and Malamar suddenly rose the top, overshadowing a few mainstays like Zygarde and Feraligatr, which – to be fair – didn’t exactly fall off entirely. We’ve got a good mix of new and familiar faces this season, making Ultra League quite a refreshing format for once.

For more Pokémon Go, check our overviews for the weekly Spotlight Hours and 5-Star Raids.