Okay, so, I’ve been messing around with this Pokemon GO thing for a while now, and let me tell you, the PvP scene is wild. I wanted to get better, obviously, so I started digging into this whole “tier list” concept. Basically, it’s like a ranking of which Pokemon are the best for battling other trainers.
First, I went down a rabbit hole on this site called PvPoke. It’s pretty neat, you can simulate battles and stuff. I started throwing in my favorite Pokemon, the ones I thought were tough, just to see how they stacked up. Turns out, my precious Blastoise wasn’t as great as I’d hoped.

Then I started looking at these tier lists, which are basically just big charts of which Pokemon are considered top-tier. This whole open format versus restricted formats was a whole new level of complexity. Some tier list would talk about like, Master League, which I guess is when there’s no limits on your Pokemon’s power. Others are made for different rules.
I spent hours, and I mean hours, playing around with different teams. I’d find a Pokemon that looked strong on the tier list, then I’d go try to catch it, power it up, and teach it the right moves. I was surprised to discover that some Pokemon I already had were good, but I was using the wrong moves.
My Strategy
- Find a reliable tier list: I compared a few different ones to get a general idea of which Pokemon were consistently ranked high.
- Test, test, test: PvPoke became my best friend. I’d plug in different team combinations and see how they fared against the top-ranked Pokemon.
- Learn the moves: Turns out, the moves your Pokemon have make a huge difference. I spent a lot of time reading up on which moves were best for each Pokemon.
- Catch ’em all: I literally tried to catch every Pokemon in the higher tiers of the lists. Some were hard to find, but that’s part of the fun.
Honestly, it’s been a grind, but I’ve definitely gotten better. I’m still not winning every battle, but I’m holding my own. There are still some Pokemon that I don’t have, and some matchups that give me trouble, but it’s a work in progress. There are so many different Pokemon, it feels a little overwhelming, but it’s a fun kind of challenge.
It’s kind of addictive, this whole PvP thing. I went from casually playing to actually paying attention to what I’m doing. I wouldn’t call myself an expert or anything, but I’m definitely learning. My friends are all sick of hearing me talk about it, but they just don’t understand. I did not even know that one of my friends had also been into it for years before I started. It was a pleasant surprise.
It’s been a journey, but it’s been fun. I’m always looking for new strategies and new Pokemon to try out, so we’ll see what happens. If you haven’t tried PvP in Pokemon GO, you should check it out. It’s a whole different side of the game.