The Nemesis Cup


April 1st - April 30th, 2022

Announcing April's Global Cup: The Nemesis Cup!

Get ready for a new challenge beginning on April 1st! With it comes a new chance to prove your skill and increase your global and local player ranking! The Nemesis Cup follows the same basic rules as all Silph Arena global cups, but this month it comes with a special twist! Here's what you need to know:

What Is The Nemesis Cup?

Each month the Silph Arena holds a month-long Cup - a 'themed' PvP tournament - that provides tens of thousands of trainers around the world a specially-designed competitive challenge and a chance to prove they're the very best. The Silph Arena is the world's largest global network for ranked Pokémon GOTM tournament play.

During the Cup (April 1st - April 30th), local Silph League communities host and record a special tournament using the free Silph.gg tools. Wins and losses in this local tournament affect your player rank on local and global leaderboards - and may eventually even earn you an invitation to compete at Regionals and even the Continental or World Championships held at the end of the season!

All players are welcome to compete, whether it's your first tournament or your hundredth! Find a local tournament near you on the Tournament Map!

Nemesis Cup Rules

The Nemesis Cup has a few special rules (designed to provide added challenge and fun) that differ from standard PvP combat in Pokemon GO:

  • Team of 6: Competitors will bring a team of 6 Pokemon (and register them before the tournament begins). All battle parties used must be comprised of these 6 Pokemon.
  • Great League: Matches are played in Great League: only Pokemon up to 1500 CP are permitted in the Cup.
  • Embrace the adversarial: Slots 1 & 2, select your Fighter and Anti-Fighter from the allowed list. Slots 3-6, complete your roster using dual-typing Pokémon with Bug, Dark, Fire, Grass, Ice, Psychic, Water types.
    • Megas, Fairy, Flying, Fighting, Ground, Ghost, Normal, Monotypes, or Escavilier are not eligible to use in Slots 3 to 6 of the Nemesis Cup.
  • Eligible List: What follows is the official list of exactly which species are permitted for use in the Nemesis Cup:
    • Slot 1: Fighter
      #62
      #195
      #257
      #330
      #448
      #475
      #530
      #652
      #675
      #862

      And in text form:

      • Blaziken, Chesnaught, Excadrill, Flygon, Gallade, Lucario, Obstagoon, Pangoro, Poliwrath, Quagsire
    • Slot 2: Anti-Fighter
      #6
      #94
      #130
      #164
      #189
      #303
      #478
      #702
      #711
      #711
      #711
      #711
      #78

      And in text form:

      • Charizard, Dedenne, Froslass, Galarian Rapidash, Gengar, Gourgeist (Average Size), Gourgeist (Large Size), Gourgeist (Small Size), Gourgeist (Super Size), Gyarados, Jumpluff, Mawile, Noctowl
    • Slots 3-6: Bodyguards
      #1
      #2
      #3
      #13
      #14
      #15
      #43
      #44
      #45
      #46
      #47
      #48
      #49
      #69
      #70
      #71
      #72
      #73
      #79
      #80
      #87
      #91
      #102
      #103
      #121
      #124
      #131
      #138
      #139
      #140
      #141
      #167
      #168
      #170
      #171
      #199
      #205
      #211
      #212
      #213
      #215
      #219
      #222
      #228
      #229
      #230
      #238
      #248
      #251
      #269
      #270
      #271
      #272
      #274
      #275
      #283
      #315
      #318
      #319
      #332
      #337
      #338
      #342
      #345
      #346
      #347
      #348
      #363
      #364
      #365
      #369
      #374
      #375
      #376
      #380
      #381
      #385
      #395
      #406
      #407
      #413
      #413
      #434
      #435
      #436
      #437
      #451
      #452
      #459
      #460
      #461
      #479
      #484
      #485
      #494
      #540
      #541
      #542
      #543
      #544
      #545
      #557
      #558
      #564
      #565
      #590
      #591
      #595
      #596
      #597
      #598
      #624
      #625
      #632
      #633
      #634
      #635
      #643
      #646
      #649
      #649
      #649
      #649
      #655
      #658
      #686
      #687
      #688
      #689
      #690
      #26
      #27
      #28
      #88
      #89
      #103
      #727
      #80
      #100
      #101
      #122
      #199
      #866
      #893

      And in text form:

      • Abomasnow, Amoonguss, Anorith, Ariados, Armaldo, Barbaracle, Beedrill, Beldum, Bellsprout, Binacle, Bisharp, Bronzong, Bronzor, Budew, Bulbasaur, Cacturne, Carracosta, Carvanha, Celebi, Chinchou, Cloyster, Corsola, Cradily, Crawdaunt, Crustle, Deino, Delphox, Dewgong, Drapion, Durant, Dustox, Dwebble, Empoleon, Exeggcute, Exeggutor, Exeggutor (Alolan), Ferroseed, Ferrothorn, Foongus, Forretress, Galarian Mr. Mime, Galarian Slowbro, Galarian Slowking, Galvantula, Genesect, Genesect (Burn Drive), Genesect (Douse Drive), Genesect (Shock Drive), Gloom, Greninja, Grimer (Alolan), Heatran, Hisuian Electrode, Hisuian Voltorb, Houndoom, Houndour, Hydreigon, Incineroar, Inkay, Ivysaur, Jirachi, Joltik, Jynx, Kabuto, Kabutops, Kakuna, Kingdra, Kyurem, Lanturn, Lapras, Latias, Latios, Leavanny, Lileep, Lombre, Lotad, Ludicolo, Lunatone, Magcargo, Malamar, Metagross, Metang, Mr. Rime, Muk (Alolan), Nuzleaf, Oddish, Omanyte, Omastar, Palkia, Paras, Parasect, Pawniard, Qwilfish, Raichu (Alolan), Relicanth, Reshiram, Roselia, Roserade, Sandshrew (Alolan), Sandslash (Alolan), Scizor, Scolipede, Sealeo, Sewaddle, Sharpedo, Shiftry, Shuckle, Skorupi, Skrelp, Skuntank, Slowbro, Slowking, Slowpoke, Smoochum, Sneasel, Snover, Solrock, Spheal, Spinarak, Starmie, Stunky, Surskit, Swadloon, Tentacool, Tentacruel, Tirtouga, Tyranitar, Venipede, Venomoth, Venonat, Venusaur, Victini, Victreebel, Vileplume, Walrein, Wash Rotom, Weavile, Weedle, Weepinbell, Whirlipede, Wormadam (Plant Cloak), Wormadam (Trash Cloak), Zarude, Zweilous
  • No Duplicates: Only one of each Pokemon species is permitted on your team of 6. (No species duplicates!)
  • Arena Rules will be followed in all other particulars.

