Best team in the Sunshine Cup tournament in Pokémon GO (Max Out season)

The Sunshine Cup returns to Pokemon GO The Battle League gives competitive trainers another chance to test out their best Fire, Grass, Ground and Normal Pokémon in battle. Since only these four types are allowed to participate, you'll have to rethink your usual team composition to outshine the competition.

We may be heading into the spooky season, but there's one last bit of sunshine before we go all in on Halloween celebrations. The Sunshine Cup is a time-limited challenge that uses the 1500 CP Grand League format and strips away most eligible Pokémon, allowing only four elemental types to participate. Yes, Charizard was banned too.

Best Sunshine Cup Team

Talonflame, Quagsire and Jumpluff are a great trio

One of the best teams you can use to compete in the Sunshine Cup is Claw Flame, Quagsire and Jumpluff. Together, these three Pokémon offer a wide range of abilities, so you can take on almost any opponent that comes your way. They are also the three highest ranked Pokemon according to PvPoke ratings. While this doesn't always result in guaranteed wins, it does mean that they are some of the best Pokemon you can have on your team.

First this Talonflame is expected to be something to watch out for. in this edition of Sunshine Cup. With a moveset that includes both Fire-type and Flying-type moves, it will have no problem taking down any Grass-type Pokemon you come across, but it also has key wins against Pokemon like Diggersby and Clodsire. Talonflame has been a star in the Great League for some time now, so it's no surprise that he shines brightly here as well.

As with any themed cup, you will need The Pokemon That Can Destroy the Meta's Biggest Threat. To battle any opposing Talonflame, look for a strong Water-type Pokemon like Quagsire. He has an impressive stamina stat and a great moveset, including Mud Shot, which allows him to generate energy very quickly. Having dual Water and Ground types also means that Quagsire only has one weakness to watch out for, Grass-type attacks, so be careful with those.

You can probably guess where this is going - Complete your team with a powerful Grass-type Pokemon.and this is where Jumpluff fits in perfectly. Not only is Jumpluff a strong and bulky opponent to any Water-type Pokémon you face, but it can also destroy other Grass-type Pokémon with one of its charged Flying-type moves. As you might expect, the big threat to watch out for when using Jumpluff is Fire-type opponents.

I would generally recommend being wary of spending a lot of resources on buffing up Pokemon for a themed cup like the Sunshine Cup, since they often only appear once a year. However, all three Pokemon on this team are viable in the traditional Great League, making them good investments. Chances are you'll also be able to use them in other themed cups in the future, so you'll have even more reasons to go all out with them.

Best Pokemon for the Sunshine Cup

Make sure you have a wide range of coverage options

Choosing the best Pokemon will always depend on what your opponent sends, but there are a few Pokemon that should give you a good chance of success. You can see them, as well as their recommended movesets, in the table below:

Most Pokemon that are expected to perform well in the Sunshine Cup are two-types, such as the fire/flying type Talonflame or the poison/ground type Clodsire. This often happens with themed cups, which limit the number of participants. Dual-type Pokémon not only have unique resistances, but they can also often gain access to moves that monotype Pokémon cannot.

Normal-type Pokémon like Lickilicky and Dunsparce are also relatively safe bets in the Sunshine Cup, as their only weakness is Fighting-type attacks, and not many of them are eligible to compete (watch out for Diggersby, though!). Normal type attacks are also nearly impossible to counter, so you won't have to worry too much about type matching.

If you don't have access to any of the Pokemon listed in the table above, it may be best to skip the Sunshine Cup. While there's always room for experimentation and trying out alternative options, you'll likely have a hard time beating teams using the highest ranked Pokémon. If you still want to compete, I would recommend checking out PvPoke to see if there are other better Pokemon you could use instead.

When does the Sunshine Cup tournament start and end?

Here's when you can take part in this unique competition

Sun Cup starts Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at 1:00 pm PT / 4:00 pm ET / 9:00 pm BST.and runs until Tuesday, October 15, 2024 at 1:00 pm PT / 4:00 pm ET / 9:00 pm BST. This means you only have one week to get your team in shape and compete in this special cup.

If you are looking for a higher level challenge in Pokemon GOwhy not try Ultra League? The traditional 2500 CP format will run alongside the Sunshine Cup, giving you the chance to try out your stronger Pokémon, including several legendary creatures. You can check out my best Ultra League team guide if you're not sure what Pokemon to use there.

Source: PvPoke