Pokemon Go Love Cup best team (Mach 2022)

February 05, 2023

The Love Cup has returned to the Pokemon Go Battle League, so we’ve got the best team recommendations you need to take you straight to victory.

Aside from the regular Great League, Ultra League, and Master League competitions, Niantic regularly introduces new and remixed Cups to the Pokemon Go Battle League to switch things up and give Trainers a fresh challenge.

As part of the current Interlude Season, the Love Cup is returning once again. This limited-time cup only allows pink and red-colored Pokemon to compete, forcing Trainers to really think twice about the team they’re using.

If you’re struggling to figure out which Pokemon to take into battle for the Love Cup, we’ve put together our best team recommendations below to help you out, as well as details about the rules and restrictions.

Best team for the Love Cup in Pokemon Go

One of the best teams you can take into the Love Cup is Talonflame, Alomomola, and Wigglytuff, as these are three of the strongest Pokemon that should give you coverage against most common opponents.

As with any league or cup, it’s impossible to say what a truly ‘best’ team looks like in the Love Cup as it really depends on the Pokemon your opponent sends out – and you won’t know that until the battle begins.

Still, there are a few Pokemon that can perform well in most situations, which we’ve listed below alongside their optimal movesets.

Best Pokemon for the Love Cup

Talonflame

Fast Move: Incinerate
Charged Moves: Flame Charge and Brave Bird
Resistances: Electric, Fighting, Grass, Ground, Normal, and Water
Weaknesses: Dark, Fire, Flying, Ghost, Ice

The number one Pokemon you’ll want on your team in the Love Cup is Talonflame, as it has key wins over some of the biggest threats like Medicham, Scrafty, and Lickitung. It’s also very cheap to unlock a second move (10,000 Stardust and 25 Candy).

Incinerate is the best Fast Move here, so you’ll need a Community Day-exclusive Talonflame or an Elite TM to learn it. As for Charged Moves, go with the low-cost Flame Charge to bait shields then follow it up with Brave Bird for huge damage.

Alomomola

Fast Move: Waterfall
Charged Moves: Psychic and Hydro Pump
Resistances: Fire, Ice, Steel, and Water
Weaknesses: Electric and Grass

The love heart-inspired fish Alomomola finally gets a chance to shine in the Love Cup. It’s a threat to most of the big players, has some impressive bulk, and there aren’t many eligible Pokemon that can counter it (although you’ll need to watch out for Vileplume).

Choose Waterfall as Alomomola’s Fast Move, as it inflicts decent damage and benefits from STAB. When it comes to Charged Moves, prioritize the low-cost Psychic for extra coverage and shield-baiting, with Hydro Pump as a secondary option for more STAB-assisted damage.

Lickitung (XL)

Fast Move: Lick
Charged Move: Body Slam and Power Whip
Resistances: Ghost
Weaknesses: Fighting

Lickitung can be quite a threat in the Great League, so it’s no surprise to see it here in the Love Cup. You’ll need XL Candy and a Legacy Move (or an Elite Charged TM) to make it viable, but if you have access to both of those, it’s almost unstoppable.

Lick is the only Fast Move that’s worth using here, so make sure you have it. Body Slam is the Legacy Charged Move we mentioned before, offering decent damage for a low cost. Follow that up with Power Whip for coverage against Water and Ground-types.

Medicham (XL)

Fast Move: Counter
Charged Move: Ice Punch and Psychic
Resistances: Fighting and Rock
Weaknesses: Fairy, Flying, and Ghost

Medicham is another Pokemon that needs XL Candy to be viable in the Love Cup, but it sits firmly in the big leagues with impressive wins over Alomomola, Lickitung, Scrafty, and Magcargo. Just keep it away from Fairy-types.

Counter remains one of the best Fast Moves in Pokemon Go, offering solid STAB damage and good energy generation. This can then be followed by the Charged Moves Ice Punch and Psychic for some incredible coverage options.

Wigglytuff

Wigglytuff in Pokemon Go

Fast Move: Charm
Charged Move: Play Rough and Ice Beam
Resistances: Bug, Dark, Dragon, and Ghost
Weaknesses: Poison and Steel

The iconic charmer Wigglytuff has slowly fallen out of favor in the Great League over the years, but it returns to the top of the charts in the Love Cup thanks to its solid bulk and the ability to resist (and defeat) Lickitung, where other charmers fail.

As always, you’ll want the deadly Charm as Wigglytuff’s Fast Move. While it doesn’t have great energy generation, so you might not get to use Charged Moves often, you’ll still want Play Rought for STAB and Ice Beam for extra coverage.

Aromatisse

Fast Move: Charm
Charged Move: Psychic and Thunderbolt
Resistances: Bug, Dark, Dragon, and Fighting
Weaknesses: Poison and Steel

Another great charmer this season is Aromatisse, which performs very well in the Love Cup thanks to its decent bulk and varied moveset that gives it good coverage. It has key wins against Medicham, Druddigon, Scrafty, and more.

You’ll need Charm as a Fast Move to make Aromatisse viable here. As for Charged Moves, Psychic will help Aromatisse deal with Poison-types like Slowbro and Ariados, while Thunderbolt is a good secondary option to take out Water-types.

Pokemon Go Love Cup rules & restrictions explained

The Love Cup is one of the most unique challenges in the Pokemon Go Battle League, as only red or pink Pokemon are allowed to enter. They must also be below the 1,500 CP limit to qualify.

While the rules state only red or pink Pokemon can take part in the Love Cup, this rule is a little bit flexible – for example, Talonflame can take part despite only part of its body being the color red.

Pokemon Go Love Cup start and end date

The Love Cup begins on Tuesday, March 15, 2022, at 1pm PST and runs until Tuesday, March 22, 2022, at 1pm PST, giving you exactly one week to compete and rise to the top of the ranks.

Running alongside the Love Cup is the traditional Master League – and we’ve got a best team guide for that league right here.

That’s everything you need to know about the Love Cup! While you’re here, check out some of our other Pokemon Go guides below:

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