Building An Effective Great League Budget Team, 2.0
Hello All! Been wanting to put this together for a while now. When I first picked up the game again during Covid, I wanted to get into PvP but wasn’t really sure what Pokémon to invest in. Sure, I was aware of the PvPoke website, but there was so much information that I felt overwhelmed - I was still hoping for a somewhat more beginner-friendly guide for recommendations. I remember stumbling upon the guide posted by u/Shark_Eating_Bacon in the SilphRoad reddit page. Although a lot of people now might see it as redundant, it really helped me a lot with solidifying my roster with effective budget picks without blowing the stardust bank. I don’t PvP as much nowadays due to the current state of the game, but I’d like to be able to give back to the community and help newer Trainers who are interested in taking their first tentative steps into the PvP scene. This is an updated list, taking into consideration all the changes made so far to the meta.
I’ve used u/Shark_Eating_Bacon’s guide as a general outline for compiling this guide - though my comments will be shorter since I’d like to keep it as straightforward as possible. I’ve also kept the idea that this list should be composed of Pokémon that should be relatively accessible to everyone. If there’s any that I’ve forgotten feel free to add in comments.
As an additional side note, I would also stress the idea of not getting stuck on IVs. Using the right Pokémon species, the correct moves, and a reasonable strategy is far more important. Getting into the game first and starting to battle will also help you develop your individual skill and help you get additional stardust, candy, and TMs that you will then be able to spend on stronger or more meta Pokémon that you’d like to add to your roster.
An additional Note: Regarding XL Candy Investments Novice trainers might be daunted by the idea of investing in Pokémon that require XL candy to reach maximum potential. For these picks, I’d advise to hold off on building them until you are able to find a specimen with good IVs. These investments are often costly after all, and ideally you’d only have to build it once. There are powerful picks that don’t require any XL to build, like Mandibuzz and Clodsire, you are not at a disadvantage (at least in the great league) if you are not able to field XL rosters.
However, an exception to the XL investment rule is if the Pokémon in mind has a very polar performance - in which case I would argue that it would be fine to run a cheaper version. An example of this would be Bastiodon. The level 40 variant will essentially function the same as a rank 1 XL, still winning hard against what it beats while getting absolutely wrecked by its counters. There are a few neutral matchups which would see small improvement with an XL variant, but I see this as more of a personal preference as to whether you are willing to accept the opportunity cost in fielding it later as opposed to using it now.
The Budget Team: - All of these Pokémon will only require 10,000 dust and 25 candy for 2nd move - All of these Pokémon can be caught at an appropriate level - No legacy/community day moves required - No Regionals - No XL candy required
Wigglytuff - Charm/Swift/Icy Wind
Gold old reliable Wigglytuff, still your go-to charmer in the Great League
Clefable - Fairy Wind/Moon Blast/Swift
Fairy Wind buff increased energy generation for Clefable, can run Meteor Mash to fill niche as Fairy slayer as well
Whiscash - Mudshot/Mud Bomb/Scald
Definitely still a very solid budget pick - scald debuff can come in clutch occasionally
Bibarel - Rollout/Surf/HyperFang
Recently buffed with fast move rollout, faster energy generation - purified variant with Return instead of HyperFang can work as closer
Purified Alolan Raticate - Quick Attack/Crunch/Return
Solid safe swap recently featured by World Champion ItsAXN, cheap and easy to build especially with all the Rattata spawns
Raichu - ThunderShock/Wild Charge/Trail Blaze
Cheap electric type, both Alolan/Kanto variants functions essentially the same, though with Kanto version Brick Break can be a consideration
Mantine - Wing Attack/Aerial Ace/Ice Beam
You’d need a Mantyke to make use of the baby discount for the 2nd move - but still a solid budget member even after the Wing Attack nerf
Ariados - Poison Sting/Lunge/Trail Blaze
Received buff to Poison Sting, very strong in the lead and can work as safe swap too with Lunge debuffs
Whimsicott - Fairy Wind/Seed Bomb/Moon Blast
Can fill in unique niche as a grass/fairy, has play against the water pokémon unbiquitous in the meta with fighter slaying as a bonus
Greedent - Mud Shot/Body Slam/Trail Blaze
Still a solid safe switch pick even after the Body slam nerf, mostly relies on Trail Blaze for damage now
Dubwool - Double Kick/Body Slam/Wild Charge
Fills same niche as Greedent, essentially the normal-type safe switch; can also be played in the lead to swap out after a wild charge
Golbat - Wing Attack/Poison Fang/Shadow Ball
