Pokémon Go Master League: Best Pokémon

It’s time for the big guns! The Master League is ready to roar in Pokémon Go and will be running from October 15 to 22, 2024. This is the heaviest weight class the mobile game has to offer in its multiplayer portion, which means you’ll need to bring all those Legendary and Mythical Pokémon as well as Ultra Beasts to the table to have a shot at victory.

Rewards for wins are quadrupled for this entire period so make sure to give each match your best shot.

There are no limits whatsoever, when it comes to which Pokémon are allowed to take part. That can be quite overwhelming, so we’ve put together a list of the best Pokémon for Master League to get you started on your team building process. Our choices are based on statistics and simulations provided by PvPoke.com.

You’ll want to make sure to pump each of your participating Pokémon full of XL Candy before sending them out to battle in this league, which is why you won't see our usual [XL] markers in this guide. Pokémon boosted with XL Candy simply are the default here.

Pokémon Go Master League: Best Leads

You’ll want one of these Pokémon to open up the battle on your side. Their aggressiveness puts pressure on your opponent right from the beginning, while they are tough enough to survive a bit of punishment. This gives you time to think over your next steps and might give you an advantage in a battle of attrition. Ideally, of course, you achieve a quick first knockout.

1. Zygarde (Complete Forme) (Dragon Tail, Crunch, Earthquake)
2. Palkia (Origin Forme) (Dragon Breath, Aqua Tail, Spacial Rend)
3. Rhyperior [S] (Mud Slap, Rock Wrecker, Breaking Swipe)
4. Solgaleo (Fire Spin, Psychic Fangs, Iron Head)
5. Groudon [S] (Mud Shot, Precipice Blades, Fire Punch)
6. Yveltal (Sucker Punch, Dark Pulse, Oblivion Wing)
7. Galarian Moltres (Sucker Punch, Ancient Power, Payback)
8. Ho-Oh (Incinerate, Brave Bird, Sacred Fire+)
9. Marshadow (Sucker Punch, Close Combat, Ice Punch)
10. Landorus (Therian Forme) (Mud Shot, Sandsear Storm, Stone Edge)

Pokémon marked with [S] perform comparably well in both their regular and Shadow forms.

Pokémon Go Master League: Best Safe Switches

Should the initial pairing be to your disadvantage, you need to consider switching out your lead monster for another Pokémon. This is where Safe Switches come into play. They are either strong leads themselves or are specialized in countering some of the more popular members of that category. 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, equalizing the battle once again.

1. Yveltal (Sucker Punch, Dark Pulse, Oblivion Wing)
2. Necrozma (Dusk Mane) (Shadow Claw, Dark Pulse, Sunsteel Strike)
3. Zygarde (Complete Forme) (Dragon Tail, Crunch, Earthquake)
4. Shadow Gyarados (Dragon Breath, Aqua Tail, Crunch)
5. Rhyperior [S] (Mud Slap, Rock Wrecker, Breaking Swipe)
6. Palkia (Origin Forme) (Dragon Breath, Aqua Tail, Spacial Rend)
7. Kyurem (Dragon Breath, Glaciate, Dragon Claw)
8. Ho-Oh (Incinerate, Brave Bird, Sacred Fire+)
9. Landorus (Therian Forme) (Mud Shot, Sandsear Storm, Stone Edge)
10. Enamorus (Incarnate Forme) (Fairy Wind, Fly, Dazzling Gleam)

Pokémon Go Master League: Best Closers

Once no shields are left in play on either side, you’ll want to use one of these Pokémon. They are incredibly tough thanks to their high defense and plenty of useful resistances or can knock out an opponent in one blow with their powerful Charged Attack.

1. Ho-Oh [S] (Incinerate, Brave Bird, Sacred Fire+)
2. Palkia (Origin Forme) (Dragon Breath, Aqua Tail, Spacial Rend)
3. Yveltal (Sucker Punch, Dark Pulse, Oblivion Wing)
4. Groudon [S] (Mud Shot, Precipice Blades, Fire Punch)
5. Giratina (Origin Forme) (Shadow Claw, Shadow Ball, Ominous Wind)
6. Reshiram (Dragon Breath, Fusion Flare, Draco Meteor)
7. Zygarde (Complete Forme) (Dragon Tail, Crunch, Earthquake)
8. Shadow Mamoswine (Powder Snow, High Horsepower, Avalanche)
9. Xerneas (Geomancy, Close Combat, Moonblast)
10. Zekrom (Dragon Breath, Crunch, Wild Charge)

Pokémon Go Master League: Best Attackers

If you’re left without shields while facing an opponent who still has that option available, these Pokémon are your best friends. They combine important resistances and powerful 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 pull out at this stage of a match.

1. Zygarde (Complete Forme) (Dragon Tail, Crunch, Earthquake)
2. Solgaleo (Fire Spin, Psychic Fangs, Iron Head)
3. Florges (Fairy Wind, Disarming Voice, Moonblast)
4. Palkia (Origin Forme) (Dragon Breath, Aqua Tail, Spacial Rend)
5. Togekiss (Charm, Ancient Power, Aura Sphere)
6. Yveltal (Sucker Punch, Dark Pulse, Oblivion Wing)
7. Giratina (Altered Forme) (Shadow Claw, Dragon Claw, Ancient Power)
8. Kyurem (Dragon Breath, Glaciate, Dragon Claw)
9. Hisuian Avalugg (Powder Snow, Rock Slide, Icy Wind)
10. Dragonite (Dragon Breath, Dragon Claw, Superpower)

It’s another big refresh for Master League – especially the Leads and Switches got mixed up quite a bit by the latest balance update. Yveltal is a major winner of these changes, sitting in great positions in every category now alongside mainstays like Zygarde and Palkia. There is another major riser in Rhyperior to be noted as well, making it worthwhile to build up one of those.

For more Pokémon Go, check out the overviews of the monthly Spotlight Hours and 5-Star Raids.