It’s Premier Cup time in Pokemon GO, and it’s paired along with the Ultra League. That means for the next two weeks of PvP in Pokemon GO, players will have to work around a hard CP limit, as well as a list of banned Pokemon. This seems like an overall attempt to mix things up in the metagame on Niantic’s part, but the reality is there are still Pokemon that statistically take the lead.
The Best Pokemon to use for the Premier Cup
If you want to see who is using what Pokemon during any competition, much less this specific Premier Cup, you can hop over to the dedicated community at The
Silph Road. These folks are truly hardcore, and even have a live tracker that uses an API to calculate Pokemon use percentages. Turns out there’s an easy top ten for this restricted band of Pokemon GO PvP competition. Check it out:
Related: Which Pokemon Aren’t Allowed in the Pokemon GO Premier Cup?
- Metagross – 50%
- Togekiss – 33%
- Dragonite – 30%
- Gyarados – 27%
- Swampert – 25%
- Machamp – 27%
- Snorlax – 16%
- Garchomp – 12%
- Rhyperior – 12%
- Magnezone – 10%
As you can see, there’s a pretty clear group of critters here that still dominates the metagame. After Magnezone there’s a pretty significant drop, with Mamoswine at 6% and downhill from there. You can see that the beefier Pokemon are on the top of the list, as well as ones that have good type coverage potential, Shadow moves, Community Day moves, or some combination thereof. Those are all inherent advantages that push these Pokemon over the competitive edge, even at the restricted CP level.
Like many other tier lists, just because these are the most used Pokemon doesn’t make them the best without a shadow of a doubt. There’s clearly a reason why Metagross is at 50% use, but we’ve seen strategies for Pokemon not found in the top ten. A Muk with Poison Jab and Thunder Punch can be a really clutch option, as is the case with Typhlosion thanks to Shadow Claw and Solar Beam. Lucario can be a great counter for Metagross, but its more glass cannon physique likely keeps it underutilized.
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Are you chasing the top ranks in the Pokemon GO Premier Cup? Does your team look like the stats suggest it should, or have you mixed it up a little more with something less predictable? How do you feel about Metagross? Let us know what you’re up to in the world of Pokemon GO over at the Prima Games Facebook and Twitter pages!
