The very first GBL format highlight that I made was two years ago, for the inaugural edition of the Halloween Cup. Many new and some innovative formats have since then appeared, which I've also covered as best as possible. Today, I cover a format that goes back to those roots... only this time, with an "upgrade": it is (or at this point, was) for the Ultra League. That would be the Halloween Cup Ultra League Edition, which took place over the course of a week - having ended yesterday - after another run of the original edition.
Needless to say, the restrictions are all still the same, at least for the types (Bug, Poison, Dark, Fairy, and Ghost). The only difference, and the most important one, is that it's for the Ultra League, allowing Pokémon up to CP 2500. This also becomes the next format in line that specifically utilizes the Ultra League instead of the more common and more accessible Great League. Because of this, what the format involves has changed radically to suit what it now allows, as more powerful Pokémon.
One big contender for the new format is Nidoqueen, in both regular and Shadow forms, with the former being tops. It is no surprise, considering that it has its place in other formats as well. A few highlights down the ranking list are Giratina in its Origin Form (an Ultra League staple), Genesect with certain Drives, and Crobat in regular and Shadow guises as well. Quite a few of these high-ranked contenders may require the use of Candy XL to get them powered up appropriately for usage in this format.
I've battled a few times under this format, and evidently, very few of the opponents I faced (even including myself) had few of these top contenders. It speaks to how an Ultra League format demands more of many things, including the Pokémon being used. The same had also been true since the preceding installment of an Ultra League format, which would be the Weather Cup. It's especially the case for this one as it includes the well-known staple species and a handful of odd species that Trainers may not even have thought of battling with.
After a couple of years of "custom" formats that are not just the plain "vanilla" leagues that Pokémon Go PvP started out with, that has served as an "upgrade" in and of itself. So it is also only fitting that one of those "pioneering" formats itself be given an "upgrade" to a higher, more powerful league to be able to serve the more advanced players. The original will still be necessary to serve ones who are less advanced, but this "upgrade" is just as well in the ways of current "custom" formats and beyond.
One year ago: A Glimpse into Faction Battlefields
Two years ago: Hype and Habit and Pokémon
Three years ago: Cosplay: Erafun Cosplay Contest
Four years ago: Cosplay: Art and Cosplay Stage "PANSOS"
Five years ago: How Many Is Too Many?
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