By Haydonus, contributing writer
Trainers, a new Season of Pokémon GO, Memories in Motion, is here. As usual, it includes changes that will impact the GO Battle League, bringing fresh encounters and new rewards. Notably, GO Battle Week has taken a break and transformed into GO Battle Thursday—every Thursday this Season, Trainers can play 50 battles (as opposed to the regular 25) and earn quadruple Stardust from rewards. Memories in Motion lasts from Tuesday, March 3 to Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. local time.
In this article, we’ll focus on the attack rebalances, which have implications for Pokémon usage and viability in both the GO Battle League and Play! Pokémon Championship Series. Read on to gain valuable insight into what to expect and who you may want to add to your team!
Wing Attack, a Flying-type Fast Attack, has been restored to its former glory after receiving a reduction in the amount of energy it generated. After that reduction, many flyers dropped out of the sky and out of the meta. A later increase in the energy cost to another great Flying-type attack, Sky Attack, grounded even more of the flyers still hanging on. Although Sky Attack is not restored to its former power, the restoration of energy generated by Wing Attack should offer a more balanced approach to Flying-type Pokémon. Let’s take a look at a few of them in their new contexts.
Noctowl previously soared in the GO Battle League and Play! Pokémon Championship Series. Its popularity stemmed from its bulky stats and availability of attacks such as Wing Attack, Sky Attack, and Shadow Ball. Last Season, Shadow Ball got an energy reduction, and now Wing Attack is experiencing a potential return to action. But Noctowl can learn another lesser-known attack as well: Night Shade. Back in Max Out, Night Shade benefitted from a significant boost, not only receiving a power increase from 60 to 80, but also requiring less energy for its use.
Noctowl definitely has the potential to stretch those wings! Night Shade and Shadow Ball are both Ghost-type attacks, but Night Shade is less powerful—though it requires less energy to use. Trainers may want to explore which Charged Attack better fits their team’s needs: quicker damage with Night Shade, or harder hitting with Shadow Ball. It is hard to say yet for certain which move set will gain prominence, but Sky Attack will likely be the accompanying Charged Attack for well-rounded coverage.
Top players, including Inadequance, are sure to be happy about the return of Pelipper. With access to the Water-type Charged Attack Weather Ball, which has a low energy cost, and the hard-hitting Hurricane, it is sure to make waves. Pelipper can threaten Ground-type Pokémon with Weather Ball while resisting damage from them as a Flying-type Pokémon, while also resisting powerful Fighting-type damage—such as that from a Shadow Annihilape—for the same reasons.
Gliscor has always been on the cusp of actualizing its potential in the GO Battle League with its extremely flexible move set. When Wing Attack was negatively impacted by the Max Out update, Fury Cutter and Sand Attack appeared to be fine replacement options. But then the energy cost was raised for its Flying-type Charged Attack, Aerial Ace, complicating its role as a Flying-type Pokémon.
In addition to Wing Attack, Gliscor received two particularly useful updates in Memories in Motion: Acrobatics and an enhanced Sand Tomb. Acrobatics compensates for the lackluster Aerial Ace, providing Gliscor with meaningful Flying-type damage that it can deal more quickly. Sand Tomb had its power increased from 25 to 40, edging it closer to the elemental punches in terms of damage output for energy invested. Coupled with the fact that Sand Tomb is guaranteed to lower your opponent’s defense by one stage, the move set of Sand Tomb and Acrobatics could make for threatening bait potential and damage output.
Low Kick, a Fighting-type Fast Attack, also received some positive attention in this update, with its statistics changing from 4 to 5 power and an increase in the energy it generates. Fighting-type Pokémon have been out of the meta for quite some time, with the exception of Shadow Annihilape, which has terrorized opponents with limited opposition. Shadow Annihilape has a lot going for it: an added shadow bonus of 20% more damage dealt, the sheer power of Counter itself, and a guaranteed attack raise from the Ghost-type Charged Attack Rage Fist.
Low Kick, although not as powerful as Counter, now offers Fighting-type Pokémon the opportunity to re-enter the spotlight. While Annihilape gains another viable Fast Attack option, this change adds a benefit beyond Fast Attack damage. Trainers who use Low Kick will benefit from quicker pacing to Charged Attacks like Ice Punch, an especially useful benefit given the anticipated rise of Flying- and Dragon-type Pokémon.
Besides the benefits to Flying- and Fighting-type Pokémon, Dragon types that can learn the Dragon-type Charged Attack Twister may see their fortunes rise in the new Season. Twister has long been in the gutter; Trainers typically opted for the more powerful Charged Attack Dragon Claw. However, Twister now requires less energy than it used to and has increased in base power from 45 to 70.
With this update, Garchomp experiences several helpful boosts, including gaining access to Twister. The Charged Attack Sand Tomb enhances its reliability, offering a low-energy-cost Charged Attack for Garchomp. Again, Sand Tomb guarantees that your opponent’s defense will be lowered by one stage, making it extra dangerous when it can also deal significant Fast Attack damage—like Garchomp can with Dragon Tail.
