Alright, so, Pokemon Go Great League. Man, what a journey that’s been. I remember when PvP first dropped, I kinda just threw in whatever Pokemon I had that were under 1500 CP. Didn’t think much of it, you know? Just tap tap tap.
My Rude Awakening
Boy, was I wrong. I got absolutely steamrolled. Like, demolished. It wasn’t even funny. My cool-looking Pokemon, the ones I thought were tough, they just… melted. That’s when I realized, “Okay, there’s something more to this.” It wasn’t just about picking your favorites or the ones with the highest attack stat from raids. This 1500 CP limit, it changes everything. Suddenly, Pokemon I’d barely looked at twice were popping up and wrecking my team.
So, I started digging around a bit. Trying to figure out what the heck was going on. People were talking about “bulk” and “energy generation” and “charge move pressure.” Sounded like a different language at first. I just wanted to battle with my Pokemon, not get a PhD in it!
The Grind and the Learning Curve
The first thing that hit me was the Stardust. Oh my goodness, the Stardust. You need it for everything! Powering up these specific Great League Pokemon, giving them a second charge move… which, by the way, costs a fortune in Stardust and Candy for some of ’em. I went from having a decent stash to being perpetually broke in the game. It was a real grind, catching everything I saw, doing raids just for the dust, hatching eggs like a maniac.
Then I learned about PvP IVs. That was a whole other rabbit hole. Apparently, for Great League, you often don’t want perfect 15/15/15 IVs. You want something like 0/15/15, or close to it, for many Pokemon. My brain kinda short-circuited. All this time I’d been transferring anything that wasn’t a three-star. Had to completely change my thinking. Started saving a bunch of seemingly “bad” Pokemon. My storage was groaning.
I remember trying to build my first “serious” team. I think I started with something like:
- An Azumarill, ’cause everyone said it was good. Getting the candy for that thing, though!
- A Skarmory, because I had a decent one.
- And… I don’t even remember the third. Probably something that got wiped out instantly.
It was a lot of trial and error. Mostly error at first. I’d win one, then lose five. It was frustrating. I’d get my team set, feel good, then run into a string of opponents that perfectly countered me. Back to the drawing board.
Actually Getting the Hang of It (Sort Of)
Slowly, very slowly, things started to click. I started paying attention to what moves my opponents were using, trying to guess what they had in the back. I learned about counting their fast moves to know when a big charge move was coming. That felt like wizardry at first, but it actually works! Shielding became less of a panic button and more of a strategic choice. Sometimes you gotta let a Pokemon faint to save a shield for your real win condition. Hard lesson to learn, that one.
I also learned about “safe swaps” – Pokemon that can handle a wide variety of opponents if your lead gets countered. Building a balanced team, that was the real challenge. You can’t just have three glass cannons, or three tanks that can’t do damage. It’s a delicate dance.
And the meta! Don’t even get me started on how the meta shifts. A new move update comes out, or a new Pokemon gets a Community Day, and suddenly teams that were amazing are just… okay. Or even bad. You always gotta be adapting, tinkering. It keeps things fresh, I guess, but also means the Stardust grind never truly ends.
I’ll never forget this one time I was on a massive losing streak. I was so tilted. Ready to just give up on Great League entirely. Then, I swapped one Pokemon on my team, just on a whim, and suddenly I went on a 10-game winning streak. The highs and lows, man, they’re real.
Where I’m At Now
So, am I a Great League expert now? Heck no. Not even close. I still make dumb mistakes. I still get tilted. I still see Pokemon that make me go, “Wait, what does that do?” But I enjoy it, most of the time. It’s a different kind of challenge than raiding or collecting. It’s more like chess, but with elemental rock-paper-scissors and a lot more tapping.
It definitely takes time and resources, more than I initially thought. But figuring out a good team, making a good read on an opponent, and snatching a close win? Yeah, that feels pretty good. It’s a constant process of learning and tweaking. And hoarding Stardust. Always hoarding Stardust.