Pokémon Go Little Jungle Cup team recommendations, restrictions and dates explained
Everything you need to know about the Little Jungle Cup in Pokémon Go.
The Little Jungle Cup is the first special cup to be released during Season 9 of the Go Battle League, which runs throughout the Season of Mischief, in Pokémon Go.
If you want to partake in this cup, then you need to abide by the Little Jungle Cup restrictions by selecting Pokémon which follow these rules.
Below you can find our Little Jungle Cup team recommendations which will help you put together an interesting Pokémon party.
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Little Jungle Cup restrictions in Pokémon Go explained
The Little Jungle Cup in Pokémon Go has four restrictions you need to keep in mind when selecting your team.
The first is that both Pokémon who can't and can't evolve can enter the Little Jungle Cup. Admittedly, this is less of a restriction and more of an opportunity for experimentation.
The second is that the CP limit is 500, so your choices must either meet or be below this number.
Thirdly, only Pokémon which have one of the following types can be entered in the Little Jungle Cup - bug, dark, electric, flying, grass, ground, normal and poison. This means you have a pure bug-type Pokémon like Caterpie on your team, along the steel and flying-type Skarmory.
Finally, both Shuckle and Smeargle have been banned from the Little Jungle Cup, so you won't be able to include them in your team.
The World of Wonders season has come to Pokémon Go, which has brought the World of Wonders quest. The Bug Out event is currently running. Don't forget to try out Routes, Gift Exchange and Party Play while you're hunting down rare Pokémon, fighting in the Go Battle League or competing in PokéStop Showcases.
Our Pokémon Go Little Jungle Cup recommendations from Bulbasaur to Litleo
As with every special cup in the Go Battle League, there is, technically, no 'best' team for the Little Jungle Cup in Pokémon Go, because of how you never know which Pokémon you'll be fighting against. Still, thanks to the restrictions, there are a number of Pokémon who stand out against the rest, which will help you create your team.
Take the time to review the restrictions for the Little Jungle Cup before selecting your team, so you know which Pokémon you can use. Once you've done that, you can decide whether it's worth investing in additional Charged Attacks.
When constructing your team, try to include a selection of Pokémon types and have a Pokémon who's Charged Attack can be built up quickly, so you can force your opponent to use their shields early on.
Make sure you pay close attention to the CP level of any Pokémon you're planning on evolving for this cup - you don't want to accidentally go over the CP limit!
Finally it's important to note that the restrictions for the Little Jungle Cup are similar to those for the Element Cup, so, if you partook in this special cup, you might be able to reuse party members!
Our Pokémon Go Little Jungle Cup recommendations in National Pokédex order:
Bulbasaur
Type: Grass and poison-type
Recommended moves: Vine Whip (Fast) / Power Whip, Seed Bomb or Sludge Bomb (Charged)
Bulbasaur weaknesses: Fire, flying, ice and psychic-types
Thanks to being a grass and poison-type Pokémon, Bulbasaur is perfect for taking down a number of possible favourites in the Little Jungle Cup, which includes Cottonee, Ducklett and Galarian Stunfisk.
To ensure your Bulbasaur reaches its full potential, we recommend teaching it Power Whip and Sludge Bomb as Charged moves. This will ensure you have the grass-type move - Power Whip - for water Pokémon and Sludge Bomb as the poison-type alternative for any troublesome fairy-types.
You should, however, try your best to keep Bulbasaur away from fire and flying-type Pokémon, because their attacks will be super effective and easily lead Bulbasaur to their death.
Chinchou
Type: Water and electric-type
Recommended moves: Spark or Bubble (Fast) / Bubble Beam and Thunderbolt (Charged)
Chinchou weaknesses: Grass and ground-types
Chinchou is perfect for knocking out problematic Duckletts, especially if you're backed into a corner, as well as simply cutting through any annoying Pokémon with its mixture of electric and water-type attacks.
We recommend teaching it one electric-type and one-water type attack, so that you can fully benefit from Chinchou's dual typing. Chinchou was also useful in the Element Cup last Go Battle League season, so there's a chance you'll already have a Chinchou ready to go.
Qwilfish
Type: Water and poison-type
Recommended moves: Poison Sting or Water Gun (Fast) / Aqua Tail or Ice Beam (Charged)
Qwilfish weaknesses: Electric, ground and psychic-types
Qwilfish is a great counter for both Cottonee and Galarian Stunfisk - both of which you'll be seeing a lot of in the Little Jungle Gun.
To ensure Qwilfish can tackle each of these Pokémon, you should first ensure it has Poison Sting as its Fast Attack. This will cause a lot of damage to Cottonee and possibly even knock it out before you have the chance to unleash a Charged Attack.
