Pokémon Go best Pokémon: the best attackers, best defenders and best Pokémon by type

The best Pokémon in Pokémon Go depends largely on how you're going to use them, with everything from gyms to raiding to PvP battling bringing new ways of thinking about how to use Pokémon competitively.

Here then, we'll split this page into multiple sections, including an overall best Pokémon in Pokémon go by type list, for at-a-glance reference for what to power up, as well as our takes on the best attacking Pokémon and best defending Pokémon for tackling regular Gyms and taking down Raids.

On this page:

• The best Pokémon in Pokémon Go by type
• The best Pokémon in Pokémon Go: best attackers
• The best Pokémon in Pokémon Go: best defenders

The best Pokémon in Pokémon Go by type

There are hundreds of Pokémon available in Pokémon Go, and hundreds more still to come as the game passes through the generations. Combine that with the fact that attacking and defending Gyms, tackling raids, and fighting in PvP all require different strengths in different areas, and it's pretty clear that there are no objectively 'best' Pokémon for every scenario.

It's still useful, though, to know which Pokémon are generally strong that can be used for each, and the easiest way to divvy them up is by Type. Here's an at-a-glance look at the strongest Pokémon by type right now, including the best options for their moves at the time of writing.

Note that we've opted for the best moves of that type where available, which might not be the optimal damage output moves for that Pokémon overall. Rayquaza, for example, does more damage (and is generally best used) as a Dragon-type attacker with Dragon-type moves. But it's also the strongest Flying-type attacker in the game if you equip it with Air Slash and Aerial Ace, as we've noted below. So use this table if you're trying to find a good Pokémon of a certain type, specifically, even though it's good for getting a general sense of the overall best Pokémon in the game, too.

Pokémon Go Best Pokémon by Type:

The best Pokémon in Pokémon Go: best attackers

Bear in mind as again that this Tier List is an 'editorialised' approach, rather than a ranking of Pokémon by their highest DPS movesets or definitive stats, meaning our own experiences, knowledge, and judgement come into play here as well as the raw numbers.

That being said, several sources have been extremely useful for helping us decide: community work like this spreadsheet, as well as cross-referencing GamePress and Gameinfo in particular, who have all approached the situation in different ways, as well as calculations varying in depth from complete matchup simulations to more simple attacking and defending DPS calculations, and plenty in between.

We recommend you give all of the above a look if you're on the hunt for an even more detailed breakdown of the information at hand - but be warned, it gets complex!

Below, we'll take into account all of the above, along with our own understanding of the general metagame climate as things stand - that means that whilst, say, Alakazam may rank near the very top for raw damage output with Confusion and Future Sight, it may not rank as highly in our tier list because of some flimsy defences and lack of type coverage.

Pokémon Go Best Attackers Tier List

Rank		Pokémon	Quick Move	Charged Move	Best vs.	Reasoning
1		Mewtwo	Confusion	Shadow Ball	Many	Mewtwo is still just about the best all-rounder, with higher Attack and bulk compared to Rayquaza, even without perfect moves. Can also use Focus Blast as a Fighting-type option for clearing gyms, too.
2		Rayquaza	Dragon Tail	Outrage	Many	An exceptional move pairing and massive Attack stat put Rayquaza out on top of the dragons, although beware double-weakness Ice-type moves.
3		Kyogre	Waterfall	Hydro Pump	Fire, Rock and Ground-types	Rock and Ground is still very common in defenders, as well as surprisingly high Attack, Kyogre has the bulk to save you some much-needed Revives, and is the best Water-type attacker in the game.
4		Lucario	Counter	Aura Sphere	Dark, Ice, Normal, Rock and Steel-type	Aura Sphere made Lucario the strongest fighting type Pokémon in terms of both speed and actual power. It can easily take down regular defenders and is a useful fighter against many Raid bosses.
5		Dragonite	Dragon Tail	Outrage	Many	Strong against almost everything, high bulk as well as offense. Outrage just puts it above Salamence as another great generalist.
6		Garchomp	Dragon Tail	Outrage	Many	Similar to Dragonite only a tad less bulky, but higher base Attack. Replaces Salamence as the alternate Dragon-type attacker.
7		Tyranitar	Smack Down	Stone Edge	Many	Strong against almost everything, but with a few more weaknesses than Dragonite. Struggles vs. Hariyama. Smack Down is essential for getting the most out of its Rock typing, but Bite/Crunch makes it the best Dark-type attacker too.
8		Mamoswine	Powder Snow	Avalanche	Flying, Ground and Dragon-types	The prevalence of Flying, Dragon and Ground-types in gyms makes this chunky, high-damage 'mon an amazing option.
9		Darmanitan	Fire Fang	Overheat	Grass, Steel, Ice, Bug-types	Upon its release Darmanitan became the strongest pure Fire-type Pokémon, dethroning Entei from this seat.
10		Raikou	Thunder Shock	Wild Charge	Flying and Water-types	Gyarados and other Water-types are common defenders, and Raikou's the best pure Electric attacker, still.

The best Pokémon in Pokémon Go: best defenders

Just like the section above, this tier list of the best defending Pokémon in Pokémon Go is editorialised with our own experience, combined with the hard stats of the sources listed above.

Pokémon Go Best Defenders Tier List

Rank		Pokémon	Quick Move	Special Move	Best vs.	Reasoning
1		Blissey	Zen Headbutt	Dazzling Gleam	Many	Still the best out there, even after the stat rework. Almost any moveset outranks any other Pokémon. Takes an age to defeat and even whittles down those which counter. Can be super effective vs Machamp too.
2		Metagross	Zen Headbutt	Meteor Mash	Machamp	Less generalist than the bulky Normal-types but selected as a great counter to their counter, Machamp.
3		Snorlax	Zen Headbutt	Hyper Beam	Many	Essentially another option instead of Chansey/Blissey.
4		Slaking	Yawn	Play Rough	Many	A weird one, with crazy high Attack and CP in particular, which keeps the gym "tall" for longer thus deterring attackers. Best coupled with Blissey/Snorlax/Metagross for actual bulk.
5		Milotic	Dragon Tail	Surf	Many	Bulky, but can surprise Dragon-type attackers with Dragon Tail.
6		Dragonite	Dragon Tail	Outrage	Many, including Machamp	Part Flying typing makes it resist Machamp, meaning it's harder for attackers to sweep the gym. Strong Attack and bulk combined
7		Gyarados	Dragon Tail	Outrage	Many, including Machamp	A double-weakness to Electric, but not many attackers use it. Flexible attacks but countered by Tyranitar.
8		Exeggutor	Confusion	Seed Bomb	Electric, Fighting	Counters common attacking types by resisting Electric and shredding Fighting, Rock and Ground.
9		Togekiss	Hidden Power	Dazzling Gleam	Many	Bulky with nice typing makes it a good all-round defender.
10		Charizard	Air Slash	Dragon Claw	Dragons, Grass	You can surprise enemies with this chunky Fire-type that still counters grass with its Air Slash, but actually counters Dragons (and provides general coverage) with Dragon Claw. Good for filling a spare slot!

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