The Little Jungle Cup of GBL

Since its inception, the Little Cup format of Go Battle League has proven itself to be adaptable, in the same way that it itself is an adaptation. With three basic types, it became the Element Cup. With only a certain "divine" species of Pokémon allowed, it became the Bidoof Cup. The latest adaptation, which is to be discussed in this post, takes it to the wild green yonder and is given the name of Little Jungle Cup.

As it is a "Little Cup", only Pokémon with a CP of 500 or less are allowed. The allowed types for this format, including others as secondary types, are Normal, Grass, Electric, Bug, Ground, Flying, Poison, and Dark. Unlike the original Little Cup, however, the "must be able to evolve firstly" restriction is absent, and most Pokémon of the above types are now fair game. The only ones that are outright not allowed are Shuckle and Smeargle for the purpose of this format, while Ditto and Shedinja are not allowed in PvP regardless.

The elimination of the evolution restriction allows some Pokémon in the second or third stages of their evolution or that don't evolve to be put in battle, including some truly viable ones. Unfortunately, it also allows Legendary and Mythical Pokémon should they be able to meet the CP restriction, and at least one case has indicated this, with a Lugia just below CP 500. The way to obtain this is resourceful and legit while also being questionable and challenging. Likewise, Pokémon in further stages of evolution present uncommon challenges for this format.

The leading contender for this format is the Grass- and Fairy-type Cottonee, for which its strength and versatility can be attested. Others on the top include Galarian Stunfisk, Altaria, Chansey, Skarmory, and Onix, in roughly descending order. Some of these might be somewhat difficult to obtain if they have been transferred, given that some species don't appear in certain ways, at least any longer. Those that have them may be considered to be blessed; others that don't have them will have to scour for alternatives whether from currently locally available species or other means such as trading and Research, not to mention to prepare them for battle in this format.

This format has only been active for about a week on the GBL, and it presents an engaging challenge, perhaps too engaging for the reasons above. It may or may not be friendly for PvP upstarts, but at the least it is also an alternative to the Master League and Master League Classic formats that accompany it. Personally, as much as I'm drawn to the new format, I'm also attracted to Master League Classic in one part for accessibility and convenience - odd as it may seem - and in another part for a certain reason that I will detail later on. Sometimes my win rate is not as supportive with this format, at which point I switch. Still, being that I possess good Pokémon for this format, it can and does work out well at times.

It has to be stated that this Little Cup variant is vastly different from other Little Cup variants due to the restrictions or even "un-restrictions" that are in place. Regardless, its stature especially in light of the other accompanying formats may just be more friendlier and accessible, even in a different manner. As Trainers adapt, it seems that the Little Cup has to adapt as well, this time putting them in a perplexing "jungle" of sorts.

One year ago: Gotcha Good, Like I Should

Two years ago: Preparing for Sword and Shield

Three years ago: The Items of Shuffle's Special Shop

Four years ago: When an Iris Blooms: Episode 669 - "The Bloom Is on Axew!"