When it comes to dealing with Galarian Stunfisk, you'll want to have Aqua Tail set up as one of its Charged Attacks. Since Galarian Stunfisk is weak to water-types, which move will be super effective!
It's also a good idea to teach Qwilifsh Ice Beam, because it's a great counter against dragon, flying, grass and ground-types - all of which can appear in the Little Jungle Cup!
Skarmory
Type: Steel and flying-type
Recommended moves: Air Slash or Steel Wing (Fast) / Brave Bird, Flash Cannon or Sky Attack (Charged)
Skarmory weaknesses: Electric and fire-type
Skarmory is a good choice of counter for Cottonee, especially if you seem to find yourself losing to this particular Pokémon quite a lot.
When it comes to Skarmory's Fast Move, you can get away with not being very selective, because both pack quite a punch. For Charged Moves, however, we highly suggest you at least teach it Flash Cannon due to this move's sheer power.
It's also a good idea to unlock Skarmory's second Charged Move, so you can have a good flying-type alternative available to you.
Cottonee
Type: Grass and fairy-type
Recommended moves: Charm (Fast) / Grass Knot or Seed Bomb (Charged)
Cottonee weaknesses: Fire, flying, ice, poison and steel-types
Cottonee once again reigns supreme over a form of little cup, which is great for anyone who invested in this Pokémon for the Element Cup.
Once again, you'll want to have Charm as your Fast move due to the sheer amount of damage it can do. If you're countering against the right Pokémon, then Charm can easily knock them out before you even consider using a Charged Move.
Since Cottonee is most likely going to be the favourite Pokémon for the Little Jungle Cup, we highly recommend including a counter for it in your team. The best choice is a poison-type Pokémon, like Bulbasaur, which will have an advantage over both its types.
Ducklett
Type: Water and flying-type
Recommended moves: Water Gun or Wing Attack (Fast) / Aerial Ace, Brave Bird or Bubble Beam (Charged)
Ducklett weaknesses: Electric and rock-types
Ducklett is another Element Cup favourite making its way into the Little Jungle Cup.
If you want to create a highly effective Ducklett, then you need to give it a mixture of water and flying-type moves. Aerial Ace is perfect for taking out any Pokémon which is weak to flying-type Pokémon, such as Cottonee, while Water Gun is super effective against any Pokémon which are weak to water-type Pokémon.
It's a good idea to carefully consider which attack you want Ducklett's Fast Move to be, because they will both give you an advantage over a powerful force in the meta, and, sadly, whichever one you pick will put Ducklett at a slight disadvantage.
Galarian Stunfisk
Type: Ground and steel-type
Recommended moves: Mud Shot (Fast) / Earthquake, Flash Cannon or Rock Slide (Charged)
Galarian Stunfisk weaknesses: Fighting, fire, ground and water-types
Galarian Stunfisk is the true star of the Little Jungle Cup and, even if you have one in your team, you must ensure you've got a great counter for this Pokémon ready to go. With its strong moveset, Galarian Stunfisk will have an advantage over the majority of the Pokémon it encounters.
We highly recommend teaching it Flash Cannon, so you utilise Galarian Stunfisk's part steel-typing through this strong attack. It's also a good idea to unlock its second Charged Attack for, ideally, Earthquake.
If you don't have a Galarian Stunfisk which fits within the Little Jungle Cup restrictions, but have a regular Stunfisk which does, then it's worth giving it a go. While it might not be as effective as Galarian Stunfisk, it does provide a good substitute.
Litleo
Type: Fire and normal-type
Recommended moves: Fire Spin (Fast) / Flame Charge or Overheat (Charged)
Litleo weaknesses: Fighting, ground, rock and water-type
With the power of fire, Litleo can easily burn its way through any grass, bug, steel or ice-types you encounter throughout the Little Jungle cup. This also makes Litleo perfect for targeting two potentially dangerous opponents - Cottonee and Galarian Stunfisk.
For these reasons, it's best to focus solely on fire-type moves when planning Litleo's moveset. This may sound restrictive, but it will ensure it becomes a powerful fire-type force in this cup.
You should also check to see whether you can evolve your chosen Litleo into a Pyroar without going over the 500 CP limit. Doing so will boost the former Pyroar's stats, but, remember, if the CP goes over 500, you can't enter it into the Little Jungle Cup.
Little Jungle Cup dates and times in Pokémon Go explained
The Little Jungle Cup is running during the first Master League and Master League Classic of Season 9 of the Go Battle League. This means it will be available until Monday, 11th October and will end at the following times:
- UK - 9pm (BST)
- Europe - 10pm (CEST)
- East Coast USA - 4pm (EDT)
- West Coast USA - 1pm (PDT)
Good luck completing the Little Jungle Cup!