Pokémon Go Holiday Cup – Little Edition: Best Pokémon

Show your opponents that size matters not with the best Pokémon for Holiday Cup – Little Edition in Pokémon Go based on statistics and simulations provided by PvPoke.com.

Holiday Cup – Little Edition: Best Leads

These Pokémon aggressively apply pressure on your opponent right from the start of a duel and can survive even tough battles for a long time – they are perfect to open a match up, enabling you to score an early knockout or set up a strong counter play.

1. Amaura (Powder Snow, Weather Ball (Ice), Ancient Power)
2. Shadow Alolan Ninetales (Charm, Weather Ball (Ice), Psyshock)
3. Shadow Litwick (Ember, Mystical Fire, Flame Charge)
4. Alolan Marowak^(S) (Fire Spin, Shadow Bone, Bone Club)
5. Ducklett (Wing Attack, Brave Bird, Aerial Ace)
6. Togedemaru (Thunder Shock, Fell Stinger, Wild Charge)
7. Litleo (Incinerate, Flame Charge, Crunch)
8. Wigglytuff (Charm, Icy Wind, Disarming Voice)
9. Eevee (Quick Attack, Body Slam, Dig)
10. Alolan Vulpix (Powder Snow, Weather Ball (Ice), Dark Pulse)

(S) = Regular form and Shadow form perform comparably.

Holiday Cup – Little Edition: Best Safe Switches

If the opening pairing is to your disadvantage, you should consider switching out your lead for another Pokémon. This is where this category comes into play. They are either strong leads themselves or are specialized in countering some of the most popular leads. In any case, a switch will preserve your original lead to fight later on in the battle and perhaps force your opponent to also adapt their strategy on the fly.

1. Eevee (Quick Attack, Body Slam, Dig)
2. Vigoroth (Counter, Body Slam, Rock Slide)
3. Alolan Vulpix (Powder Snow, Weather Ball (Ice), Dark Pulse)
4. Charjabug (Volt Switch, X-Scissor, Discharge)
5. Greedent (Mud Shot, Body Slam, Trailblaze)
6. Shadow Alolan Vulpix (Powder Snow, Weather Ball (Ice), Dark Pulse)
7. Dubwool (Double Kick, Body Slam, Payback)
8. Spinda (Psycho Cut, Icy Wind, Dig)
9. Fletchling (Quick Attack, Fly, Aerial Ace)
10. Sealeo (Powder Snow, Body Slam, Aurora Beam)

Holiday Cup – Little Edition: Best Closers

These Pokémon are particularly useful when there are no shields left in play on either side – they are incredibly tough themselves or end battles quickly thanks to powerful charge attacks.

1. Pikachu (Flying and 5th Anniversary) (Thunder Shock, Wild Charge, Fly)
2. Togedemaru (Thunder Shock, Fell Stinger, Wild Charge)
3. Pikachu (Libre) (Thunder Shock, Flying Press, Thunder Punch)
4. Shadow Alolan Sandslash (Shadow Claw, Ice Punch, Drill Run)
5. Vigoroth (Counter, Body Slam, Rock Slide)
6. Electivire^(S) (Thunder Shock, Ice Punch, Wild Charge)
7. Pikachu (Regular and Shaymin Scarf) (Thunder Shock, Wild Charge, Surf)
8. Alolan Sandslash (Shadow Claw, Ice Punch, Drill Run)
9. Lurantis (Fury Cutter, Leaf Blade, Superpower)
10. Shadow Ducklett (Wing Attack, Brave Bird, Aerial Ace)

Holiday Cup – Little Edition: Best Attackers

These Pokémon perform best when fighting a trainer who still has shields, while you no longer have shields yourself. They combine important resistances and strong fast attacks to compensate for this disadvantage. For this reason, you rarely see Shadow forms in this role – they take more damage than their regular counterparts, making them a risky card to put on the table.

1. Shadow Litwick (Ember, Mystical Fire, Flame Charge)
2. Shadow Alolan Ninetales (Charm, Weather Ball (Ice), Psyshock)
3. Shadow Lampent (Ember, Energy Ball, Flame Burst)
4. Cottonee (Charm, Grass Knot, Seed Bomb)
5. Wigglytuff (Charm, Icy Wind, Disarming Voice)
6. Shadow Chandelure (Incinerate, Flame Charge, Shadow Ball)
7. Shadow Dragonite (Dragon Breath, Dragon Claw, Superpower)
8. Togekiss (Charm, Ancient Power, Aura Sphere)
9. Litleo (Incinerate, Flame Charge, Crunch)
10. Talonflame (Incinerate, Fly, Flame Charge)

Both the balance changes made during the Timeless Travels Update and the changes to the Little Edition format in general mean that we have quite a unique mix at our hands. Still, familiar names from other Little Edition tournaments such as Ducklett, Togedemaru, Cottonee, Wigglytuff, and various Alolan regional forms make an appearance, which means that you may not have to invest all too much Candy into fielding a competitive team.