The Rose Cup


February 1st - 29th

Announcing February's Global Cup: The Rose Cup!

A new challenge arrives February 1st! With it comes a new chance to prove your skill and increase your global and local player ranking! The Rose Cup - designed to showcase the dazzling strength of competitors and teams of Valentine's Day-themed Pokemon - follows the same basic rules as all Silph Arena global Cups, but this month comes with a special twist! Here's what you need to know:

What Is the Rose 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 Pokemon GOTM tournament play.

During the Cup (February 1st - February 29th), 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!

Rose Cup Rules

The Rose 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.
  • Permitted Colors: Only Pokemon whose main colors are Pink, Purple, Red, or Gray are eligible for use in the Rose Cup.
    • Main colors are based off of their classifications on Bulbapedia.
  • Shinies: A Pokémon's elligibility is based solely on its non-shiny form's color. For example: Sableye and its shiny are allowed, but shiny and non-shiny Gyarados are not.
  • Multiple Forms: If a Pokémon has multiple forms (Alolans, regional forms, etc.), each form that matches the allowed colors is eligible. (i.e. Alolan Marowak is allowed but Kanto Marowak is not)
  • Species Bans: Water-types (including dual types!), Mythical Pokemon, Legendary Pokemon, and Bastiodon are not allowed.
  • Eligible List: What follows is the official list of exactly which species are permitted for use in the Rose Cup:

    Gen 1

    #4
    #5
    #6
    #19
    #23
    #24
    #32
    #33
    #34
    #35
    #36
    #39
    #40
    #41
    #42
    #45
    #46
    #47
    #48
    #49
    #66
    #67
    #68
    #81
    #82
    #88
    #89
    #92
    #93
    #94
    #95
    #100
    #101
    #102
    #108
    #109
    #110
    #111
    #112
    #113
    #122
    #124
    #126
    #136
    #137
    #142

    Gen 2

    #165
    #166
    #168
    #169
    #173
    #174
    #180
    #187
    #190
    #193
    #196
    #200
    #204
    #205
    #207
    #208
    #209
    #210
    #212
    #218
    #219
    #225
    #227
    #232
    #233
    #236
    #238
    #240
    #241
    #242
    #247

    Gen 3

    #255
    #256
    #257
    #261
    #262
    #265
    #268
    #290
    #293
    #299
    #300
    #301
    #302
    #304
    #305
    #306
    #308
    #313
    #314
    #317
    #323
    #326
    #338
    #345
    #347
    #348
    #351
    #351
    #361
    #362

    Gen 4

    #401
    #402
    #410
    #413
    #420
    #421
    #421
    #424
    #425
    #426
    #429
    #431
    #432
    #434
    #435
    #439
    #440
    #442
    #451
    #452
    #462
    #463
    #464
    #467
    #472
    #474
    #476

    Gen 5

    #498
    #499
    #500
    #507
    #508
    #509
    #510
    #513
    #514
    #519
    #520
    #521
    #529
    #530
    #532
    #533
    #538
    #543
    #544
    #545
    #554
    #555
    #557
    #558
    #560
    #572
    #573
    #589
    #597
    #598
    #599
    #600
    #601
    #616
    #617
    #631
    #632

    Gen 7

    #74
    #75
    #76
    #105

    Gen 8

    #110

    And in text form:

