The pinnacle of Pokemon Go PvP, you're going to have to be at the top of your game to climb the ranks in the Master League. There's no limit to which Pokemon you use or how many CP they have, so only the best and strongest will succeed.

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In this league, you can and will encounter Pokemon that are a) incredibly hard to obtain and train to max level, and b) extremely difficult to beat. This includes Shadow Pokemon, those that have been boosted past level 40 with Rare Candy XL, and Mega Pokemon. Unless you can match these, you're going to be left frustrated.

Pokemon trained to be effective in the Master League won't be eligible for any other leagues or cups. Only strengthen those you know you won't need elsewhere, or train up duplicates.

Best Master League Lead Pokemon

When anything goes, it's hard to judge the best way to start. Usually, you'd attempt to force your opponent to use their shields as fast as you can, while saving your own, but sometimes bulky Pokemon who apply pressure a different way are the better option.

We've gone with four Pokemon roughly split evenly between the two strategies, and which are perhaps the best leads in the game.

Fast Moves are in normal text, Charge Moves in italic.

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Resistant means that the Pokemon takes less damage from moves of that type.

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Weak means that the Pokemon takes more damage from moves of that type.

Be mindful that Sacred Fire was a move only granted from Ho-Oh Raid encounters, and must be learned by using an Elite Charged TM otherwise.

Best Master League Switch Pokemon

The best switches in Pokemon Go are those that can either continue the pressure of your lead, shore up your defenses if your lead struggles, or just generally be a tanky pain to your opponent.

The four we've selected cover the range of speed, spammy nature, and bulkiness, and should complement the leads well.

Mewtwo's Psystrike is a legacy move, only available in Raids. Use an Elite Charged TM to learn it. The same applies for Lugia's Aeroblast.

Walrein's Powder Snow can be learned from an Elite Fast TM, with Icicle Spear from an Elite Charged TM.

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Best Master League Closers

These four Pokemon are all good at closing out your matches, either through rapidly charging their powerful moves or outlasting those Pokemon of your opponent.

Like other choices, they're often difficult to obtain, only available in raids or special events. However, Mamoswine is a popular, easy option that can be found by dropping a Glacial Lure on a PokeStop.

Shadow Mamoswine and Shadow Raikou are much better options here than their regular versions, purely because you'll deal more damage more quickly. As rapid spammy options, this is crucial.

Pokemon Go Master League: Recommended Team Comps

While there's an almost limitless number of possibilities for building your team in the Master League, often picking the strongest available in the meta is the way to go.

These three teams are all meta-busting, Pokemon-destroying behemoths.

Ho-Oh - Lugia - Zekrom

For this team, we've paired the second-generation Legendaries, Ho-Oh and Lugia, with Zekrom for company. You'll aim to blast through the enemy team thanks to your lead's spammy, shield-baiting nature, while Lugia follows up with some extreme bulkiness.

Zekrom is a rare Pokemon in that it's fast and can take down shields, but also offers good defensive capabilities.

Melmetal - Mewtwo - Mamoswine

To be honest, we just though the alliteration with this team was too good to pass up. Thankfully, it's also a bit of a monster when it comes to taking down your opponent.

Melmetal is such a frustrating starter, because it comes with tons of resistances and pretty extreme tankiness, while being highly effective at baiting shields. Mewtwo follows up by spamming strong Psychic moves, while Mamoswine offers a surprisingly fast attacker with useful Ice and Ground-type moves.

Yveltal - Giratina - Raikou

This trio of Pokemon are all Raid-only, so are hard to come by. However, to compete with the best you have to be the best, and Giratina's Altered Forme is certainly up there in the meta. It's a great switch, very bulky and spammy, and is a great follow up to the equally bulky Yveltal.

Where they shine is in their typing, as Ghost, Dragon, and Dark are all likely to be effective against the better options in the meta. Raikou, especially in its Shadow form, is a rapid spammy option for closing out matches with some brute force.

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