PvP Field Guide — GL & UL
Exhaustive team search, gamemaster-accurate damage, CMP from real ATK stats, all nine shield scenarios, and bait-vs-smart strategy analysis — verified by round-robin tournament.
pvpoke · gamemaster.json · 23,426 GL combos · 40,000+ UL combos · round robin verified
Great League · CP 1500
Sableye(S) · Oranguru · Talonflame
22/22 wins · 0 shared weaknesses · 23,426 combos tested · Talonflame in 29/30 top teams · Incinerate required (Community Day legacy)
Ultra League · CP 2500
Clefable · Turtonator · Scizor(S)
22/22 wins · 0 shared weaknesses · Turtonator in 29/30 top teams · Incinerate on Turtonator (not legacy — standard move)
What the analysis found
Both leagues have the same structure: one mon handles 13–17 opponents solo via type superiority, a Fairy-type partner handles the rest with zero shared weaknesses, and the third slot doesn't matter much. The defining piece in both cases is a Fire-type with Incinerate.
Why Incinerate is the key move in both leagues: Incinerate (Fire, 20 power, 20 energy, 5 turns) generates energy at 4e/turn — identical to Confusion and Dragon Breath. But it deals Fire-type damage on every single fast move. Steel types take 1.6× from Fire, meaning Tinkaton, Corviknight, Empoleon, Forretress, and Scizor all take SE damage before any charged move fires. In UL, Incinerate on Turtonator also hits Ice, Grass, and Bug for SE — covering 17 of 22 meta opponents with a single mon.
Why Fairy completes both teams: Fairy is immune to Dragon (0×), SE vs Dark (1.6×), SE vs Dragon (1.6×), SE vs Fighting (1.6×). In GL, Clefable handles Moltres Galarian, Giratina, Guzzlord. In UL, same. Fairy also has zero shared weaknesses with Fire/Dragon — Fairy is weak to Steel and Poison while Fire/Dragon is weak to Ground, Dragon, and Rock. No overlap.
The one strategy-critical matchup (GL only): Sableye (Shadow) vs Hypno — BAIT strategy required. Foul Play (40e, cheaper) must fire first to burn Hypno's shield. Hypno's Psyshock does 0 to Dark types, so the shield is wasted. Then Shadow Sneak lands unshielded for Ghost SE. Smart/nuke strategy loses 0/9 shield scenarios because Hypno's Shadow Ball hits Sableye's Ghost typing for SE while it waits to charge up.
Round robin verdict
Great League best team
CP 1500Exhaustive search of 23,426 combinations against 22 meta opponents. Confirmed by 435-matchup round robin.
Talonflame handles 18/22 solo. Incinerate (Fire SE vs Steel) destroys Tinkaton, Empoleon, Corviknight, Forretress. Brave Bird (Flying SE vs Fighting) destroys Annihilape. Earthquake = 0 to Flying, so Swampert and Quagsire are free wins. Every Talonflame team ties every other Talonflame team in RR — the third slot doesn't change outcomes, just individual match margins.
CRITICAL: Sableye (Shadow) vs Hypno — bait strategy only. Fire Foul Play (40e) first. Hypno shields it — Psyshock deals 0 to Dark/Ghost. Shadow Sneak lands unshielded for Ghost SE (1.6×). Smart strategy (wait for bigger move) loses because Hypno's Shadow Ball hits Ghost typing for SE while Sableye sits charging. This is the only strategy-sensitive matchup in GL.
Oranguru wins on immunity. Normal/Psychic typing means Ghost moves deal 0 damage — Dusclops's Shadow Punch and Hex both deal 0. Foul Play and Brutal Swing (Dark) hit Ghost for SE (1.6×). Handles Dusclops 141/142 HP and Clodsire via Confusion SE vs Poison.
Accessible alternatives (same RR result)
Ultra League best team
CP 2500Exhaustive search across 42 candidates against 22 meta opponents. Confirmed by 435-matchup round robin.
Turtonator handles 17/22 solo. Fire/Dragon typing gives double resistance to Fire and Grass (0.39×), plus resists Electric, Steel, and Bug. Incinerate hits Steel (Tinkaton, Corviknight, Empoleon), Ice (Lapras, Walrein, Ninetales Alolan), Grass (Virizion, Cradily), and Bug (Golisopod) for SE. Dragon Claw covers Giratina and Guzzlord. Incinerate is NOT a legacy move on Turtonator — it's a standard learnable move.
Clefable's Fairy immunity to Dragon is decisive. Dragon moves deal 0 to Fairy. Giratina's Dragon Claw and Guzzlord's Dragon Tail both deal 0 to Clefable, while Clefable's Moonblast hits Dragon for 1.6×. Guzzlord is Dark/Dragon — double weak to Fairy (1.6× × 1.6× = 2.56×). Wins 6/191 HP — very close, manage shields carefully vs Guzzlord.
No strategy-sensitive matchups in UL. All 22 wins hold across all 9 shield scenarios. Type immunities dominate — when Dragon moves do 0 to Fairy, when Steel resists Water and Electric, the outcome is structurally determined regardless of shield counts or move ordering. The only exception is Guzzlord (5/9 shields) — at 0 shields, lead Clefable and nuke with Moonblast immediately.
Accessible alternatives (same RR result)
GL cheat sheet
CP 1500Who to send for every meta opponent. 1v1 with 1 shield each (bait strategy). Shield grid shows all 9 scenarios. Orange edge = strategy-sensitive.
UL cheat sheet
CP 2500Who to send for every meta opponent. 1v1 with 1 shield each. No strategy-sensitive matchups in UL. Guzzlord is shield-sensitive (5/9) — be aware.
Round robin results
All 30 top teams played against each other in both leagues. 435 GL matchups, 435 UL matchups.
The verdict: In both leagues, all Talonflame/Turtonator teams tie each other. The legacy "best teams" (Tinkaton/Jellicent/Feraligatr in GL, Golisopod/Corviknight/Zygarde in UL) lose every single match. The reason is identical: Incinerate creates a structural advantage that no team without Fire coverage can answer.
CMP guide
Attack stat ladders for both leagues. Higher ATK fires charged move first in simultaneous exchanges. Talonflame (GL) and Turtonator (UL) both sit at high-ATK positions that win most CMP matchups.
Data: pvpoke.com rankings CSVs · gamemaster.json move data · cp1500 + cp2500 rankings 870 RR matchups · all 9 shield scenarios Next card — Number Cars →