    • Accelgor, Aerodactyl, Aggron, Aipom, Ambipom, Anorith, Arbok, Ariados, Armaldo, Aron, Blaziken, Blissey, Camerupt, Cascoon, Chansey, Charizard, Charmander, Charmeleon, Cherrim (Overcast Form), Cherrim (Sunshine Form), Cherubi, Cinccino, Clefable, Clefairy, Cleffa, Combusken, Crobat, Crustle, Darmanitan, Darumaka, Delcatty, Delibird, Donphan, Drapion, Drifblim, Drifloon, Drilbur, Durant, Dwebble, Ekans, Electrode, Emboar, Escavalier, Espeon, Excadrill, Exeggcute, Ferroseed, Ferrothorn, Flaaffy, Flareon, Forretress, Gastly, Gengar, Geodude (Alolan), Glalie, Glameow, Gligar, Gliscor, Golbat, Golem (Alolan), Granbull, Graveler (Alolan), Grimer, Grumpig, Gurdurr, Happiny, Haunter, Heatmor, Herdier, Hoppip, Igglybuff, Illumise, Jigglypuff, Jynx, Klang, Klink, Klinklang, Koffing, Kricketot, Kricketune, Lairon, Ledian, Ledyba, Lickilicky, Lickitung, Liepard, Lileep, Machamp, Machoke, Machop, Magby, Magcargo, Magmar, Magmortar, Magnemite, Magneton, Magnezone, Marowak (Alolan), Medicham, Mightyena, Miltank, Mime Jr., Minccino, Misdreavus, Mismagius, Mr. Mime, Muk, Nidoking, Nidoran♂, Nidorino, Nincada, Normal Castform, Nosepass, Onix, Pansear, Paras, Parasect, Pidove, Pignite, Pineco, Poochyena, Porygon, Porygon-Z, Porygon2, Probopass, Pupitar, Purrloin, Purugly, Rattata, Rhydon, Rhyhorn, Rhyperior, Sableye, Scizor, Scolipede, Scrafty, Shelmet, Shieldon, Simisear, Skarmory, Skitty, Skorupi, Skuntank, Slugma, Smoochum, Snorunt, Snubbull, Solrock, Spiritomb, Steelix, Stoutland, Stunky, Sunny Castform, Swalot, Tepig, Throh, Timburr, Torchic, Tranquill, Tyrogue, Unfezant, Venipede, Venomoth, Venonat, Vileplume, Volbeat, Voltorb, Weezing, Weezing (Galarian), Whirlipede, Whismur, Wigglytuff, Wormadam (Trash Cloak), Wurmple, Yanma, Zubat
  • 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 February Cup will become available to local community leaders on January 18th, 2020 - but Rose Cups must be scheduled for dates between February 1st and February 29th, 2020. Find a Cup tournament near you via the Tournament Map!

Frequently Asked Questions

Community Leader Questions:

How Do I Host a Rose 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 Rose Cups in my community?

Yes. However, only one Rose Cup will have significant impact in the participant’s Global Ranking. Participants can choose at the start of the Cup if they want that specific Cup to be weighted more heavily than the others.

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

Any date between February 1st and February 29th, 2020 is a valid date to hold your community's Rose 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 Rose 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 Rose 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 Rose Cup (and all non-Cup ranked tournaments) 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 2019 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: Rose Cup

By: JRE_Seawolf

It's time to start building your Rose Cup team, so bargain hunters rejoice! Nifty or Thrifty is here with your monthly picks to really stretch that stardust.

Species Search String

Note: this string will return Alolan Rattata which is NOT eligible.

Copy and paste this string into the Pokemon GO search filter to see all of your eligible Pokemon! Learn how to copy and paste into Pokemon GO with this guide for iOS and Android.

Meta Simplified Guide from GamePress!

By: lorma96

A simplified break-down of the elements you'll want to prepare for and include on your team in the Rose Cup!

Best Buddy for the Rose Cup

By: Ryanswag

SwagTips answers the question: who is the best option for a buddy boost in the Rose Cup?

Rose Cup Team Building

By: JFarmakis

Jfarmakis walks us through his approach to putting together a winning team in the Rose Cup!

Rose Cup Meta Guide

By: lorma96

Gamepress Meta Breakdown for the Rose Cup

Safe and Sacrificial Switching in Rose Cup

By: tangent444

Tangent goes deep on Safe and Sacrificial switching in the Rose cup to help you up your game!

Nifty Alternative Movesets for Popular Pokémon

By: JRE_Seawolf

An examination of useful off-meta movesets for Rose Cup Pokemon by JRE Seawolf!

Meta Moves: Rose

By: choostemaster

How many fast attacks will it take your opponent to reach that deadly charge move? Choostemaster and JayDevin are here to help you know what's coming.

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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