Pokemon

Pokemon Go Hoenn Cup: Best teams, restrictions & dates

Ezequiel Leis
Three Pokemon on a battle arena with Pokemon Go logos

The Pokemon Go Hoenn Cup is here to keep the spotlight on Gen 3 Pokemon. We’ll give you some recommendations to build a powerful team in this limited-time competition.

Pokemon Go is celebrating the Hoenn region with many activities and a huge event, and now competitive players can join the party as well. Aside from the Great League, Ultra League, and Master League competitions, trainers can take part in the Hoenn Cup, a limited-time event cup.

These special competitions come with some specific restrictions and rules, so we’ll detail everything you need to know about the Pokemon Go Hoenn Cup, including the best Pokemon to build your team, the rules of the competition, and the start and end dates.

Pokemon Go Hoenn Cup start & end dates

The Pokemon Go Hoenn Cup began on Thursday, February 23 at 1 PM PT / 4 PM ET / 9 PM GMT and runs until Wednesday, March 1, 2023, when a new season is expected to begin. Don’t miss your chance to battle other trainers!

Pokemon Go Hoenn Cup restrictions

The Pokemon Go Hoenn Cup is another limited-time event-related cup that’s accessible for most players, so Pokemon fighting in these battles must be below the 1,500 CP limit to qualify.

The most important rule of this competition, however, states that only Pokemon originally discovered in the Hoenn region are allowed to take part. That means you can only have Pokemon numbered between #252 and #386 in the Pokedex in your team. Luckily, you have many powerful options to choose from.

Best Pokemon for the Hoenn Cup

Below we’ll cover some of the best Pokemon to have on your side in the Hoenn Cup. Keep in mind that no team is invincible since everything depends on your opponent’s team, which you won’t know until the battle starts.

With that said, here are the best Pokemon to choose for this competition:

Registeel

Legendary Pokemon are always useful in Go Battle teams.
  • Fast Move: Lock-On
  • Charged Moves: Focus Blast and Zap Cannon
  • Resistances: Dragon, Ice, Psychic, Normal, Grass, Bug, Steel, Rock, Flying, Fairy, and Poison
  • Weaknesses: Fire, Ground, and Fighting

Having a Legendary Pokemon on your team is almost always a safe bet, especially if we’re talking about the Regis. Registeel can be an unstoppable force thanks to its powerful Fast Move, Lock-On, which gives it the energy to use its devastating Charged Moves.

Since Registeel will be one of the main choices for this cup, you might want to find a good counter for it as well. If you don’t have a Registeel yet, you can use these promo codes to trigger an encounter with it.

Regirock

Regirock in a Pokemon Go battle arena
  • Fast Move: Lock-On
  • Charged Moves: Stone Edge and Focus Blast
  • Resistances: Normal, Poison, Flying, and Fire
  • Weaknesses: Steel, Ground, Fighting, Water, and Grass

Regirock is another powerful option to keep in mind, even though it’s not as good as Registeel. Again, Lock-On as its Fast Move will allow you to accumulate energy fast. Then you can use either Stone Edge, to take advantage of its STAB, or Focus Blast, to get out of tight situations.

You can also get a Regirock from the February 2023 promo codes we linked above.

Swampert

pokemon go great league swampert featureNiantic
Swampert is still one of the best choices for Great League.
  • Fast Move: Mud Shot
  • Charged Moves: Hydro Cannon and Earthquake
  • Resistances: Electric, Steel, Rock, Poison, and Fire
  • Weaknesses: Grass

Swampert is still one of the best Pokemon to choose in Great League battles, so naturally, it’s on this list as well. It has only one weakness so you should mainly be careful if you’re facing Grass-type Pokemon like Sceptile.

If you have access to the Community Day exclusive Charged Move Hydro Cannon you’ll be able to deal some serious damage very fast. Of course, Earthquake can also be extremely powerful although it takes longer to charge. With that moveset, Swampert is the ideal counter for both Registeel and Regirock.

Altaria

Altaria in a Pokemon Go battle arena
  • Fast Move: Dragon Breath
  • Charged Moves: Sky Attack and Moonblast
  • Resistances: Fighting, Water, Bug, Fire, Grass, and Ground
  • Weaknesses: Ice, Fairy, Dragon, and Rock

It’s not easy to get an Altaria in Pokemon Go, but if you evolved a Swablu after collecting 400 Candy, you can see all your efforts making a difference in this Hoenn Cup.

Dragon Breath can help you deal interesting damage to your opponents. Charged Move Sky Attack is fast and ideal for shield baiting, while Community Day-exclusive Moonblast can provide coverage. The only catch with Altaria is having it under the 1,500 CP limit.

Medicham

pokemon go great league medicham featureNiantic
Medicham was a great choice for Love Cup and returns triumphant for the Hoenn Cup.
  • Fast Move: Counter
  • Charged Move: Power-Up Punch and Ice Punch
  • Resistances: Fighting and Rock
  • Weaknesses: Fairy, Flying, and Ghost

As with the Love Cup, Medicham is once again a great option to add to your team in the Hoenn Cup. It needs Candy XL to be eligible for this competition, but it’s worth the investment.

Counter provides both decent damage and good energy generation, so it should be your Fast Move. For Charged Moves, a combination of Power-Up Punch and Ice Punch can be the most balanced moveset for optimal coverage, but Psychic is an interesting option as well.

Pelipper

Pelipper in a Pokemon Go battle arena
  • Fast Move: Wing Attack
  • Charged Moves: Weather Ball (Water) and Hurricane
  • Resistances: Fighting, Bug, Steel, Fire, Water, and Ground
  • Weaknesses: Electric and Rock

Most Pokemon on this list can be successfully countered by Pelipper, so keep that in mind whether you choose it or have to face it.

Wing Attack should be your Fast Move since it’s very fast and will allow you to use your Charged Moves frequently. Weather Ball is ideal for shield baiting, while Hurricane can deal massive damage to your opponents.

Sableye

Sableye can is a very interesting choice with great versatility.
  • Fast Move: Shadow Claw
  • Charged Moves: Foul Play and Power Gem
  • Resistances: Poison, Normal, Fighting, and Psychic
  • Weaknesses: Fairy

Sableye is another very popular Pokemon in the Great League thanks to its resistances. Many players use it as a safe switch and can be a good addition to your Hoenn Cup team. You might need Candy XL to use it, though.

Shadow Claw is the recommended Fast Move here. Foul Play is a great Charged Move choice for dealing considerable damage, while Power Gem will provide cover.

Other very interesting options to choose from include Deoxys (Defense Forme), Mawile, Dusclops, and Whiscash. There are more than 100 eligible Pokemon for the Hoenn Cup, so make sure you build a balanced team that can cover different resistances in case you have to face a counter you were not expecting.

For more Pokemon, you can check our other guides:

Pokemon Go Spotlight Hour schedule | Is the Master Ball coming to Pokemon go? | How to get Mega Gardevoir in Pokemon Go | How to heal Pokemon in Pokemon Go | How many Pokemon are there? | Best Pokemon for PvP battles in Pokemon Go | How to get revives in Pokemon Go | Pokemon Go best attackers ranked | Are Pokemon Scarlet & Violet getting DLC? | How many Pokemon types are in Scarlet & Violet?

Image Credits: Niantic / The Pokemon Company

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