The Halloween Cup of GBL

As I've detailed in my October Pokémon Go event rollup, the mainstay and effectively traditional Halloween event has something new this year for those who are inclined to progress in the Go Battle League. That something is a challenge for it called, appropriately, the Halloween Cup (or just Halloween, seen as a theme). It is something new in the vein of similar challenges by the Silph League Arena in the form of their monthly rotating themes, and therefore it can and should be discussed in the same manner.

Like the Silph League Arena themes, there are a few restrictions. Since Go Battle League can and does utilize the three standard CP-based leagues, it has to narrow down the field: the cup or theme is based on the Great League with its CP restriction of 1500. The types are also restricted; for this, the allowed types are Bug, Poison, Dark, Fairy, and Ghost - all the standard creepy, spooky, and seemingly magical stuff - including associated dual-type Pokémon. Already, it appears much like the SLA. The only big difference is that it only lasts for one week, also as I've detailed earlier: Tuesday is the last full day of it, or half a day in some parts of the world. Therefore, this cup or theme is seasonal and will likely return next year for the festivities, perhaps with a few changes by then.

Based on the experience of myself and fellow Trainers, three Pokémon already come out on top as a frequent meta: Alolan Marowak, Galvantula, and Azumarill. While I'm fortunate to have two out of three of these available thanks to SLA tournaments and GBL battles in general, I also have to be aware that other Trainers will have them too. Luckily, picks for secondary or further teams are available, including Victreebel, Toxicroak, Umbreon, and Wigglytuff. Creation of secondary teams is a good idea in general, especially since the Party feature makes it easy to do so, and then to get going in battle almost immediately. For this cup or theme, good choices are already evident. 

After having battled with this cup or theme for nearly a week, I can deliver my viewpoints. This cup or theme offers a neat SLA like experience within the confines of the GBL, being the only option available to commemorate the occasion. One week seems to be OK for this, though diehards might want (or have wanted) this to stay for longer; this might be an indication that future similar GBL events should be adapted to the schedule. As for my personal progress with it, it has been up and down. Sometimes I can win several battles and then lose a few others; since I'm already Rank 9 in GBL in general, this doesn't fare well for my progression, as I need a mostly constant stream of wins in order to bump my rating to the necessary 3000 for going up to Rank 10. Still, that's a general problem beyond the scope of this cup or theme, but I suppose this cup or theme is still beneficial for progress in some ways.

This special "new" challenge for the GBL - maybe more familiar to those often involved with SLA - is still both refreshing and unique, being effectively the first time something of this kind is in play for the former. It offers something nice to celebrate the occasion by which it is based, and just that seems to be sufficient, other than the fact that it helps with progression with the GBL. Even though the real occasion of Halloween has just passed, this cup or theme is likely to remain fascinating, even next year should it come into play again.

One year ago: Later, Psyduck

Two years ago: Hardcore (Dis)United

Three years ago: Duff Knows Pokémon