The Little Cup of GBL

With the onset of things like the Premier Cup, Halloween (Cup), and Flying Cup, the Go Battle League is starting to prove itself to be almost infinitely adaptable. For this month, which is also the start of a new season, it seems to be the proving ground for just that. The season begins with something that I posited to be able to happen exactly eight months ago, which is the "Basic League". Only this time it's not called as such, but instead called the "Little Cup", and it's actually a little more complicated than what I've described previously.

As expected by the above, this cup involves Pokémon with CP of 500 or less. But there is another restriction, and an important one. Only Pokémon that can evolve into other Pokémon and are themselves not a possible evolution from another Pokémon are allowed in this cup. This restriction eliminates practically all Legendary or Mythical Pokémon (except for Meltan, which meets the previous restriction); it also eliminates "stubs" like Tauros or Shuckle. As long as it is the very first (and not the only) Pokémon in its evolutionary line, it is allowed, which explains why some costume Pokémon that technically can't evolve can still be used in this cup. Shadow Pokémon are also still fair game.

A "meta" is a given for anything like this, and two big contenders in that meta for this cup are Bronzor and Deino. The former has good resistance as a pure Steel type, and even with a good counter it may take some effort to take it down. The latter is also quite good as being both a Dragon and Dark type. These two, though, may not be readily available for some Trainers, and even if they are, they may exceed the CP restriction, making them unusable. For those who have them, things may work out very well. Of course, one still needs a "generalist" to handle other possible surprises, and two Pokémon do not make a full team.

This theme became available at the start of this season two days ago, and it will continue to be available up until next Monday. I've had a lot of chances to battle in this cup, and I've even battled as many times as is allowed in a day each day. Part of the reason for that is that the battles go by very quickly, unlike most other battles, which is a good thing when one starts to have less time for many things. I've met the two given meta as above, but I've also encountered a greater variety of Pokémon in addition. This may indicate that some may not have the meta at the ready like me, though they may have others that can stand in. I'm likely to battle many more times with this cup.

With this cup, the "Basic League" has happened, though in a different way than what was previously expected. The resulting "Little Cup" is not too shabby in terms of its challenge, even if it's not the same as what was surmised earlier. It may indicate steps for realizing the former, with or without restrictions. Until then, there is this new challenge for a new season of the GBL, for which many Trainers are likely to continue to take part in. It can be considered to be a partial testament to its recently realized and near-infinite adaptability.

One year ago: Performance Critique: Mezase Pokémon Master feat. Maestoso

Two years ago: Rediscover Cosplay

Three years ago: Cosplay: Japan Pop Culture 2017