Take a moment to review the Arena Rules linked above. The rules have been updated for the new Competitive PvP Season, make sure you’re familiar with all of the changes!

How to Compete

Registration for the April Cup will become available to local community leaders on March 25th, 2022 - but Nemesis Cups must be scheduled for dates between April 1st and April 30th, 2022. Find a Cup tournament near you via the Tournament Map

Frequently Asked Questions

Community Leader Questions:

How Do I Host a Nemesis Cup Tournament in My Community?

Simply log in to Silph.gg with an authorized Community Leader account and create a Cup tournament on your community management page. You will be given an RSVP url to share with your community and, on the day of the tournament, a join code to confirm your tournament's registrants. For a guide to setting up your tournament on Silph.gg, click here.

How Do I Become Authorized to Host Tournaments on Silph.gg?

All Silph League Discord community admins simply need to add themselves as 'Tournament Admins' via the Discord @SilphRoad bot:

  • On Discord, use the @SilphRoad add-tournament-admin @username#0000 command in your #silph-league channel. (You may need to log out of Silph.gg and back in again!)

Telegram channel and group admins are automatically authorized on Silph.gg.

Can I host multiple Nemesis Cups in my community in April?

Yes. However, only one Nemesis Cup will have significant impact in the participant’s Global Ranking. Participants can choose at at any point before they report their final round if they want that specific Cup to be weighted more heavily than the others.

Does the Nemesis Cup have to be hosted on a specific date?

Any date between April 1st and April 30th, 2022 is a valid date to hold your community's Nemesis Cup. The tournament registration page will not allow registering your Cup for an invalid date or time - so as long as you are able to create your tournament on Silph.gg, you will know it is set for a valid date.

I am a community leader of a Facebook Group (or other platform like Slack, Line, etc). How do I host the Nemesis Cup Cup for my community?

The Arena team is working quickly to enable non-Discord/Telegram communities to host the Cup. Stay tuned for news on this front!

Participant Questions:

How Do I Join a Nemesis Cup Tournament in My Community?

Find a local Cup being hosted by a community near you via the Tournament Map and read the event details on the event's RSVP page!

How Important Are Monthly Cups for My Player Rank?

Very. The vast majority of player rank in the Arena is derived from performance in the global, standardized Cups. (This is because Cups allow the Arena to observe the same controlled competitive scenarios for each player!)

Why is the Nemesis Cup played in Great League?

Great League (max 1500cp) provides a diverse, new playing field with many options for creative, competitive teams. It also allows more casual players to join tournaments at meetups without being completely unable to compete with level 40 trainers who often sport the same level 40 Legendary Pokemon. Great League also marks immediately irrelevant much of the amassed arsenal of those who manipulate their GPS location ('spoof') to circumvent in-game mechanic limiters and acquire unnatural advantages.

Where can I learn more about global player ranking?

You can learn more about Global Player Rankings by reading our Guide to Player Rank.

About the 2021-2022 Competitive Season »

Resources & Guides

Time to study up! Conquering this meta requires preparation and practice. Review this collection of guides and resources from Arena contributors and community content creators to help you on your way to victory:

Nifty Or Thrifty: Nemesis Cup, Part I (Fighters & Anti-Fighters)

By: JRE_Seawolf

It's time to start building your Nemesis Cup team, so bargain hunters rejoice! Nifty or Thrifty Part 1 is here with an in-depth look at the Fighters and Anti-Fighters in this month's meta.

NEMESIS CUP META SIMPLIFIED!!!

By: STEEEEEEEEEEVE7

Steeeeeeeeeeve dives into the meta to find out what the best Pokémon to use are in the Nemesis Cup for April!

SILPH NEMESIS CUP - Choose Your Fighter!!

By: sosaflo

Sosaflo from TeamRocketAcademy breaks down the pieces of team comp for the Nemesis Cup!

Copa Nemesis Restricciones

By: BarbatosRV

Silph Nemesis Cup Analysis

By: wildsusanboyle

Walk through Nemesis Cup analysis with WildSusanBoyle as they breakdown the roles of this meta!

Nemesis Cup Meta - Team Builder

By: ganeto24yt

With this Nemesis Cup infographic by Ganeto24, you will be able to build up effective and competitive Teams.

Nemesis Cup Meta Simplified

By: countxevious

CountXevious breaks the meta down by making the typical "rectangles of life" and discusses how the meta may shake out.

Live Cup Data

As you plan your battle team, consider the species which appear most frequently in this meta:

Most Commonly Faced Species

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