Pokemon GO’s Season of Rising Heroes continues to provide players with new events, Pokemon, and of course, cups. This week’s cup is theEvolution Cup, something of a sequelto the Little Cupfrom several weeks ago. With this cup, players face a new set of restrictions to challenge the way they play. This cup doesn’t discriminate based on type, so there are plenty of options for players to work with. Here’s everything prospective trainers need to know about the Evolution Cup inPokemon GO.
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How to Enter the Evolution Cup
Players that want to enter the Evolution Cup inPokemon GOshould follow these steps:
From there, players will select their partyand begin the Pokemon battle.
Evolution Cup Rules
As a sort of continuation of the Little Cup, the Evolution Cup has the following rules:
When Does the Evolution Cup Start and End?
The Evolution Cup startsWednesday, June 20, 2025, at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET / 8 PM GMT and lasts a full week untilWednesday, July 18, 2025, at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET / 8 PM GMT.
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Best Pokemon For The Evolution Cup
InPokemon GO, as opposed to otherPokemongames, it is difficult to recommend specific teams as player access to specific Pokemon is especially varied due to level, playtime,and region. Instead, here are five potential candidates for any great Evolution Cup team. Players should keep type coverage in mind when selecting Pokemon to battle with:
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Ground, Rock, Fire
Water, Grass, Dragon
The middle-stage evolution of Dragoniteis a great option for the Evolution Cup, as Dragonair provides consistent Fast Move pressure. Not only does Dragon Tail deal a lot of damage, but it’s also incredibly spammy, meaning the attack animation is fast enough to ensure consistent strikes. It also charges its Charged Moves quickly, and the neutral-type coverage that Body Slam offers is a major plus.
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Normal, Rock, Steel, Ice, Dark
Flying, Psychic, Bug, Poison, Fairy
Machoke boasts wins against some of the major players in the Evolution Cup, specifically Dragonair, Vigoroth, and Zweilous.This formidable Fighting-typeis a great lead for most teams. Players may want to watch out for its inflexibility, as all of its best moves are Fighting-type, meaning it doesn’t offer the best type coverage. It’s still incredibly viable due to its spammy Fast Moves and the shield pressure that it offers.
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Hakamo-o takes its place in the Evolution Cup meta as a consistent attacker and charger. It will do well in match-ups against Vigoroth, Graveler, and Machoke. Thanks to Dragon Tail, it has the potential to do a lot of damage with just its Fast Move. Unfortunately, it has a particularlytough time against Fairy-typemoves, but they don’t seem particularly popular in the Evolution Cup meta.
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Ghost, Psychic
Fighting, Dark, Fairy
As a Dark/Dragon-type, Zweilous has a double weakness to Fairy-types. However, that seems to be Zweilous' only downside. Itreaches Charged Moves quickly, applies solid shield pressure, has access to a wide variety of moves, uses short animations, and resists attacks from a wide variety of types.
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Poison, Rock, Steel, Fire, Electric
Bug, Grass, Flying (immune)
Vigoroth is the most promising Pokemonin the Evolution Cup meta. It boasts access to a wide variety of move types, as well as wins against Chansey, Zweilous, and Haunter. It applies solid shield pressure against opponents with spammy, dynamic moves and reaches Charged Moves quickly.
Pokemon GOis available on PC and Mobile.
