The Summer Cup of GBL

Aside from introducing novel battling formats, Go Battle League (GBL) also has the chance of introducing battle formats that are likely to be familiar for many Trainers. They're familiar because they may essentially contain another format within it, whether that is of the GBL itself or external ones, most likely those of the Silph Arena as the two are sometimes interrelated. Earlier this month, it had done that again with the introduction of a week-long new format called the "Summer Cup", appropriately for celebrating the inline northern hemisphere season.

This time, the involved types are Normal, Grass, Fire, Water, Electric, and Bug. If that sounds somewhat familiar, that's because all the types other than the first has the makings of Silph Arena's Rainbow Cup, and therefore it might be thought of as "Rainbow Cup+" with the only differentiator being the addition of the Normal type. It is also a similar story to that of the Love Cup vis-a-vis the Rose Cup, only this one is much more evocative of the present state of things in the Go Battle League after much has been added.

For that, a few of its top contenders are Diggersby, Lickitung, and Pachirisu, all of whom need the support of Candy XL in order to become viable here. Contenders that are viable without being as such include Trevenant, Galvantula, and Blaziken, the last of these being the best Fire-type contender. Overall, the top contenders are comprised of many novelties that have been introduced through means like Community Day as well as timeless picks that even without the Normal type could still belong within the realm of the Rainbow Cup.

If anything, it may be considered that external PvP formats (primarily those from the Silph Arena as the most well-known generator of such formats) and internal formats of the Go Battle League has a certain relationship of making things familiar and then building on that familiarity. Here, the familiarity is with an elegant format of yore but built on with the additions since that time and an expansion of types, putting on a challenge for current PvP masters to continue to "ride the wave" of this summer season.

One year ago: My Personal TCG Equipment Wishlist

Two years ago: On the Mining of Data

Three years ago: Mementos of...

Four years ago: Cosplay Events, Wherefore Art Thou?

Five years ago: Connection Issues?