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With Pokemon GO's Great League being one of the most accessible tiers of competitive play, this division sees some of the highest play in the mobile game. As such, there are going to be a lot of new and returning players that may want some insight as to where certain Pokemon stand in relation to each other in terms of their competitive viability.
Much like the main series, there are always going to be some creatures that are more cut out for battling than others. With this in mind, knowing which critters are currently seeing the highest amount of play can be incredibly helpful for new players looking to get into competitive battling for the first time.
Thankfully, the community have congregated online and constructed a tier list for some of the most common picks in the game. This list is not written law, but can present some insight into the game mode in Pokemon GO. So what should players know about the game before diving into this month's competitive scene?
Analyzing Pokemon GO's Great League tier list for 2023
S-Tier
Since the S-Tier is the most exclusive in the game because it has only four Pokemon, it will be the easiest to go over. Two creatures that many consider to be the absolute best in Pokemon GO's Great League are Azumarill and Galarian Stunfisk. The latter is the best stamina tank in the tier, and has an excellent type combination for both offense and defense: Ground and Steel.
With Azumarill and Toxapex in the tier, both are amazing defensive choices, with the former having more offensive options with Fairy-type attacks and stamina. Toxapex is the better choice for defense as its Water and Poison typing grants it a lot of resistance to common attackers in the tier.
As for the final pick, Medicham possesses great spam for long battles, which give it tons of offensive pressure. Its bulk also allows it to outlast most other Fighting and Psychic-types that players will see in this tier of play in Pokemon GO.
A-Tier
Though the sheer amount of creatures here is overwhelming, there are some picks that inhabit the A-Tier that are incredibly good when used with some strategy. However, they do possess some glaring weaknesses.
The first up is Bastiodon. It is great for players who need a defensive wall, but falls short when it comes to dealing that damage back at opponents in most scenarios.
For Registeel, who is often considered the best Legendary in Pokemon GO's Great League, its defense and pure Steel typing makes it an amazing lead. However, since its damage comes from Lock-On charged attack spamming, it takes a lot of setup. Being a great lead but really only having attack pressure in the late-game causes it to stagnate a bit overall.
Venusaur and Swampert are the best balanced picks for this tier, but they come with issues of their own. Being balanced in terms of their elemental typings, they lack any sizable bulk in that regard. While Swampert is only weak to Grass-type attacks, its list of resistances is rather shallow. Due to Psychic-types seeing a lot of play in this tier, Venusaur can be a bit of a gamble as well.
B-Tier
Finally, the B-Tier is primarily comprised of creatures that are not inherently bad but may see better performance in Pokemon GO's other ranked ladders like Ultra or Master League.
Snorlax, Gardevoir, and Shadow Lugia are prime examples of this. On the other side of the coin, there are picks like Pelipper and Scrafty that have earned a place in this tier.
Pelipper, while not being a terrible choice, is easily outclassed by Water-types in higher tiers like Whiscash, Walrein, Swampert, and Lapras. This really only leaves Pelipper as a decent last resort for those who feel that they desperately need a Water-type. Its secondary Flying typing also leaves it exposed to more types of attacks like Electric and Rock-type moves.
Scrafty is arguably the best in the tier as its Dark and Fighting-type combination gives it an advantage against the dominant Psychic and Steel-types in the tier. However, given its double weakness to Fairy-types, Azumarill, Tapu Fini, and Alolan Ninetales keep it in check, which ultimately leads to its low-tier placement in Pokemon GO.