Garchomp also has access to the Fast Attack Mud Shot. This Fast Attack is experiencing a change, returning to its former damage output of 3 while generating more energy, making the pacing much more efficient. You will likely encounter Garchomp in a variety of roles in battle. Its excellent power from attacks such as Earth Power and Outrage could make it a threatening closer, or its access to the energy-efficient Sand Tomb and Twister could allow it to pace quickly and stall the switch timer. Regardless, Garchomp is sure to offer staunch opposition to Pokémon that have found success in this past Season, such as Empoleon and Lickilicky.
Shelgon also has access to Twister and is well-rounded with a complementary move set. Shelgon can learn Dragon Breath and Ember, as well as Crunch, Dragon Pulse, and Flamethrower. Of course, Dragon-type attacks are resisted by Steel-type Pokémon, making Flamethrower a viable accomplice to Twister.
We’ve seen Dragon-type Pokémon, such as Guzzlord, that are very dynamic in coverage; Shelgon will likely fit into that group, with the aforementioned attack availability giving it options to combat popular picks like Corviknight, Empoleon, and Jellicent.
Now on to the Pokémon that haven’t fared as well in the new round of updates. In some cases, these Pokémon were directly impacted, while others will be indirectly affected by the changes.
Shadow Marowak has long terrorized the GO Battle League and Play! Pokémon Championship Series. It has appeared on many GO Battle League teams with Wigglytuff and Bastiodon. With this Season’s update, Mud-Slap—Marowak’s primary Fast Attack—was hit with a reduction in power from 12 to 11, making it less threatening. In and of itself this would not be enough to severely impact Marowak’s standing, but the re-established presence of a variety of Flying-type Pokémon is also sure to have an effect. Additionally, other Ground-type Pokémon that have the benefit of dual typing, like Garchomp and Gliscor, can now better fill the role of Ground-type Pokémon.
Shadow Scizor has not played a prominent role in the GO Battle League or Play! Pokémon Championship Series, but it has definitely punched its way into being an off-meta pick. With Bullet Punch, one of its popular Fast Attacks, receiving a power reduction from 8 to 7, Shadow Scizor usage will likely be slashed. Given its attack-oriented stats and the additional 20% damage output as a result of being a Shadow Pokémon, it had closing power that few other Pokémon could offer. What mostly hindered its prominence is its fragility, impacted further by the 20% damage taken from being a Shadow Pokémon.
Shadow Scizor’s Charged Attacks are also feeling the heat of the new changes. Night Slash, which has a chance of buffing the user’s Attack, will now only increase the stat by one stage instead of two. In Shadow Scizor’s anticipated absence, some Fairy- and Psychic-type Pokémon may see more play; this may affect Shadow Annihilape’s usage as well since these Pokémon are likely to resist its most popular Fast Attack, Counter, and target it down for supereffective damage.
Through all these changes, one Pokémon continues to pick up steam: Azumarill. With the added power to Flying-, Fighting-, Ground-, and Dragon-type Pokémon, Azumarill will surely be a champion of utility. As a fantastic neutral, and now arguably dominating pick in the GO Battle League and Play! Pokémon Championship Series, Azumarill is ready to Play Rough. Its Charged Attack Ice Beam deals supereffective damage to three of the four rising Pokémon types (the exception being Fighting), and Play Rough deals supereffective damage to two of the four: Fighting and Dragon. In addition to these Charged Attacks, Azumarill harbors a fantastic dual-typing of Water and Fairy and bulk-orientated stats that can withstand Pokémon types that are notorious for their offensive power: Bug, Dark, Fire, and Steel. In summation, Azumarill is sure to not just maintain its relevance, but also rise in usage.
The main Pokémon types that pose a threat to Azumarill—Poison, Electric, and Grass—all remain untouched in terms of Fast Attacks and Charged Attacks in these balance changes, with one exception: the Electric-type Charged Attack Volt Tackle decreased in energy cost. Pokémon that fare well against Azumarill that have been positively impacted by the move set update include Zapdos, Scolipede, and Rotom (Mow).
Zapdos is likely the best contender of the three even though one of its Charged Attacks, Heat Wave, is resisted by Azumarill’s Water typing. Having access to Thunder Shock and Thunderbolt, and a nice complementary dual typing of Electric and Flying, give Zapdos an edge. The prominence of Azumarill and Flying-type Pokémon with access to Wing Attack may inspire Trainers to opt for Zapdos as an “anti-meta” pick. However, its growth may be hindered by the balances brought by now-relevant Pokémon we have explored in this article, such as Garchomp and Shelgon.
Overall, the Memories in Motion GO Battle League update appears to be balanced and extremely promising in terms of refiguring the metagame. Flying- and Dragon-type Pokémon received some positive attention, reintroducing picks like Noctowl and Pelipper into viability, while bringing new Pokémon into consideration such as Gliscor, Garchomp, and Shelgon. Additionally, this Season addresses the power creep in attacks like Mud-Slap and Bullet Punch, and the overtuned Charged Attack Rock Tomb.
Hop into the GO Battle League, Trainers, and make some new memories!
Haydonus is a contributing writer for Pokemon.com. He has been an avid GO Battle League player, with multiple appearances as #1 on the Global Leaderboard, and is a frequent participant in the Play! Pokémon Championship Series. Haydonus can be found sharing his battles at Twitch.tv/Haydonus.