How to qualify for the Ultra League in Pokemon GO

Giratina-Altered is a popular option in Ultra League (Image via Niantic)
Giratina-Altered is a popular option in Ultra League (Image via Niantic)

There are some seriously high level battles in the Ultra League in Pokemon GO.

This game mode features an interesting contrast between Great League and Master League. Ultra League won’t feature the weaker Pokemon from the Great League, but also won't see powerful legendaries get spammed like in Master League either. Instead, trainers rely on weaker legendaries and strong ordinary Pokemon to get an edge over their opponents.


Which Pokemon are legal for the Ultra League?

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To qualify for Ultra League, players will need a team of three Pokemon that are under 2,500 CP.

This allows for a wide amount of Pokemon to be viable in this meta. The OP legendaries won’t be found here (Mewtwo, Kyogre, etc.), but other defensive legendaries see lots of play. These Pokemon include Giratina-Altered Form, Deoxys-Defense and Registeel.

There is also a nice cast of viable Pokemon that aren’t legendaries in Ultra League. Many of these Pokemon are on the defensive side, including Jellicent, Skarmory and Snorlax. There are offensive threats as well, like Shadow Gyarados and Shadow Charizard.

The Pokemon GO Battle League, including Ultra League, operates in seasons that last around a couple of months. Each season will feature different rewards for earning high ranks. These are usually Pokemon encounters and fashion items for avatars. It is currently season nine in GO Battle League.

The rewards that come with earning a high rank in GO Battle League for season nine are as follows:

  • Rank 1- Charizard encounter
  • Rank 6- Mienfoo encounter
  • Rank 11- Encounter with Rhydon, Drifblim, Seismitoad, Frillish or Litwick
  • Rank 16- Encounter with Snorlax, Scraggy or Rufflet
  • Rank 20- Five star Raid
  • Veteran Rank- Noibat encounter
  • Expert Rank- Deino encounter

Trainers who enjoy Ultra League might also be interested in Ultra League Remix. This meta also only allows Pokemon under the 2,500 CP limit, but the top 10 used Pokemon for the season are banned. The banlist for season nine of Ultra League is as follows:

  • Clefable
  • Alolan Muk
  • Swampert
  • Empoleon
  • Togekiss
  • Giratina-Altered
  • Cresselia
  • Talonflame
  • Melmetal
  • Obstagoon

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