The Evolution Cup of GBL

Since I've collated some of the newest happenings in PvP in the GBL from last month, I thought that I shouldn't let the next few ones get collated. Fortunately, I have (or had) stumbled on a fascinating one, and that definitely deserves to be covered. As part of last week's events - which will be covered in due time - a special format of the GBL was put in place. It, along with the event, paid honors to Pokémon that can evolve, and so the Evolution Cup took form.

For this format, which has a Great League basis, Pokémon species that are an evolution from another species and can still evolve to yet another species are fair game. In other words, they must be second in their evolutionary sequence and must be followed by a third. Since Legendary Pokémon don't evolve - except for those which form an important chain that will be apparent this season in Pokémon Go - they effectively have no place by the restriction above; the same is true of Mythical Pokémon, especially as the Meltan family as the only evolutionary sequence has only two members. No other restrictions are present aside from the main, simple one.

The main contender in these evolution festivities is Vigoroth, particularly when it has the Fast Move of Counter, which is tried and true. Moving down the line, there are a couple of Ghost-type Pokémon (Haunter and Dusclops), a couple of Dragon-type Pokémon (Dragonair and Hakamo-o), and a few oddities (Charjabug, Sealeo, and Golbat). Many teams will likely feature Vigoroth in tandem with two others from the list; in particular, the two Ghost types form a quite capable complement not only to back up Vigoroth but also to fend off others of their own kind. But then, there are still threats like Rock and Steel types that others may bring to spice things up.

In fact, that may be the least of the problems. According to notes from a PvP fellow of mine, the ubiquity of Vigoroth is indeed one problem, but so is one Pokémon "under the radar": Chansey. In the hands of a very capable Trainer, the pink egg blob may cause annoyances by taking command of the battle. Meanwhile, Dusclops is also potentially powerful and troublesome if it happens to be of the Shadow variant, which some Trainers may just possess. Rounding out the problems list is Sealeo, which does have potential to outpace others but does get outpaced by the three others above. Things seem to have to be considered in and out for this format.

Although the event (as well as the special format) has ended its run - for now, just in case it returns in the not-so-near future - the format is still fascinating to highlight. It is neat how a simple restriction on species that may be brought into battle has far-reaching consequences for what can actually be brought and what will succeed, as well as the difficulties and complications that result from that. That's definitely something not to keep under wraps, but to be shared and be known.

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