ThePokemon GOMountain Cup is a brand-new addition to the Battle League roster, with rules that have never been seen before. This isn’t the onlynew addition to the formatand it certainly won’t be the last. With all these new rules floating around, it can be hard for players to ascertain which Pokemon will make up the meta - especially as these cups only last a week. Here is everything a Trainer needs to know forPokemon GO’s Mountain Cup.
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How to Enter the Mountain Cup
Players can take the following steps to enter thePokemon GOMountain Cup:
From there, players can choose their team and get to battling!
The rules for the Mountain Cup are as follows:
When Does the Mountain Cup Start and End?
The Psychic Cup startsWednesday, July 10, 2025, at 1PM PT / 4PM ET / 8PM GMT and lasts a full week untilWednesday, Jul 07, 2025, at 1PM PT / 4PM ET / 8PM GMT
Tips for Winning Mountain Cup Battles
The usual tacticsfor thePokemon GOBattle League apply here. Opt for spammy moves that charge fast, and verify to have two Charged Moves where possible. There is one thing, however, that is especially important to consider when battling in the Mountain Cup.
Focus on Type Coverage
Type coverage is going to be very important in the Mountain Cup, as it encompasses a relatively broad range of types for a cup like this. Because of this, there is going to be a lot of variation in the Pokemon used,especially considering dual typesare permitted for entry. In order to get the most type coverage players will want to:
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Best Pokemon for the Mountain Cup
As usual, recommending specific teams forPokemon GOPvP isn’t the best idea, as players around the world have significantly different access to different Pokemon. Here are some Pokemon that will do well in the Mountain Cup, and should be considered when building a team.
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Normal, Rock, Steel, Ice, Dark
Flying, Psychic, Bug, Poison, Fairy, Ghost (immune)
Lucario is going to be a powerhousein this meta. The most important thing it has going for it is the fast-charging Charged Moves, which allow it to apply lots of shield pressure. As for type coverage, Lucario’s Fighting-type moves Counter and Power-Up Punch will do super-effective damage against Rock-, Steel-, and Ice-types.
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Poison, Rock, Steel, Fire, Electric
Bug, Grass, Flying (immune)
While not the most popular Pokemon, Diggersby is going to be a big help in the Mountain Cup. Its access to Fire Punch is invaluable, as it’s super-effective against Steel- and Ice-types as well as Grass-types, which aren’t included in the rules, but will see a lot of play as a secondary typing. Its Ground-type moves round out the type coverage nicely.
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Flying, Ground, Grass, Dragon
Steel, Fire, Water, Ice
While Swampert is banned, players can still turn to Whiscash for a similar Water/Ground-type coverage. With this set of moves, Whiscash is covered for the majority of match-ups in the Mountain Cup. Mud Shot and Mud Bomb provide coverage against Rock- and Steel-types, and Blizzard covers Ground. When using Whiscash, it’s best tobring a Fighting-type too, so Ice-types are covered.
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Flying, Water
Grass, Electric, Dragon
Ferrothorn might be a surprising choice for the Mountain Cup given that so many moves will be effective against it. Despite this, however, it rounds out most teams nicely and has decent type coverage with its access to Grass-type moves. Bullet Seed is also a good spammy Fast Move, which means Charged Moves will power up more quickly.
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With access to the Fast Move Counter, Escavalier is an excellent choice for the Mountain Cup. Counter charges up Charged Moves quickly, putting shield pressure on the opponent. Itsaccess to moves of other typesis also a valuable asset - while Megahorn isn’t super-effective against any of the core Mountain Cup types, it will do good neutral damage to all of them (apart from Steel).
Pokemon GOis available for free on Android and iOS mobile devices.