Wing attack nerf was not good news, but Golbat is still a serviceable pick, especially with Zubat being a common spawn
Altaria - Dragon Breath/Sky Attack/Dragon Pulse
Fallen out of top meta now, but still a usable pick due to its bulk and dragon breath damage; Moon Blast is better as 2nd charge move but is Community Day move
Special Note:
Skarmory - Steel Wing/Brave Bird/Sky Attack
One of my favorite budget picks in the early days, as most of the time it does what it does with just single-move Sky Attack. Steel Wing and Sky Attack nerf hurt quite a bit, but it’s still very much serviceable if you’re just looking to get into battling without heavy investment
Recent Spawn/Easily Accessible: - All of these Pokémon can be caught in abundance or is easily accessible - No Legacy/Community Day moves required - No Regionals
Gastrodon - Mud Slap/Body Slam/Earth Power
Would choose to run Water Pulse as the 2nd charge move for greater coverage but that’s just personal preference, quite strong with recent mud slap buff
Mandibuzz - Snarl/Dark Pulse/Aerial Ace
Featured as Vullaby from 12km egg, fills essentially same role as Umbreon/Alolan Raticate but better due to flying type resistance
Quagsire - Mud Shot/Mud Bomb/Stone Edge
Ideally would use Community Day move Aqua Tail over Mud Bomb for better coverage, but still a solid generalist pick
Clodsire - Poison Sting/Earthquake/Sludge Bomb
One of the very best in the current meta, quite common in wild spawns and will be featured in Spotlight hour for January 2025
Miltank - Rollout/Body Slam/Thunderbolt
Fills the normal type safe switch niche, would recommend the cheaper options stated above (Greedent/Dubwool) but Miltank also works
Poliwrath - Mud Shot/Scald/Icy Wind
Would function better with Community Day move Counter, but mudshot is also serviceable for faster energy generation
Lanturn - Water Gun/Thunderbolt/Surf
Spark nerf brought Lanturn down a peg, but still quite solid with good bulk and coverage, water/electric is a pretty good niche in general
Pelipper - Wing Attack/Weather Ball/Hurricane
Wingull can be a common spawn for people near the coast, still usable although Wing Attack nerf did hurt; competes with Mantine for the same niche
Team Building/Recommended Cores
Below I’ve listed three basic cores that you’d be able to potentially run from this list. I’m aware that there are more dominant teams, but the goal is to find a good balance between cost, accessibility, and performance. If there are any other recommendations, feel free to point them out to me and I will make edits to add them here to this post with credit being given.
Skarmory/Whiscash
Budget: 5/5
Accessibility: 5/5
Performance: 3/5
Options for Third Pick: Gastrodon, Quagsire, Greedent, Dubwool
This is my favorite core that I started out with in 2020, an all-time classic that deserves a special mention. Skarmory/Whiscash covers each other’s weaknesses well, with your third pick functioning as either a safe switch in an ABC team style, or being another Water/Ground in which you’d be running an ABB team. With nerfs to Sky Attack, Steel Wing, AND Mud Shot, this core has fallen off a bit from popular use, but for the new trainer it’s perfect to start out with to learn the basics.
Wigglytuff/Gastrodon
Budget: 3/5
Accessibility: 3/5
Performance: 4/5
Options for Third Pick: Mandibuzz, Miltank, Ariados, Golbat
This core revolves more around fast move damage, with success being strongly dependent on maintaining alignment against the opponent. Gastrodon can be replaced by Whiscash or Quagsire (Mud Bomb variant) if you are looking for a cheaper investment. Grass and Flying weaknesses can be covered with Mandibuzz and Golbat, though leaving the team with no hard answer to Talonflame.
Clodsire/Mandibuzz
Budget: 1/5
Accessibility: 3/5
Performance: 5/5
Options for Third Pick: Dubwool, Raichu
Although on the more expensive side of picks from this list, this core is very meta and offers plenty of bulk and room for error that would be useful for a new trainer. Ice types can be a problem, but other than that this team is very strong. A decent upgrade to the core in general for the third pick would be a Feraligatr or a Primeape, which would be a great PvP investment project.
Final Comments: Hopefully this list will give newer trainers a place to start and build a beginner’s roster. This list is not comprehensive. I am also aware that there are a lot of stronger, more meta choices, but they either cost a ton of stardust, a lot of XL candy, or require legacy/community day moves to function to their full potential, which goes against the idea of being accessible for everyone. The point of this post is to just provide a starting point to list some affordable, beginner-friendly options. Thanks for reading, and hopefully some of you found this post helpful for starting your own journey into Pokemon Go PvP!
Edit: Thanks to all the feedback! I added a section for team building/recommended cores as suggested. I didn’t go into as much detail (that would probably require a separate post and new topic) but hopefully it’s enough guidance for novice trainers planning their first budget teams.