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Alongside the "Mountains of Power" event, Niantic has brought the Sinnoh Cup to Pokemon GO in an attempt to shake things up in the Pokemon GO Battling Community, which is not uncommon for Niantic. Only Pokemons originating from the Sinnoh Region are allowed in this new tier of the Battle League.
This means that metagame staples like Galarian Stunfisk and Azumarill cannot participate. This gives players a lot more freedom when assembling a team as the current metagame no longer restricts them.
However, not all Pokemons are created equal, which means some Pokemon will perform better than others in this new tier of competitive battling in Pokemon GO. When it comes to structuring the right team for battle, various roles must be considered when building a balanced team.
Building the Perfect Team for Pokemon GO's Sinnoh Cup
Tank Pokemon sponge the damage from powerful attacking Pokemon while dealing chip damage to mitigate the threat from the likes of glass cannons. Offensive Pokemon are the primary damage-dealing carries of the team, and Counter Pokemon are meant to deal with all-around threats through super-effective attacks.
A crucial balance between these three roles leads to building the perfect team in Pokemon GO.
Best Tanks for the Sinnoh Cup
The first Pokemon that comes to players' minds is Bastiodon. Being added so recently, it finally has a chance to shine in this new sudden tier of play.
Steel-type Pokemons have always been a staple in Pokemon GO's metagame, and with Bastiodon being one of the few Steel-types to be able to participate in the Sinnoh Cup, it is one of the tier's biggest threats.
Funnily enough, Munchlax has experienced some usage in the tier despite it being the pre-evolved form of Snorlax. However, with Snorlax being a Pokemon from Kanto, it is not allowed to partake in Sinnoh Cup.
While Munchlax is far from a usable Pokemon in the main series, its stats line up just well enough in Pokemon GO to give it a functional niche.
Best Attackers of the Sinnoh Cup
Being one of the best Pokemon in the entirety of Pokemon GO, Lucario is one of the best Pokemon in the Sinnoh Cup. Lucario's Steel typing paired with offense-oriented stats leads to a Pokemon with incredible longevity and capable of completely sweeping an unprepared team.
Gallade, especially Shadow Gallade, is the best offensive Psychic-type players can use in the Sinnoh Cup. With it being the only non-legendary Psychic-type Pokemon added in the Sinnoh region (aside from Mime Jr.), it will undoubtedly see a lot of usage.
It also has the always-helpful Fighting-type, which gives it more offensive utility and boosts its powerful Fighting-type attacks.
Best Counters for the Sinnoh Cup
When thinking about Sinnoh Cup, players must note the kind of Pokemon introduced in Sinnoh and how they interact with Pokemon GO's battle system.
Infernape is an excellent answer to a majority of Sinnoh's roster as a lot of these Pokemon are either bulky Normal-type Pokemon like Lickilicky and Ambipom or Steel-type Pokemon like Bastiodon and Magnezone.
Gastrodon is another awesome Pokemon to counter various high-usage Pokemon in Sinnoh League. Gastrodon can easily double up on Ground-type moves to help deal with multiple Electric-type Pokemon like Luxray, Electivire, and Magnezone, and Bastiodon due to its additional Rock-typing, which makes it even weaker to Ground-type attacks.
Though Gastrodon may not have the best attack stats, it has the stamina to warrant its usage.
These are just a few of the best Pokemon for Pokemon GO's newest tier of the Battle League. There is no definitive "best" when building a team. Having a successful team means having excellent adaptability that can take on any situation. This can be accomplished by having an incredible spread of different types, stats, and moves.
